Audi announced today that it will also join the Nurburgring 24-Hour Race with R8 LMS. The Audi R8 LMS will be raced by four different teams from ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing with two cars each.
This will not be the first race appearance for the R8 LMS, which took a podium spot in the BFGoodrich Endurance Championship. The 500 horsepower racers will also be used in a test race on May 2, where each of the 14 driving team members for ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing will get their turn behind the wheel. Audi also points out the street cred of these drivers, five of whom are factory drivers for the company. The fourteen pilots have more than a dozen first-place finishes, with five of the drivers having already one at least once at the N�rburgring 24 hour race.
Press Release
Ultimate endurance test for new Audi R8 LMS
* GT3 sports car competes in N�rburgring 24-hour race
* Teams ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing with two cars each
* High-calibre driver line-ups featuring four DTM Champions
Ingolstadt - In the course of the further development of the Audi R8 LMS, an ultimate endurance test is on the agenda for the new GT3 sports car of AUDI AG at the end of May: On May 23/24, Teams ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing, with "factory" support by Audi, will field a total of four vehicles in the 24-hour race at the N�rburgring.
"The 24 Hours is not only one of the biggest motorsport events in Germany," says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "The N�rburgring-Nordschleife is considered one of the world's toughest and most demanding race tracks. Similar to Sebring for the sports prototypes, it is superbly suited for revealing the final improvement potential of any new race car. This is exactly what we're planning to do at the 24-hour race before delivering the R8 LMS to customers, starting this fall."
The Audi R8 LMS delivering some 500 hp has so far completed two "test" races as part of the BFGoodrich Endurance Championship on the N�rburgring-Nordschleife and already clinched a podium result in the process. Another "test" race is planned for May 2. On that day, the 14 drivers scheduled to contest the 24-hour race will be at the wheel of the four vehicles.
Teams ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing managed to form high-calibre driver squads consisting of five current Audi "factory" drivers, four DTM Champions, four Le Mans winners and five drivers who have won the 24-hour race at the N�rburgring at least once. All 14 drivers are regarded as outstanding endurance racers who are intimately familiar with the N�rburgring-Nordschleife.
They include the reigning DTM Champion Timo Scheider, who - together with his DTM teammate Mattias Ekstr�m and three-time Le Mans winner Marco Werner - will compete for Team ABT Sportsline. On the occasion of the Audi brand's 100th anniversary, their Audi R8 LMS will contest the event as car number 100. The second ABT Sportsline R8 will be driven by Christian Abt, Jean-Fran�ois Hemroulle, Pierre Kaffer and Lucas Luhr.
Marc Basseng, Mike Rockenfeller and Frank Stippler will drive one of the two cars of Team Phoenix Racing. With the multiple Le Mans winners Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Hans-Joachim Stuck as well as Marcel F�ssler at the wheel, the second R8 LMS fielded by Phoenix Racing has a particularly prominent cockpit crew.
With three overall victories under his belt so far, Hans-Joachim Stuck, who has been the Motorsport Representative of the Volkswagen Group since January 2008, is one of most successful drivers of the 24-hour race. Lucas Luhr, Emanuele Pirro, Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfeller have entered their names on the winners' list of the endurance classic as well.
Also Team Phoenix Racing has already won the N�rburgring 24 hours. It triumphed at its home race in the Eifel region in 2003. The best result (second place) achieved by ABT Sportsline so far dates back to 2003 as well.
The 37th edition of the ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race will start on Saturday, May 23, at 4 p.m. (local time). Practice sessions will be held on Thursday and Friday. The sports channel DSF will air extensive live coverage from the N�rburgring.
The Audi teams at the 24-hour race on the N�rburgring:
Audi R8 LMS #97 (ABT Sportsline)
Christian Abt (D)
Jean-Fran�ois Hemroulle (B)
Pierre Kaffer (D)
Lucas Luhr (D)
Audi R8 LMS #98 (Phoenix Racing)
Marc Basseng (D)
Frank Stippler (D)
Mike Rockenfeller (D)
Audi R8 LMS #99 (Phoenix Racing)
Frank Biela (D)
Marcel F�ssler (CH)
Emanuele Pirro (I)
Hans-Joachim Stuck (A)
Audi R8 LMS #100 (ABT Sportsline)
Mattias Ekstr�m (S)
Timo Scheider (D)
Marco Werner (D)
via:zercustoms
Other article:
Audi R8 LMS, First Delivery to Audi Sport Italia
Photos & Video: Audi R8 LMS Hits the Racetrack
2009 Audi R8 LMS Details
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