After winning the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup by Mattia Drudi/Ricardo Feller, an Audi driver, Liam Talbot, has now also prevailed in the Australian counterpart of this international series. Successes for the Audi R8 LMS GT4 and the Audi RS 3 LMS round off a good final November weekend for Audi Sport customer racing.
Audi R8 LMS GT3
Eighth title win in Australia: Liam Talbot has won the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS for the first time in a thrilling finale in Adelaide. The long-standing Audi customer competed in the sixth event of the season with Audi Sport driver Christopher Mies. In the first race, the Australian-German driver pairing in the Audi R8 LMS of the Shannons Insurance team finished second behind title rival Yasser Shahin and his teammate Matt Campbell in a Porsche. Mies improved the lap record on the street circuit by more than two seconds. Geoff Emery, who shared the cockpit of the Jamec Racing R8 LMS with Audi Sport driver Max Hofer, crossed the finish line in third place. Mies/Talbot won the second race by three and a half tenths ahead of Campbell/Shahin. Emery/Hofer took third place. Liam Talbot initially led the third race before Shahin overtook him. In the end, Shahin won with Campbell ahead of the two Audi driver pairings Emery/Hofer and Mies/Talbot. This result was enough for Liam Talbot to secure the title ahead of Geoff Emery and Shahin. After 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, this is the eighth time an Audi driver has won the championship title in Australia. The Melbourne Performance Center of Troy Russell and Lee Burley was always a guarantee for success as the team in charge. In addition to the Pro-Am title, two other classifications went to Audi: Brad Schumacher came out on top in the Am classification, while Renee Gracie prevailed in the GT Trophy.
Audi R8 LMS GT4
Class title in Portugal: Audi customer team Veloso Motorsport won two titles with the Audi R8 LMS GT4. Patrick Cunha and Jorge Rodrigues finished first and second in their class in the two races at the finale of the Supercars Endurance racing series. As a result, they won the GT4 bronze titles in Supercars Endurance as well as in the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade.
Successful season finale in French club racing: At the finale of the Ultimate Cup Series at Le Castellet, the Audi customer teams collected six trophies in their classes. Maxime Sonntag won the UGTC4A category in the Audi R8 LMS GT4 in the first 25-minute sprint ahead of Pierre Arraou in an Audi from Herrero Racing. In the second sprint, Team Speedcar again dominated its class, this time with Julien Goujat. In the third, now 50-minute race, Sonntag and Goujat shared the cockpit on their way to class victory, while Arraou finished third. In the final four-hour endurance race, third place went to the GL Racing Team and the Audi R8 LMS GT4 with the driver pairing Philippe Cosi/Ahmed Henni.
Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)
First victory of the season in Japan: Audi customer team Tamada Racing scored its first win of the year in the TCR Japan finale. Tobio Otani took over the cockpit of the Audi RS 3 LMS from team boss Seiji Tamada for the first time on the Sugo circuit. The Japanese driver already impressed in qualifying when he secured pole position. Otani confidently pulled away from his pursuers in Sunday’s race and won after 15 laps with a 6.2-second lead over the new champion Anna Inotsume in the Honda.
Second place in Estoril: Team PD Auto achieved a podium result with the Audi RS 3 LMS at the finale of the Supercars Endurance racing series in Portugal. Paulo Silva and Guilherme Silva took turns in the cockpit and finished second in the TCR category in the second 45-minute race.
Coming up next week
01–02/12 Barcelona (E), round 6, Campeonato de España Resistencia
01–02/12 Barcelona (E), round 4, TCR Spain
01–03/12 Chengdu (CN), round 4, China Endurance Championship
02/12 Sepang (MAL), round 1, Asian Le Mans Series
03/12 Sepang (MAL), round 2, Asian Le Mans Series
02–03/12 Cascavel (BR), round 10, TCR South America