Kristensen goes fast again with a 1:22:808 followed by Timo Scheider with a 1:23:270.
Technorati Tags: Audi, Audi A4, Audi DTM, DTM, Motorsportarena Oschersleben, Tom Kristensen, Timo Scheider
Archive for April, 2007
Wasn’t able to get this news out but a great start to the Volkswagen Racing Cup over the weekend!
The formbook was thrown out of the window for the opening rounds of the Volkswagen Racing Cup at Oulton Park today (Monday), with Joe Fulbrook claiming twin wins at the wheel of his turbocharged Bora and reigning champion Paul Taylor leaving Cheshire point-less.
Fulbrook’s first win was gifted to him when early leader Taylor crashed out, and he went on to do the double by picking his way through the debris of several accidents and excursions in tricky wet conditions.
Oulton’s rounds of the Hankook-backed series also saw two successful world motorsport debuts - for the new GT TSI Golf with its turbocharged and supercharged 1.4-litre 230 PS engine and the DSG semi-automatic Golf R32.
Fulbrook emerged a delighted but somewhat surprised victor of round one for, although his Warranty Direct-backed Bora had the legs of everyone in qualifying, it had been comprehensively outpaced at the start of the race.
Four Audi DTM stars got the opportunity to test the 650 hp Audi R10 TDI just before the 2007 DTM season opens at Hockenheim on 22 April. Mattias Ekström (28), Lucas Luhr (27), Alexandre Prémat (25) and Mike Rockenfeller (23) completed approximately 865 test miles with the revolutionary Diesel sportscar from AUDI AG during a development test for the 24 Hours of Le Mans held at the “High Tech Test Track” at Paul Ricard (South of France).
All four DTM stars were particularly impressed by the power and enormous torque produced by the V12 TDI engine during their maiden test. “The thing just takes off like a rocket in every gear,” stated the young German Mike Rockenfeller. “You get used to everything with time - but this engine is simply amazing. It’s a fantastic feeling every time you hit the throttle.”
The Frenchman Alexandre Prémat, who already has Formula 1 experience and sat for the first time in the R10 TDI on his 25th birthday, was equally impressed: “It’s incredible to see just how professionally the Audi team works. The R10 is simply unbelievable: It is a TDI, but has the power of a Formula 1 car. I’m extremely grateful that Audi gave me the opportunity to test this car. And of course it was a nice birthday present.”
Today starts the week long DTM testing at Motorsportarena Oschersleben. Tom Kristensen was on top with a 1:22 followed by Spengler with a 1:23.
The top 12 was an even split 6 Audi’s and 6 AMG’s.
More in a bit..
Technorati Tags: Audi, Audi A4, Audi DTM, DTM, Motorsportarena Oschersleben, Tom Kristensen
Tuesday, the first of the four days of testing held this week at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, represented the kick-off of the 2007 season’s first clash of Audi and Mercedes-Benz. From 10th to 13th April, the two manufacturers involved in DTM are busy testing at the circuited located in Germany’s Magdeburger Börde region - in the only official DTM tests held prior to the season. The fastest lap time was set by Audi ace Tom Kristensen in the closing minutes of the first day of testing. At the wheel of his Audi A4 DTM, the Dane lapped the 3.696-kilometre circuit in 1:22.990 minutes, thus stealing the top position on the time sheets from Bruno Spengler who had been the quickest for quite a while, with his new AMG-Mercedes C-Class. The third fastest lap was set by Daniel la Rosa with a 2006-spec AMG-Mercedes C-Class.
Behind the top three, Bernd Schneider came fourth. On his fastest lap, the five-time DTM Champion was 0.718 seconds slower than Kristensen. The fastest rookie of day one was Mike Rockenfeller. With his 2006-spec Audi A4 DTM, the new Audi signing finished sixth behind his brand-mate Timo Scheider. Adam Carroll - who has not yet been officially confirmed as Team Futurecom TME driver - impressed by finishing seventh, at the wheel of the 2005-spec Audi. The top ten were completed by Alex Margaritis, Paul di Resta and Christian Abt. The only woman contesting the first day of the Oschersleben tests, Susie Stoddart, finished eleventh, with Martin Tomczyk having to settle for twelfth and last place.
The biggest number of laps was completed by reigning DTM Champion Bernd Schneider who covered a total of 155 laps, representing a mileage of 572.88 kilometres, with his fellow Mercedes-Benz driver Spengler having covered a total mileage of 491.568 kilometres (133 laps).
- DTM
Technorati Tags: Audi, Audi A4, Audi DTM, DTM, Motorsportarena Oschersleben, Tom Kristensen
Audi took the next step in its preparations for Le Mans with a 30-hour test Friday at Paul Ricard.
