THURSDAY 12 APRIL 2012
AUDI R8 LMS ULTRA + AMR @ 24 HOURS OF NÜRBURGRING + LE MANS

It's funny how things turn around in such a short period of time and for the better, after what looked like a gloomy oulook for the 2012 season.

The sudden and poorly commuicated exit by Hankook from their Le Mans program and impending expansion into LMP2, along with Peugeot's shock escape flooded the sportscar driver market with a bunch of out of work drivers.

It was a tough time for all.

But one must keep pushing in these tough times and for those who do, rewards do come.

That was clearly borne out with Allan, directly after the opening round of Australian GT, where he set a fresh lap record in the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 around the streets of Adelaide.

It would only be days later that Allan had found himself in the WRT Audi Customer Team for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, aboard an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

That was quickly followed by Aston Martin announcing that he's be joining the Young Driver Gulf GTE-AM Vantage for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in an all Danish line up.

Add to that his confirmation for the V8 Supercar Enduros with Steve Johnson aboard the #17 Dick Johnson Racing Falcon, a bunch of guest drives in Carrera Cup Asia and of course the regular British and Australian Ferrari 458 GT3 programs.

A great turn around.

Official Aston Martin and Audi statements, below, in italics.


Aston Martin Racing will return to production-derived motorsport at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (16/17 June) with a pair of V8-powered Vantage GTEs. Works drivers Darren Turner (GBR), Stefan Mücke (D) and Adrian Fernandez (MX) will crew the lead Vantage GTE in the GTE Pro category, while Aston Martin Racing’s long-established partner team Young Driver AMR will join forces with the factory outfit to run the second car in the GTE Am class.

The factory’s partnership with Young Driver AMR has proven highly successful in the past; six outright race wins in the fiercely competitive FIA GT1 World Championship since 2010 serves to highlight just how formidable the association has been, while the driver pairing of Turner and Mücke finished a close second in the Drivers’ standings of the same series in 2011 under Young Driver AMR’s guidance.

The decision to incorporate Young Driver AMR into the factory team for Le Mans gives 26-year-old Christoffer Nygaard the opportunity to prove his talent at sportscar racing’s highest level. 2009 Le Mans class winner Kristian Poulsen and five-time Le Mans competitor Allan Simonsen, himself a former Aston Martin racer, complete the all-Danish driver line-up for the second Vantage GTE.

John Gaw, Aston Martin Racing team principal, said: “When we last competed in the GT category at Le Mans, we dominated our class for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008. Aston Martin Racing has long been a force to be reckoned with in GT motorsport, so we’ve set ourselves typically high targets for Le Mans this year. We’re confident that our GTE Pro crew can score a strong result following its podium at the 12 Hours of Sebring in the WEC and we’re expecting Nygaard, Poulsen and Simonsen to finish on the GTE Am podium at the very least.

“I’m thrilled to welcome the Danish trio into the team. Upwards of 50,000 race fans make the pilgrimage from Denmark to Le Mans each year and I hope they will cheer us on throughout the 24 hours. Our partnership with Young Driver AMR is one of our most valued so to be teaming up for the world’s most famous race is very exciting indeed.”

Audi has selected a new strategy for the 2012 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (May 19/20). After three consecutive class victories the factory line-up this year is concentrated on Audi Sport Team Phoenix that will be putting two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars with seven seasoned endurance racers on the grid. In addition, four customer teams are relying on Audi’s updated GT3 sports car at Germany’s major endurance race.

Exclusive appearance at the home race: For the first time, Audi Sport Team Phoenix will be representing Audi’s colors at the 24-hour race in the Eifel as the only factory team. Ernst Moser’s squad based in Meuspath in the immediate vicinity of the Nürburgring is fielding two new Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. One of the vehicles will be driven by the Germans Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock. The second GT3 sports car will be shared by the Le Mans winner and Audi factory driver Marcel Fässler (CH), and the two Germans Christopher Mies and René Rast plus Frank Stippler, who has been nominated for both cars.

"2012 is marked by numerous conflicting events for Audi Sport," says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "They include the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, which coincides with the DTM round at Brands Hatch in Great Britain. We were looking for the best way to simultaneously contest both events and believe that we’ve found it. Due to its successful history at this race and the fact that it’s at home at the Nürburgring Audi Sport Team Phoenix was a logical choice for us. In combination with the customer teams, Audi is again showing a strong presence at the Nürburgring 24 Hours this year."

Beyond the factory commitment, the Audi R8 LMS ultra is proving its attractiveness as a customer sport race car in fierce competition yet again. Four teams are placing their trust in a total of five of the race cars from Audi Sport customer racing: Mamerow Racing, Raeder Motorsport, Team WRT and Audi race experience.

As long-standing Nordschleife experts, Mamerow Racing and Raeder Motorsport are bringing valuable experience to the track. Peter Mamerow’s team has clinched numerous class and overall victories at the Nürburgring endurance race. The successes achieved by the team of Martin and Nicolas Raeder last year included class victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours and a VLN overall victory with the Audi TT RS. This year, both teams are relying on the powerful GT3 sports car with the four rings for the first time. The car’s final performance rating by the regulations is still pending.

Team WRT is a newcomer to the Nürburgring, but the team of Vincent Vosse has been intimately familiar with the Audi R8 LMS for two years. Last year, it won the Spa 24 Hours and the Blancpain Endurance Series with it. In the Belgian team, Oliver Jarvis (GB) is sharing the cockpit with Andrea Piccini (I), Edward Sandström (S) and Allan Simonsen (DK).

Audi race experience is competing at the Nürburgring 24 Hours for the second time and fielding two R8 LMS ultra cars. For the first time, the team will be putting a separate line-up on the grid. One vehicle will be driven by the four international professional racers Warren Luff (AUS)/Alex Yoong (MAL)/Florian Gruber (D)/Luca Cappellari (I). In the second car, three customers of Audi race experience will be taking turns at the wheel with the three-time Le Mans winner Marco Werner.

"With Audi Sport Team Phoenix as the spearheading squad and the four customer teams Audi should be very well set for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring this year," says Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. "I’m convinced that our customers, as well, will have perfect chances of being in contention for victory with the R8 LMS ultra. At Audi Customer Sport, we will do everything to provide optimum support to the customers."