Audi R8 LMS Cup entry to contest GT Asia Series 23.05.2012: • Jeffrey Lee to contest full season as official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry • Hong Kong driver Marchy Lee to support Pro/Am entry

•    Jeffrey Lee to contest full season as official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry

•    Hong Kong driver Marchy Lee to support Pro/Am entry

•    11-race season covers Malaysia, Japan and Macau


GT Asia Series Preview

Audi is set to continue its thunderous charge across the race tracks of Asia with the announcement of an entry in the GT Asia Series with the new Audi R8 LMS ultra.


The official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry will be driven by Jeffrey Lee of Chinese Taipei in the Pro/Am category. Teaming up with Jeffrey will be Hong Kong’s Marchy Lee, a former single seater and FIA World Touring Car driver, who is now carving a name for himself in the world of sportscar competition.


The GT Asia Series calls for mandatory pit stops where driver changeovers are permitted. The impressive pairing of one of the region’s most promising up-and-coming non-professional racers, and the highly-experienced Hong Kong driver will present a powerful challenge to series regulars.


The pair will be competing in an Audi R8 LMS ultra, the latest 2012 specification version of the highly-successful GT3 racing car. The new, lighter version has increased torque, an optimized exhaust system, lower fuel consumption and a wider wing. The car will carry a similar livery to that of Audi R8 LMS Cup driver and Hong Kong star Aaron Kwok, with a distinctive Year of the Dragon design.
 

Said Rene Koneberg, Director of Audi Sport customer racing China: “Our entry in the GT Asia with the Audi R8 LMS ultra has multiple benefits. It demonstrates the versatility of our motorsport programme, both for customers and professionals, and the opportunities it offers our drivers. It also provides an opportunity to showcase the extraordinary new Audi R8 LMS ultra racing car across Asia.”


Says Jeffrey who, like Marchy, is also competing in the Audi R8 LMS Cup series, the first one-makes championship for Audi worldwide: “This is a tremendous opportunity for Marchy and I to showcase the incredible new Audi R8 LMS ultra car as we go up against some of the most established sportscar racing marques in the world.”


For Marchy too, the prospect of racing the powerful Audi GT thoroughbred on circuits in Malaysia and Japan is an exciting one: “Racing the Audi R8 LMS ultra across Asia and showing fans in Malaysia and Japan just what an extraordinary car this is, will be fantastic. Jeffrey is one of the most talented non-professional racers I have seen, and is incredibly quick. I’m really excited to be racing with him this season.”


Each GT Asia race will be 40 to 60 minutes in duration with a rolling start. Mandatory pit stops are used instead of success ballast, with the timing of each stop adjusted depending on the team’s results in the previous race. This regulation is designed to ensure season-long competition, and close up the field.


The 2012 GT Asia season gets underway at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit from May 25-27, with a second round in support of the Super GT weekend in June. Three meetings in Japan follow, at the Fuji, Suzuka and Autopolis race tracks. For the Suzuka round, which clashes with Rounds 5 and 6 of the Audi R8 LMS Cup at Inner Mongolia’s Ordos Circuit, Marchy will hand his driving duties to another sizzling talent.


The season finale will be held as part of the Macau GT Cup at November’s 59th Macau Grand Prix.


Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com



GT Asia Series 2012  Provisional Calendar



May 26-27
    Malaysian Super Series    Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia    1 & 2


June 9-10    Super GT Series
    Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia    3 & 4


July 14-15    Formula Nippon
    Fuji International Speedway, Japan    5 & 6


August 18-19    Super GT Series
    Suzuka Circuit, Japan    7 & 8


September 29-30    Super GT Series
    Autopolis International Circuit, Japan    9 & 10


November 16-18    59th Macau Grand Prix (Macau GT Cup)
    Guia Circuit, Macau, China    11

 
 
The Audi Group delivered 1,302,659 cars of the Audi brand to customers in 2011. In 2011 the Company posted revenue of €44.1 billion and an operating profit of €5.3 billion. Audi produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Győr (Hungary), Changchun (China) and Brussels (Belgium). The Audi Q7 is built in Bratislava (Slovakia). In July 2010, CKD production of the Audi Q5 was added to the existing Audi A4 and A6 manufacturing operations in Aurangabad (India).


At the Brussels plant, production of the Audi A1 has been running since May 2010, while production of the new A1 Sportback began in 2012. The Audi Q3 has been built in Martorell (Spain) since June 2011. The Company is active in more than 100 markets worldwide. AUDI AG’s wholly owned subsidiaries include AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft., Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. in Sant’Agata Bolognese (Italy), AUDI BRUSSELS S.A./N.V. in Brussels (Belgium) and quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm.


Audi currently employs around 64,000 people worldwide, including around 48,000 in Germany. Between 2012 and 2016 the brand with the four rings is planning to invest a total of €13 billion – mainly in new products and the extension of production capacities – in order to sustain the Company’s technological lead embodied in its “Vorsprung durch Technik” slogan. Audi is currently expanding its site in Győr (Hungary) and will start production in Foshan (China) in late 2013.


Audi has long been fulfilling its social responsibility on many levels – with the aim of making the future worth living for generations to come. The basis for Audi’s lasting success is therefore formed by environmental protection, the conservation of resources, international competitiveness and a forwardlooking human resources policy.


One example of AUDI AG’s commitment to environmental issues is the Audi Environmental Foundation. Under the heading of “Audi balanced mobility,” the Company is directing its activities toward a major goal – comprehensive CO2-neutral mobility.

 
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