VAG Division – Volkswagen Group Car Club

Wolfsburg/Stuttgart: The much sought-after ‘Engine of the Year Award’ has been won by Volkswagen. Entered in the competition this year was Volkswagen’s new 1.4-litre TSI engine and it won not only in the 1 to 1.4-litre category, but also took the overall award as ‘International Engine of the Year’. There to accept the prize at the ceremony in Stuttgart yesterday was Dr. Rüdiger Szengel, Head of Volkswagen Petrol Engine Development.

Dr. Szengel said: ‘I and the entire Volkswagen development team are extremely proud to receive this major international prize in the overall category for the second year in succession for the 1.4 twincharger. The combination of compressor and turbocharging provides an excellent basis for combining driving pleasure and low fuel consumption – all achieved with a relatively small engine capacity of 1.4-litres.’

Dean Slavnich, editor of organising magazine Engine Technology International and co-chair of the 72-strong international judging panel of esteemed motoring journalists, commented: ‘It is a fantastic achievement for Volkswagen to have won the award for a second consecutive year, and it demonstrates that engine downsizing is very much here to stay. We’ve seen more new engines launched into the market than ever before in the Awards’ history, and the vast majority of them were below 1.8 litres. That Volkswagen’s clever 1.4litre twincharger is still proclaimed by the judges as the best engine on sale in the world today demonstrates the class of this highly refined trend setter.’

Volkswagen leads the way globally in the strategy of charging using direct injection and with these powerful engines covers the model range from Polo all the way to the Passat CC. The new Sharan will also be available with a 1.4-litre twincharger and powered by the 110 kW / 150 PS high-tech petrol engine consumes just 7.2 litres of fuel per 100 km (39.2 mpg).

Allan McNish steered his diesel engined Audi home in to third place after a spirited recovery in the Le Mans 24 Hour race which ended today (13 June) as the German manufacturer scored a dominant 1-2-3 result.

German Timo Bernhard and Mike Rockenfeller plus Romain Dumas, of France, claimed Audi’s ninth Le Mans race win since its début in 1999 – their Audi R15 TDI setting a new distance record of 3,361-miles in the 78th running of the historic event in France.

“It’s an unbelievable result because we didn’t have the outright pace of Peugeot,” commented McNish. “But Audi had the efficiency and reliability plus the team, structure, drivers and engineers that knew from experience, how to win here.”

Audi’s fourth 1-2-3 victory at Le Mans after 2000, 2002 and 2004, completed at an average speed of 139.95mph, was a supreme combination of TDI turbo diesel efficiency and reliability but less than five hours in to the twice-around-the-clock marathon, the race had turned against former two-time race winner McNish.

The 40-year-old Scotsman, driving a latest specification Audi R15 TDI with Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello – Audi’s previous Le Mans winners from two years ago – ultimately recovered to claim a “podium” position after losing three laps and dropping from being the highest-placed Audi in fourth to eighth.

McNish had started sixth on the 55-car grid and was up to fourth when after almost 4½hrs, co-driver Kristensen came across a slow-moving car which moved across in front of him.

Allan added: “Tom had to take avoiding action of a slow, wounded car that drifted across on him. TK ended up in the gravel having also lightly touched the guard rail. He was towed out of the trap and got the car back to the pits for repairs. In all we lost around three laps – the distance we finished behind our winning team-mates . . .”

The Bernhard (29/Germany)/Dumas (32/France)/Rockenfeller Audi finished one-lap ahead of the “sister” R15 TDI of Marcel Fässler (34/Switzerland)/André Lotterer (29/Germany)/Benoît Treluyer (23/France) with the McNish/Kristensen/Capello Audi third, a further two laps adrift.

“I’ve not been involved in a Le Mans like this one in my 10 previous starts here! It turned on its head two or three times. The result of our car was obviously dictated by Tom’s incident which was frustrating. But our fight back was intense and we can all be very proud – but that doesn’t mean to say that we can forget about the performance of our ‘French friends’ as we now must focus on the Intercontinental Cup which begins at Silverstone in September.”

Meanwhile Le Mans débutant Oliver Jarvis, from Cambridge, who shared his “customer” Audi R10 TDI with Christian Bakkerud (Den) and Christijan Albers (NED), started from the seventh row and lay a commendable seventh with three hours to run but a mechanical problem when seventh caused the car’s retirement in the closing stages.