The 2007 version of the Audi R10 TDI, which won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring last month in the opening round of the American Le Mans Series, completed a 30-hour test last Friday at Paul Ricard in France. Three of the diesel-powered prototypes have been invited to the 75th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
The R10 TDI is unbeaten in the American Le Mans Series at 9-0 including wins at Sebring and St. Petersburg to start the season. The car also won in its Le Mans debut last season. The next challenge for the diesel prototype is this weekend’s Grand Prix of Long Beach in Southern California.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach, Round 3 of the 2007 American Le Mans Series, is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 14. SPEED will provide same-day broadcast coverage from 8 to 10:30 p.m. ET. MotorsTV in Europe, SPEED Latin America and 7TV in Russia will carry the race live. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA’s Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.
Technorati Tags: Audi, Audi TDI, Audi R10 TDI, Audi R10, Paul Ricard, Le Mans, Grand Prix of Long Beach, American Le Mans Series
I should have some pictures for everyone from the test at Motorsportarena Oschersleben this week. Keep checkin back or grab the RSS feed.
- Global players involved in the DTM
- All Audi A4 DTM cars with new designs
- First public appearance at Oschersleben test
The three Audi factory teams Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg enter the 2007 DTM season, which starts on 22 April at Hockenheim, with strong partners. The Audi A4 DTM cars can be seen sporting their new designs for the first time in public at the DTM test days at the Motorsportarena Oschersleben from Tuesday to Friday this week. The official presentation to open the season is held on Sunday on the “Kö” in Dusseldorf.
Audi Sport has gained the support of four global players for its involvement in the most popular international touring car race series: Philips, Red Bull, the Schaeffler Group and Siemens. The two large media partners AutoBild and Playboy are also on board. Furthermore, several subsidiary brands of AUDI AG use the DTM’s enormous popularity to promote their products and services. In 2007, these are the Audi Bank, Audi Gebrauchtwagen:plus, Audi Top Service and quattro GmbH.
The two Audi A4 DTM cars of Mattias Ekström (Sweden) and Martin Tomczyk (Germany) compete - as they have since 2004 - in the colours of Red Bull, market leader in the energy drink sector. This year’s blue is significantly darker than in previous years coming in line with the global motorsport programme of Red Bull.
Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen (Denmark), last season’s most successful Audi driver in the DTM, steers again an Audi A4 DTM, which, as in 2006, bares the logos of electronic concern Siemens. The colour of the car is now silver instead of white.
Philips, a global leading technology concern, uses the white Audi A4 DTM driven by German Lucas Luhr to advertise its Flat Screen TVs equipped with Ambilight background lighting.
Sponsors of the now flat-black A4 raced by Christian Abt (Germany) are, as last year, the men’s lifestyle magazine Playboy and the AUDI AG Gebrauchtwagen:plus programme.
The car raced by Timo Scheider (Germany), which was unveiled at the “Audi Motorsport Launch & Lounge” in Munich at the beginning of March, is also flat-black and promotes the Audi brands Gebrauchtwagen:plus and Audi Top Service.
DTM new boy Mike Rockenfeller (Germany) lines up in a red A4 DTM. The youngest Audi factory driver gets support from the quattro GmbH and its S line sport kits and also Europe’s largest car magazine AutoBild.
The Frenchman Alexandre Prémat, who, like Luhr and Rockenfeller, contests his first DTM season, displays Audi Bank on his silver-gold A4.
The Schaeffler Group, a development partner and production supplier for Audi, has extended its involvement and uses the DTM for the first time this year as platform for all three concern brands (LuK, INA and FAG). The Schaeffler Group will be present on the cars of Mattias Ekström and Mike Rockenfeller.
Further Audi Sport partners in the 2007 DTM are Eibach Springs, O.Z. Racing (wheels) and PTC (Software Solutions).
Technorati Tags: Audi, Audi A4, Audi DTM, DTM, Motorsportarena Oschersleben
Both the Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion and Audi TT missed out on two other awards at the 2007 WCOTY Awards.
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion was up for the 2007 WORLD GREEN CAR which was won by the MB E320 BLUETECH.
The Audi TT was up for the 2007 WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR which was won by the LEXUS LS460.
I’m glad the TT won in the design category rather than this and feel other Audi models would have fit better here. 2 out of 3 isn’t bad.
Now on the Polo loss, I’m not sure why exactly except that the Polo is a much smaller car with a different audience.. who knows.. I feel it should have one and I’ve seen polls where others thought the same.
Autoblog article: New York Auto Show: VW forbidden fruit on the floor
Technorati Tags: VW, Volkswagen, Polo, BlueMotion, Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion, WCOTY, “World Car of the Year”, “World Green Car of the Year”
Very nice! This a beautiful, exhilarating car. I personally have not driven but have experienced one first hand with a pro driver at the wheel. I had to go to the ER after to get my neck in a brace!
