Following two victories in the Thailand Super Series, Audi Sport customer racing with Team B-Quik Racing for the first time is setting its sights on the title. At the same time, the Audi RS 3 LMS in customers’ hands has won sprint events and endurance races on three continents.
Two victories and lead of the standings in Thailand: Audi’s customer team B-Quik Racing on the third weekend of the Thailand Super Series won two spectacular races with the Audi R8 LMS. In the Bangsaen Grand Prix held close to the beach of the Gulf of Thailand, Sandy Stuvik/Martin Rump battled their way to victory in difficult conditions in race one. Having started from third on the grid, the driver pairing due to its FIA Silver Ranking had to pit 22 seconds longer than their Pro Am competitors and even 52 seconds longer than the all-amateur squads. In the first half of the race, Stuvik achieved a 6.7-second advantage while Rump rejoined the race after the stop in third position. He managed to overtake two rivals and went on to score victory. Their teammates, Henk Kiks and Daniel Bilski, retired after a puncture with subsequent wall contact but in the second race made perfect use of their chances. Initially, Kiks dropped to ninth place but a perfectly orchestrated pit stop during a safety car period helped the Audi R8 LMS take the lead, causing Bilski to win the race with a 1.5-second advantage. Following their third victory this season, Kiks/Bilski are leading the series before the finale at Buriram in October.
Two podiums at the Nürburgring: In round four of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, Saintéloc Racing was the strongest Audi Sport customer team. In the first of two races at the Nürburgring, Christopher Haase in an Audi R8 LMS fought a thrilling battle with two Lamborghini drivers in the final stage. Running in second place some of the time, he ultimately crossed the finish line in third position ahead of three other Audi cars with a gap of just one tenth of a second to the car in front of him. In the second race, the German Audi Sport driver and his French teammate Simon Gachet again clinched a trophy. Gachet crossed the finish line in second position and thus helped the French team clinch its third consecutive podium in this racing series. As the best Audi driver team Gachet/Haase are sitting in fourth position of the overall classification before the finale.
Class success at Shanghai: Team TKR in round three of the China Endurance Championship celebrated a class victory. Chen Bohan/Xie Peihan/Jing Zefeng/Su Yanming won the GTC class in an Audi R8 LMS at Shanghai after 4 hours and 40 minutes of racing.
Coming up next week
06–07/09 Zolder (B), rounds 13 and 14, DMV GTC
06–08/09 Hungaroring (H), rounds 9 and 10, Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe
06–08/09 Tianjin (CN), rounds 9 and 10, China GT Championship
06–08/09 Brno (CZ), rounds 11 and 12, Eset V4 Cup
07/09 Nürburgring (D), round 6, VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring
07/09 Velo Città (BR), round 5, Endurance Brasil
07–08/09 Sochi (RUS), rounds 13 and 14, TCR Russia
07–08/09 Silverstone (GB), rounds 9 and 10, International GT Open
07–08/09 Silverstone (GB), rounds 7 and 8, GT Open Cup
07–08/09 Autopolis (J), round 6, Super GT
07–08/09 Brno (CZ), rounds 14 and 15, FIA CEZ
07–08/09 Jyllandsringen (DK), rounds 11 and 12, TCR Scandinavia
08/09 Wakefield (AUS), rounds 7 and 8, CAMS NSW Production Sports Car Championship