Advanced recognition software allows customers to fully explore a three-dimensional virtual A1 in Audi Centres and at home

Audi Centres nationwide take delivery of ‘Augmented Reality’ kiosks that enable customers to closely examine the A1 before ‘physical’ showroom demonstrators arrive in the autumn
By downloading special software from www.audi.co.uk and printing out a ‘MagicSymbol’ the same special effects can be replicated at home on webcam-equipped computers.
Followers of the eagerly anticipated Audi A1 compact hatchback are now free to explore miniaturised 3D ‘virtual’ versions of the car in near ‘photo real’ quality in Audi Centres across the country, and even at home, long before the first full size cars hit showrooms.

Bringing to life the next best thing to the ‘physical’ A1, the first examples of which will reach the UK in the autumn, the innovative ‘Augmented Reality’ web-based recognition technology enables customers to interact with a 3D ‘photo-real’ version of the car. Users simply hold up a special ‘MagicSymbol’ printed in the A1 brochure or downloadable from the internet, and the technology recognises this and merges an A1 model into real footage in real-time. The technology has been developed by interactive 3D content specialist Inition, and is delivered via touch screen installations positioned in every Audi Centre.

The campaign is supported by an online version which enables users to download the application at home, print out the ‘MagicSymbol’ and use a webcam to interact with the A1. Users can rotate the car, expand or contract it, roll it forwards and backwards and pan right into the interior by simply moving the magic symbol pad in relation to the web cam.

The technology will enable customers to get a real ‘feel’ for the A1, which has been designed to deliver all that the Vorsprung durch Technik brand stands for in a concentrated form. The more compact and city-friendly three-door premium hatchback benefits from the same world renowned quality standards, sophisticated design details and leading edge technological advances found throughout the Audi range. SE, Sport and S line versions became available for UK order on May 6 priced at between £13,145 OTR and £18,280 OTR, and the first examples will reach Audi Centres in October.

Inside, as out, the look and feel of the A1 uses larger Audi models as a template, and it also employs much of their on-board technology. This includes the latest, ultra-efficient TDI and TFSI engines backed up by start-stop and recuperation systems, state-of-the-art ESP with a new electronic differential lock and convenience features such as the optional Multi Media Interface (MMI) infotainment system.

First automaker to develop app specially for iPad
Free download in iTunes Store coming soon
Wolfsburg, May 28, 2010 – Volkswagen has become the first automaker to develop a digital customer magazine as an app specially for the iPad. The innovative digital product which goes by the name of ‘DAS.’ lines up in good time for the launch of the new Apple product in Europe. The title stands for “Digital Automotive Space”. The magazine will be published quarterly in five languages and will be accessible throughout Europe.

“DAS. is an important building block in Volkswagen’s digital marketing strategy and gives us the opportunity for an interactive dialog with our customers. Our goal is to transmit the fascination of the brand and its products in a new digital dimension, creating a global experience,” Luca de Meo, Head of Marketing at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said at the launch of the iPad app.

The app specially developed for the iPad transforms the user into a player who can enjoy the magazine’s themes in an innovative virtual reality using the familiar functions of the iPhone.

Five chapters tell stories from the Volkswagen world. Volkswagen makes comprehensive use of the iPad’s digital potential. The 360° images, for example, give the user a realistic impression of technical features on the Volkswagen Touareg such as “Area View”.

In addition, an internet version of DAS. will be published from the end of June. It will then also be possible to integrate content in social networks such as Facebook.

Britain’s Oliver Jarvis will make his Le Mans 24 Hour endurance sportscar race début at the wheel of a diesel-engined Audi next month (12-13 June).

The 26-year-old from Burwell, Cambridge, drives an Audi R10 TDI alongside Christian Bakkerud (Denmark) and Christophe Bouchut (France) – a car that scored a “hat-trick” of wins in the twice-around-the-clock French race between 2006-08 – for the Audi “customer” team Kolles.

“It will be a huge honour to compete at Le Mans driving an Audi,” confirmed Audi DTM “factory” driver Jarvis.

“I’m fully focussed on the DTM but in the future the sports car category, and in particular Le Mans, is what I would like to be involved in so this opportunity, although coming very late in terms of this year’s event, will be a valuable experience for the future.”

Jarvis will face stern competition from the three-car “factory” Audi and Peugeot teams utilising the latest diesel technology compared to his R10 TDI that made its début in 2006 and which Oliver has only raced on two previous occasions in two races held on consecutive days at Okayama in Japan.

Oliver continued: “I raced the Audi R10 TDI for the first and only time in two Asian Le Mans Series races at Okayama last year, finishing third and fifth in the three-hour races, but racing at Le Mans will be a massive challenge for me. It will be a completely new experience because the races in Japan were staged on a short, twisting track which is completely different to the ultra-fast, flowing Le Mans circuit.

