24 Hour triumph

Audi Sport customer racing and the R8 LMS have done it again, notching up a fifth win at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the race track affectionately known as the Green Hell. The #4 car driven by Pierre Kaffer, Frank Stippler, Dries Vanthoor and Frédéric Vervisch stormed home with a one lap advantage over their nearest rival, last year’s winning Porsche team. The win was Frank Stippler’s second Audi victory at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, while for his three teammates it was their first win in the 24 hour classic. 

“Sincere congratulations to the whole squad,” said Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing after the race. “We won with a unique combination of diverse factors this time. The field was not fully balanced and our rivals drove better lap times across long distances. But the impeccable and strong driving performance saved us from penalties. The new evolution of the Audi R8 LMS was running perfectly and Ernst Moser’s team once again showed that it’s top-class also in the international comparison.”

For a good portion of the race, three Audi R8 LMS teams were in the top 10 pack, with the 2017 winner from Audi Sport Team Land looking like a strong contender. But, with two hours remaining in the race, the car driven by Christopher Haase, Kelvin van der Linde, Christopher Mies and René Rast was forced to retire with a puncture.

The #14 Audi Sport Team Car Collection driven by Christopher Haase, Marcel Fässler, René Rast and Markus Winkelhock, finished just off the podium after a time penalty denied them a top three result. The privately fielded Audi R8 LMS from Phoenix Racing with Jeroen Bleekemolen, Vincent Kolb, Kim-Luis Schramm and Frank Stippler crossed the finish line in eighth place, while gentleman drivers Stefan Aust, Oliver Bender, Christian Bollrath and Jean-Louis Hertenstein claimed a remarkable 16th spot overall with Team Car Collection Motorsport. 

But it wasn’t just the Audi teams in the outright category that enjoyed a strong outing at the Nürburgring. Team Giti Tyre Motorsport by RaceIng with Rahel Frey, Bernhard Henzel, Pavel Lefterov and Frank Schmickler in an Audi R8 LMS won the SP8 class ahead of the Audi R8 LMS GT4 from Team Giti Tyre Motorsport by WS Racing with the Asian driver crew of Xiaole He, Fei Li, Yat Wong and Andy Yan. Team Bonk Motorsport scored second place in the SP 3T class in an Audi RS 3 LMS – the best TCR race car in this class, in fact of the 10 Audi Sport customer racing teams to start the race, all but one finished the gruelling event.