Race debut

Although only debuted to the public earlier this month at Paris International Motor Show, the all-new Audi RS 3 LMS race car has already made its race debut at none other than famed Nürburgring – The Green Hell.

Taking part in the finale race of the VLN Endurance Championship, two RS 3 LMS race cars took to challenging track along with 140 other entries, finishing 17th and 22nd overall. Their faultless first race outing was obviously incredibly pleasing for all at Audi Customer Racing, particularly given that the Audis were the best in the TCR touring car class.

With Jordi Gené and Kelvin van der Linde behind the wheel in one car and Rahel Frey and Christopher Haase in the other, the Audis ran the perfect race with nary an issue around the tutors circuit.

“The results were of secondary importance in this test run,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “Far more important was the fact that both cars finished without any technical issues and that our drivers felt comfortable in difficult conditions. The successful test run on the Nordschleife was an important milestone in the development of the new Audi RS 3 LMS, with deliveries of the car beginning before the year is out.” 

The test run in the VLN finale had been preceded by several days of testing on Italian race tracks at Adria and Vallelunga, where the Audi RS 3 LMS again performed faultlessly.