“My aim for Le Mans will be to finish the race. The ‘factory’ Audi and Peugeot cars have taken a real step forward so it will impossible to fight with them while the petrol engined cars of Aston Martin, Oreca, Acura [Honda] and Rebellion will all be very quick so to make the top-10 will be a very tough challenge although the Kolles Audi cars achieved seventh and ninth positions last year.”

Jarvis has been competing in the DTM for Audi since 2008 after a career in single-seater “formula” racing and is eagerly looking forward to his first taste of the 8.47-mile Le Mans track.

Oliver added: “A number of Audi drivers have done both [DTM and sports cars] including of course Le Mans record race winner, Tom Kristensen, in recent years. I love racing so the more races I can take part in the better.

“Coming through the ‘junior’ single-seater categories, I didn’t follow Le Mans closely but after joining Audi, I soon realized its importance. I went to last year’s race as a spectator and that in itself was a great experience but to be racing there this year will be an absolute thrill.

“The track is extremely quick and looks very challenging – I can’t wait for my first taste!”

The Audi R10 TDI that Jarvis will drive is powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre, V12 diesel engine and powered Allan McNish to victory in the 2008 Le Mans race – McNish becoming the first British driver to ever win the gruelling French marathon in a diesel-powered sportscar. Oliver is at Paul Ricard (France) this week testing the Kolles R10 TDI this week.

Range-topping Polo GTI revs up for Millbrook
Scirocco and Golf R models are rrready to go!
While Volkswagen may be unable to match the intrigue surrounding former employee Wayne Bruce’s appearance at the SMMT Test Day at Millbrook on Thursday, it is pleased to be offering its own brand of excitement by showcasing the latest line-up of performance models. That’s cars rather than people.

Visitors to the event will have the chance to sample the Scirocco and Golf R as well as, in left-hand drive form only, the new Polo GTI which is set to come to the UK later this year.

The new GTI model sits at the top of the Polo range. It uses a twin-charged 1.4-litre TSI engine which produces 180 PS and yet is still capable of delivering 47 mpg on the combined cycle while emitting just 139 g/km of CO2. The TSI engine is linked to a compact seven-speed, twin-clutch DSG gearbox that channels drive through the front axle. A host of technical enhancements over the standard Polo as well as wide-ranging aesthetic changes inside and out complete the package, making the Polo GTI every inch the perfect little brother to its successful Golf sibling.

The Polo GTI is now available to order in the UK, with the first customer deliveries expected to take place in July. The three-door model costs £18,275 (RRP OTR) with a £600 premium for the five-door version.

At the heart of the Scirocco R is a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine which has been substantially modified to produce 265 PS and 258 lbs ft of torque – a rise of 55 PS and 51 lbs ft over the previous range-topping Scirocco, the 2.0-litre TSI model. In addition a new front differential lock, braking system, gearbox, spring and damper rates and revised styling both inside and out help the new R model to be not only the fastest Scirocco ever produced but also the most responsive. Yet despite a keen focus on dynamics the Scirocco R remains viable for everyday use with all the comfort, safety, quality and refinement you would expect from a Volkswagen with the ability to seat four adults in comfort while retaining a good-sized boot.

The Golf R is the most powerful and fastest accelerating Golf ever produced. Like the Scirocco R, it’s developed by Volkswagen R, formerly known as Individual, the special projects wing of Volkswagen, and following on from the Mk IV and Mk V Golf R32 models, the Golf R is equipped with a 2.0-litre TSI four-cylinder engine developing 270 PS and a new four-wheel drive system. Compared to the standard Golf on which it’s based, the Golf R has a revised engine, four-wheel drive system, springs, dampers, anti-roll bars and braking system as well as modified traction control, exhaust system, body styling including new bumpers, front and rear lights, sill extensions, wheels and mirrors.

As far as exciting Volkswagen people are concerned, Paul, Nicki, Angus and Kate will complete the performance-led line up and look forward to welcoming visitors to the stand.

Škoda named ‘Best Car Manufacturer’ at the 2010 Which? awards
Voted for by Which? car test team, Which? members
Škoda has been awarded the top spot at the 2010 Which? awards winning the prestigious title of ‘Best Car Manufacturer’.

Škoda’s trumped the competition, beating even premium brands to be crowned Best Car Manufacturer.

The accolade was given to Škoda as an acknowledgement of the quality of its products, the great value for money and high standard of customer care that the brand offers. The Which? car test team and Which? members have all been impressed with Škoda’s reliability, customer care and the quality of its dealerships.

