Audi Celebrates Fifth Win of the 24 Hours of Nurburgring
Latest win at the ‘Ring is Audi’s fifth overall since 2012, R8 LMS holds 13 top finishes on the podium in 24-hour races.
Audi and endurance racing have gone hand in hand for a long time. How can anyone forget the diesel and hybrid LMP1 cars of the mid-2000s through the mid-2010s? And of course, Audi’s GT efforts shouldn’t be ignored, either, all centered around the R8 LMS. Through two generations and a handful of evolutions for each one, the race-version of the R8 has taken more than its share of trophies over the years.
Today, one more trophy can be added, as Audi once again triumphs in the part-endurance race, part-carnival of speed that is the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.
The win by the Audi Sport Team Phoenix quartet of Pierre Kaffer, Frank Stippler, Dries Vanthoor, and Frédéric Vervisch in the No. 4 R8 LMS is the fifth win for Audi at the ‘Ring since 2012. The R8 LMS itself has participated in 11 24-hour events at the famed circuit since Audi’s customer program began in 2009, resulting a 45% win rate. Finally, Team Phoenix scored its fifth win since 2000, and its third with Audi since 2012.
Speaking of 2009, the R8 LMS has overall won 13 endurance racing victories since the program began, including two with the 2019 evolution model at Dubai and, of course, the Nurburgring. Vervisch also took home a pair of second-place spots in the FIA World Touring Car Cup support race at the ‘Ring, all behind the wheel of the RS 3 LMS.
There’s also nothing better than achieving a victory at a given race for the first time. Vervisch, Vanthoor and Kaffer won their first N24 this year, while Stippler did it for Audi’s first win in 2012. But there’s even one more way to top that: by winning your first-ever 24-hour race, which Team Phoenix race engineer Sébastien Breuil did with the help of his drivers.
This particular R8 LMS, named ‘Lucie,’ has been in a couple of N24s thus far, along with several other endurance races like the Spa 24 and the California 8 Hours. Vanthoor was among the drivers piloting the car in 2018 edition at the ‘Ring, then for Audi Sport Team WRT, only for his and the car’s day to end in an accident while lapping another competitor.
Finally, it doesn’t matter how many laps you lead, so long as you lead the one that counts. The R8 LMS was among four cars exchanging leads during the N24, which occurred only six times. The Audi claimed its place at the top for the final 16 laps, leading to that fifth win upon Germany’s iconic circuit.
Photos: Audi