My friend, Smash now has my White RS4 in his stable.. Since this is the “performance” award, here’s a shot of his RS4 taped and ready for track action! I used one of his shots here. *If you don’t know why, it’s like a bra made out of painters tape. Keeps the rock chips from happening and easy removal.
Here’s a vid of smash sliding around in snow
At a press conference presented by the MIDWAY GROUP and hosted by the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javitz Centre in Manhattan, New York, the Audi RS4 was declared the 2007 World Performance Car.
The Audi RS4 was chosen from an initial entry list of seventeen (17) contenders nominated by World Car jurors from 22 countries throughout the world.
While the winner of the overall World Car of the Year award must excel in a broad range of attributes, there is a segment of the car-buying public for whom performance - in its broadest sense - overrides all other priorities. Vehicles appealing to that clientele may be too narrowly focused to appeal to the masses, but it is an important element in the overall automotive mix. It is for that reason that we created the World Performance Car award in 2005.
Candidates for the World Performance Car award must demonstrate a specific and overt Sports/Performance orientation. They must also satisfy the same availability criteria as for the overall award and may be chosen from that list of eligible vehicles.
Additional entrants may include newly introduced variants that satisfy the same criteria, but are derived from existing rather than brand-new models. In all cases, they must have a minimum annual production rate of 1000 vehicles.
The jurors voted in January 2007 in order to establish a top ten shortlist. The 2007 World Performance Car was chosen from those finalists as tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG.
WCOTY’s jurors loved the RS4, which is the virtual definition of a sports sedan. With its quattro all-wheel-drive system it puts its 420 high-tech horsepower to the ground with confidence, and it can be tossed around an obstacle course with abandon. The Audi build quality is beyond reproach and for all its high-performance capability, the RS4 can be absolutely docile when that is what is called for, making it a true dual-purpose car, suitable for everyday family use as well as track days. The very best part, however, is the wonderful roar it emits when you put your right foot down.
The top three contenders for the third annual World Performance Car in addition to the Audi RS4 were the BMW 335i and the Porsche 911 Turbo.
“We are honoured to receive the World Performance Car of the Year award for the Audi RS 4,” said Johan De Nysschen, Executive Vice President of Audi of America, on accepting the award. “Over the past few years, Audi has emerged as a serious sports car brand and RS models have played an important role in this development. So we are delighted that the World Car of the Year jurors view the RS 4 as the very definition of a sports sedan.”
wcoty.com | World Car of the Year Awards
Technorati Tags: Audi, Audi RS4, WCOTY, “World Car of the Year”, “World Performance Car of the Year”
Not sure how or why I missed these PR’s but..
At a press conference presented by the MIDWAY GROUP and hosted by the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javitz Centre in Manhattan, New York, the Audi TT was declared the 2007 World Car Design of the Year.
The Audi TT was chosen from an initial entry list of twenty-eight (28) contenders nominated by World Car jurors from 22 countries throughout the world.
Style sells. No matter how rational a buyer’s approach to a new car purchase may be, the ultimate decision is typically based as much on emotion as on reason – perhaps more so. Nothing evokes that emotion more strongly than the vehicle’s appearance, be it a sports car or a minivan or anything in between. Good design knows no boundaries or borders, which is why we established an award for the World Car Design of the Year in 2005.
The World Car Design of the Year category, and the corresponding award, is meant to highlight new vehicles with innovation and style that push established boundaries.
All vehicles eligible for the overall award are also eligible for the Design award. A global panel of acknowledged design experts reviewed all the entries and established a short-list of five vehicles that demonstrate design excellence, from which the overall jury made the final selection.
The four design experts were:
• Silvia Baruffaldi: Managing Editor, Auto & Design magazine• Peter Brock: designer, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe.
• Robert Cumberford: design critic, Automobile and Auto & Design magazines
• Akira Fujimot Editor-in-Chief, Car Styling magazine.
WCOTY jurors lauded the new TT’s design with its flared wheel-arches, signature Audi grille, and sleek silhouette. While there is a clear connection to the original TT’s bauhaus styling, the second-generation model evolves it into a more modern form. Beyond its distinctive bubble canopy and aggressive nose, there are also significant changes inside. From the driver’s seat it is clear that the firm has worked hard to offer a more spacious, driver-focused cabin, and that Audi’s celebrated build quality prevails.
The top three contenders for the third annual World Car Design of the Year in addition to the Audi TT were the Citroen C4 Picasso and the Fiat Grande Punto.
“We are very pleased to receive the World Car Design of the Year award for the new Audi TT,” said Johan De Nysschen, Executive Vice President of Audi of America, on accepting the award. “The iconic status of the original TT was at the heart of every discussion about its successor. We decided to create a new TT that was thoroughly modern, but that did not make the original look outdated. This award shows that we got the balance just right.”
wcoty.com | World Car of the Year Awards
Technorati Tags: Audi, Audi TT, WCOTY, “World Car of the Year”, “World Car Design of the Year”