Chief Executive of Which?, Peter Vicary-Smith, who presented the award said: “Skoda is a car company ideally suited to the times, as people demand more but want to pay less. It offers a great range of reasonably-priced, well-built cars.”

Editor of Which? Car, Richard Headland added, “People might know Skoda as a purveyor of value, but what they might not know is that this brand should be equally recognised for its quality of product, its reliability and its excellent dealer network.”

Škoda UK Director, Robert Hazelwood, commented: “We’re really pleased to win this award. It shows just how highly Which? rates our products and service. We’re very proud of the excellent engineering and great value in every one of our cars, and pleased that Which? has recognised the outstanding personal service our retailers give their customers.”

Škoda manufactures five models in its range: the Fabia supermini with its new sport vRS version; the family carrier Roomster; the Octavia range, including estate Scout and vRS versions, the Superb and new Superb Estate; and the Yeti crossover.

Reinforcing the ‘Unbelievable value’ message of its latest marketing campaign, Volkswagen is adding a new model to the Golf line-up. Using the familiar Match name, the new variant replaces the SE trim level, and adds over £1,600 worth of extra equipment while costing just £300 more than the outgoing car. The Match also comes with the newly-available option of a 140 PS BlueMotion Technology model for added economy and performance.

On top of the SE’s already generous specification which includes, among other items, ABS, ESP, seven airbags, Climatic air conditioning, alarm, cruise control and multi-device interface for connectivity to iPod or MP3 player, the Match adds unique 16-inch ‘Croft’ alloy wheels, a leather multifunction steering wheel, DAB digital radio receiver, Bluetooth system, front and rear parking sensors and an RCD 510 touchscreen stereo with six-disc CD autochanger.

The built-in Bluetooth and multifunction steering wheel ensures making and taking a call on the move is easy and safe. The factory-fitted fully integrated system makes use of the RCD 510’s five-inch touchscreen to display information at the press of a button, while its hands-free profile compatibility means it can be twinned with more phones than previously, including Blackberry and iPhone.

The new Match model is available with the same engines as the outgoing SE trim. This means customers can choose from a 1.4-litre TSI petrol with 122 PS, a 1.6-litre TDI 105 PS or a 2.0-litre TDI with 140 PS. Both the petrol and the 1.6-litre TDI are offered with Volkswagen’s seven-speed DSG gearbox, while the 2.0-litre TDI can be specified with the six-speed DSG option.

An efficient BlueMotion Technology Match model is also available with the 1.6-litre TDI 105 PS returning 68.9 mpg on the combined cycle and emitting 107 g/km of carbon dioxide. New for the Match is a BlueMotion Technology model in combination with the popular 2.0-litre TDI 140 PS unit. This offers customers a combined fuel economy of 65.7 mpg and CO2 emissions of only 114 g/km and, as such, is likely to appeal to fleet customers who will benefit from BIK tax advantages as well as environmentally conscious drivers who don’t want to compromise on performance. The BlueMotion Technology models’ enhanced economy comes as a result of a Start/Stop system and battery regeneration.

Adding to the value proposition is the option of a three-year/30,000 mile £250 fixed price servicing deal which saves customers money as well as giving them peace of mind against routine servicing costs.

Ordering for the new Golf Match opens today with prices starting at £17,730 RRP OTR for the 1.4-litre TSI three-door. The first customer deliveries will start at the end of June. For full details, visit www.volkswagen.co.uk. To view the new Golf price list, please click here www.volkswagenpressoffice.co.uk/Price_Lists/golf_VI_prices_may10.pdf.

With production-based and, at the same time, innovative technology mastered the world’s hardest circuit race: In front of 220,000 spectators Volkswagen clinched a one-two-three podium lockout in the class for cars with alternative power in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. With an excellent 16th place overall Vanina Ickx (Belgium), factory driver Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar), Dieter Depping (Germany) and Klaus Niedzwiedz (Germany) celebrated class victory in front of the two sister cars. The three Bio Natural Gas powered sport coupés completed the race, dominated by many retirements, with their customary reliability. Volkswagen fields the Scirocco in the marathon since 2008 – without a single mechanically related retirement.

Green through the “green hell”: 100 per cent reliability with 80 per cent less CO2

Thanks to its class victory with the powerful 330 hp Scirocco GT24-CNG with its green heart Volkswagen also celebrated winning the FIA Alternative Energy Cup, which was awarded for the first time after the motorsport marathon in the Eifel. In 2009 Volkswagen took a one-two in the class for cars with alternative power. For the first time in 2010 in the “green hell” the Wolfsburg based automobile brand used combustion engines powered by Bio Natural Gas, which allow up to an 80 per cent overall reduction of CO2 emissions. Bio Natural Gas is extracted from biomass as well as regenerative raw materials and is climate neutral in its manufacture.

