Photo : JEAN MICHEL LE MEUR - DPPI

After the victories of the R8 LMS ultra at Nürburgring (19-20 May) and the R18 e-tron quattro at Le Mans (16th and 17th June), on the 28th and 29th July Audi will race at Spa-Francorchamps in an attempt to win their third 24 Hours in 2012.

Audi have entered four Audi R8 LMS ultra, entrusted to Audi Sport Team WRT, winners in 2011 (No.1 and 2) and Audi Sport Team Phoenix (n°6 and 16). This includes four winners of the '24 Heures du Mans' in R8 LMS ultra n°2 : Marcel Fässler, Tom Kristensen and André Lotterer.

Stéphane Ortelli (Vainqueur des 24 Heures du Mans en 1998 et des 24 Heures de Spa en 2003 – Audi R8 LMS ultra n°1, Audi Sport Team WRT) : "For me personally, the Le Mans 24 Hours is the most prestigious race but the Spa 24 Hours is the nicest run. I’ve won both races before and am eager to see what’s possible this year". Stéphane Ortelli will join Christopher Haase (winner of the Nürburgring 24 hours 2012 in an R8 LMS ultra) and Christopher Mies.

Marcel Fässler (Double vainqueur des 24 Heures du Mans en 2011 et 2012, vainqueur des 24 Heures de Spa en 2007 – Audi R8 LMS ultra n°6, Audi Sport Team Phoenix) : "Spa is a special event. And this year it’s very special because I’ve got André Lotterer and Tom Kristensen as team-mates. I’m extremely fond of Spa and it’s my favorite track. We know how good our R8 LMS ultra is. We want to win this race. That would be really great after the victory at Le Mans."

Tom Kristensen (Recordman des victoires au 24 Heures du Mans avec huit succès, première participation aux 24 Heures de Spa – Audi R8 LMS ultra n°6, Audi Sport Team Phoenix) :  "The abbreviation R8 has a special meaning for me. I was on board at all the victories of the R8 LMP at Le Mans and achieved five of my eight successes in it. I was also one of the first customers of the road-going version of the R8, which I didn’t acquire as a ‘company car’ but privately, and which I still own."

André Lotterer (Double vainqueur des 24 Heures du Mans en 2011 et 2012 – Audi R8 LMS ultra n°6, Audi Sport Team Phoenix) : "At Spa, I virtually grew up in racing (he grew up in Belgium ed.). When my father owned a race team I visited many of the 24-hour race events and took part in one myself in 2002. In Marcel and Tom I’ve got two top-caliber colleagues this time. And the Audi R8 LMS ultra is a strong car. I’m hoping for us to manage a good showing."

Marco Bonanomi (Troisième des 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps WEC et des 24 Heures du Mans en 2012 – Audi R8 LMS ultra n°2, Audi Sport Team WRT) :   "At Spa, I was previously on podium this year, at the second WEC round. But the differences between our Audi R18 ultra and the R8 LMS ultra are huge. The braking points for a GT3 sports car are totally different". Marco Bonanomi will be joined by Edward Sandström and Laurens Vanthoor.

The second car of Audi Sport Team Phoenix will be driven by Andrea Piccini, René Rast and Frank Stippler (winner of the Nürburgring 24 hours 2012 in an R8 LMS ultra with Christopher Haase, Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock).

Jean-Philippe Doret
(Quotes from Audi Motorsport press release)

Photo : SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS CIRCUIT (BELGIUM), SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS 6 HOURS WEC, QUALIFYING, 4th MAY 2012. After finishing fourth in the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship​​, Tom Kristensen will be back in the Belgian Ardennes on the 28th and 29th of July to compete in his first 24 Hours of Spa.