TT Cup 2016

Such was the outstanding success of the Audi TT Sport Cup in its first year that 2016 will see more races added and new venues this year.

In all, a total of 125 drivers from 36 countries applied for inclusion in this year’s series, with 20 permanent drives up for grabs. In addition to these, four driving spots will be reserved for special guest drivers at each of the seven rounds.

The expanded format will see an additional two races added for a total of 14 this year (two races per round), the additional round seeing participants lining up at the famed Nürburgring as part of the 24 Hour Nürburgring race weekend. The remaining six rounds will again coincide with regular DTM race weekends, a format that proved tremendously popular with race goers last year. New Project Leader Philipp Mondelaers says that the new round at the Nürburgring will certainly be a highlight, but that each round will have its own challenges for the drivers.

“I watched the inaugural year of the Audi Sport TT Cup with great interest and look forward to this new challenge and to working with the young talents,” said Mondelaers. “This year’s calendar emphasises the international character of the Audi Sport TT Cup. At Zandvoort and Budapest, we have two new tracks in our portfolio. None of the drivers has previously raced there in the Audi TT cup,” he said.

Mondelaers is excited at the prospect of the season ahead, having worked extensively in motorsport for the Audi brand in the past. His credentials include engine development for the DTM series as well as tasting success as a race engineer with the Audi Sport GT racing program, with Team Phoenix and Audi Sport Team WRT among others.

As with last year, the TT Sport Cup season will kick off in May at the DTM season opener at Hockenheim. As well as races around Germany, the 2016 will also see races in Zandvoort in the Netherlands as well as Budapest in Hungary and of course the aforementioned German highlight, the Nürburgring round at the ‘Green Hell’ before again wrapping at Hockenheim in October.

Last year, the racing exceeded all expectation and proved a true crowd favourite at each of the DTM rounds where it was featured. Young Polish driver Jan Kisiel was triumphant in last year’s series and the competition is expected to be even more fierce this year as a new wave of young drivers look to make their mark in the world of motorsport.