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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Audi Seeks Rolex 24 Crown
Veteran teams, factory drivers and heavy customer support highlight Audi’s bid for GT glory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona...
Four Audi R8 GRAND-AM cars have been entered for this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona, the only major endurance race Audi didn't win in 2012. (Photo: John Dagys)
With wins in the three 24-hour enduros at the Nurburgring, Spa and Zolder, plus top honors in the Bathurst 12 Hour, 2012 was a banner year for Audi and its R8 LMS GT3 car.
Factoring in Audi’s success in the FIA World Endurance Championship with its turbo-diesel R18 prototypes, which added to its winning record at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, the only major race that slipped away was the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
While last year’s around-the-clock enduro on the Florida high banks saw a modest two-car customer program in the Audi R8 GRAND-AM’s debut race, fast-forward 12 months and the German manufacturer has come out in full force, in quest of achieving GT glory at Daytona.
Four factory supported cars have been entered for this weekend’s Rolex 24, each running under the banner of experienced GRAND-AM squads. However, APR Motorsport, Alex Job Racing and Rum Bum Racing, the three teams running the mid-engined sports car, have benefitted from an increased level of support from Audi Sport customer racing, both on a technical and driver front.
"This is a strongly supported customer program,” said Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “We've brought our people to support every important position. It's very important for the teams. This way we can educate them as quick as possible. For every question, they will get an answer. I think it's the best way for them to learn the car and the things around the car in the most efficient way."
One of the most evident changes from last year is the transformation in the driver strength, which features a heavy presence of factory and development drivers that virtually know the R8 LMS inside-out from its success in Europe and other parts of the world.
Defending Rolex 24 class winner Rene Rast joins fellow Germans Marc Basseng and Frank Stippler and American Ian Baas in APR’s No. 52 Audi. Basseng and Stippler were part of the team’s development program last year, which saw significant gains made mid-season, culminating with a podium finish for the No. 51 car of Dion von Moltke and Dr. Jim Norman at Lime Rock Park.
"We definitely have the speed to be competitive and the team was able to put a lot of trouble-free miles on the car,” said APR Motorsport team owner Stephen Hooks following the Roar Before the Rolex 24 pre-season test at Daytona earlier this month. “Of course, we wanted to be fast and to leave as the quickest Audi is a nice bonus.
“The GT field looks like it is even more competitive than last year, but we have brought the Audi R8 GRAND-AM a long way."
Taking the lessons learned from last year, the 2013-spec Audi R8 GRAND-AM features some significant developments, including weight reduction through the use of carbon-fiber doors, improved aerodynamics, revised rear wing placement and new suspension components made specifically for U.S. circuits.
Also proving to be quick at the Roar was Alex Job Racing, which will field a R8 for Audi young guns von Moltke, Oliver Jarvis, Filipe Albuquerque and Edoardo Mortara. It was von Moltke, who drove in APR’s Audi last year, that helped connect veteran team owner Alex Job to Brad Kettler, who heads efforts for Audi Sport customer racing USA.
"It's a very well built car and we're getting a lot of support from Audi right now, which is important,” Job said. “It's obviously been hugely successful in other parts of the world but there's a certain set of challenges in this series, with the different aero package and tire package on the car, no ABS and all the other things that were designed around the GT3 car. So it's still evolving and developing but it definitely has a lot of potential."
Factoring in Audi’s success in the FIA World Endurance Championship with its turbo-diesel R18 prototypes, which added to its winning record at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, the only major race that slipped away was the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
While last year’s around-the-clock enduro on the Florida high banks saw a modest two-car customer program in the Audi R8 GRAND-AM’s debut race, fast-forward 12 months and the German manufacturer has come out in full force, in quest of achieving GT glory at Daytona.
Four factory supported cars have been entered for this weekend’s Rolex 24, each running under the banner of experienced GRAND-AM squads. However, APR Motorsport, Alex Job Racing and Rum Bum Racing, the three teams running the mid-engined sports car, have benefitted from an increased level of support from Audi Sport customer racing, both on a technical and driver front.
"This is a strongly supported customer program,” said Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “We've brought our people to support every important position. It's very important for the teams. This way we can educate them as quick as possible. For every question, they will get an answer. I think it's the best way for them to learn the car and the things around the car in the most efficient way."
One of the most evident changes from last year is the transformation in the driver strength, which features a heavy presence of factory and development drivers that virtually know the R8 LMS inside-out from its success in Europe and other parts of the world.
Defending Rolex 24 class winner Rene Rast joins fellow Germans Marc Basseng and Frank Stippler and American Ian Baas in APR’s No. 52 Audi. Basseng and Stippler were part of the team’s development program last year, which saw significant gains made mid-season, culminating with a podium finish for the No. 51 car of Dion von Moltke and Dr. Jim Norman at Lime Rock Park.
"We definitely have the speed to be competitive and the team was able to put a lot of trouble-free miles on the car,” said APR Motorsport team owner Stephen Hooks following the Roar Before the Rolex 24 pre-season test at Daytona earlier this month. “Of course, we wanted to be fast and to leave as the quickest Audi is a nice bonus.
“The GT field looks like it is even more competitive than last year, but we have brought the Audi R8 GRAND-AM a long way."
Taking the lessons learned from last year, the 2013-spec Audi R8 GRAND-AM features some significant developments, including weight reduction through the use of carbon-fiber doors, improved aerodynamics, revised rear wing placement and new suspension components made specifically for U.S. circuits.
Also proving to be quick at the Roar was Alex Job Racing, which will field a R8 for Audi young guns von Moltke, Oliver Jarvis, Filipe Albuquerque and Edoardo Mortara. It was von Moltke, who drove in APR’s Audi last year, that helped connect veteran team owner Alex Job to Brad Kettler, who heads efforts for Audi Sport customer racing USA.
"It's a very well built car and we're getting a lot of support from Audi right now, which is important,” Job said. “It's obviously been hugely successful in other parts of the world but there's a certain set of challenges in this series, with the different aero package and tire package on the car, no ABS and all the other things that were designed around the GT3 car. So it's still evolving and developing but it definitely has a lot of potential."
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