Production based technology proves itself in the greatest circuit racing challenge

Volkswagen relies on production-based technology for many of the vehicle components used during the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Among other components, the popular six-speed double clutch gearbox DSG as well as the unchanged electro-mechanical steering, which perform thier duties day for day in the many street cars produced by the Volkswagen Group. The three teams could rely on the excellent reliability of thier Volkswagen down to the last metre in the world’s toughest circuit race.

Scirocco GT24-CNG fastest front-wheel drive car

It was not only the reliability of the Volkswagen Scirocco GT24-CNG that was a benefit – also its speed. The sports coupé powered by a two-litre turbo engine also completed the fastest race lap for a front-wheel drive car with a time of 9m 04.710s – the record time was set by Nicki Thiim in the “Junior” car. However, the team Jimmy Johansson (Sweden), Peter Terting (Kempten), Florian Gruber (Aham), Nicki Thiim (Denmark) were prevented from claiming a better overall result due to a bout of bad luck: After being an innocent victim in an accident the Scirocco’s rear axle had to be changed and the wheel alignment re-set, two damaged driveshafts cost additional valuable time. With the consistency of a clock the team of Ickx/Al

Attiyah/Niedzwiedz/Depping jumped into the breach in the fight for an excellent position that ended with 16th position from approximately 200 starters – and ahead of many considerably more powerful sportscars as a result. The Juniors reached the finish in 51st place overall. The Scirocco driven by Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen with responsibility for Technical Development, the Head of Volkswagen Suspension Development Prof. Dr. Stefan Gies and also the journalists Bernd Ostmann (Stuttgart) and Peter Wyss (Switzerland) took 72nd position.

Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
“Three years with the Scirocco, three class victories in succession. Volkswagen has once again proven its reliability and efficiency. I’m incredibly proud and happy for the entire team, especially as the 24-hour race was such a huge challenge this year. We won the class with Bio Natural Gas, which is the most environmentally friendly fuel, and taken good positions in the overall classification. We also showed what distinguishes the Scirocco: to be solid, fast and sporty.”

#116 – Scirocco GT24-CNG – silver branding – 3rd place Class AT
Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg (D): “To finish this tough race in the top 20 positions with all three Scirocco is a great success. Mobility with regenerative fuel is winning increasingly on importance and it was the correct decision to compete with Bio Natural Gas as alternative power. In addition, we gave a great show and won the hearts of many people. A great compliment to our team: You feel that the team gelled during the ‘Dakar’ events and sets about its work in a concentrated manner whatever the situation.”

#117 – Scirocco GT24-CNG – red branding – 1st place Class AT
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q): “The 24-hour race was a completely new challenge for me and I’m happy to have been a part of this fantastic team. The result is also perfect, although with a little more luck we could have been even better. However, this is also a part of this fantastic race and I hope to be able to return in 2011 with Volkswagen. It was a little too cold for me – but it was quite simply a fantastic experience.”

#118 – Scirocco GT24-CNG – yellow branding – 2nd place Class AT
Jimmy Johansson (S): “After three successful years with three class victories in succession our Junior Team had a difficult 24-hour race with some bad luck. This shows that in addition to a fantastic team you also need some luck during such a tough race. Nevertheless, we demonstrated the potential of the Scirocco GT24-CNG after posting the fastest lap for a front-wheel drive. More specifically though, that sporting dynamic and environmental awareness go hand-in-hand perfectly with one another.”

PhoenixRacing wins the GT3 class in the 24h race
No luck during the race in fight for overall victory
Only two of the seven Audi R8 LMS on the grid make the finish
Ingolstadt/Nürburg, May 16, 2010 – The Audi R8 LMS remains as best in class in the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife: Also during its second outing in the “green hell”, the world’s longest and toughest race track, the mid-engine sportscar crossed the finish line as winner of the GT3 class (SP9).

With third place overall in Phoenix Racing’s Audi LMS R8 Marc Bronzel (Siek), Luca Ludwig (Roisdorf), Dennis Rostek (Porta Westfalica) and Markus Winkelhock (Berglen) presented the team with an unexpected surprise since this quartet did not even number among the favourites before the race started. The conservative and mechanically easy going driving style of the Phoenix squad, however, paid dividends: The Audi R8 LMS with start number 97 ran – apart from a small electrical problem during the opening stages – with the smallest technical problem.

Of particular note was the performance of DTM driver Markus Winkelhock, who, after only landing a drive in the Phoenix team at the last moment, drove consistently fast lap times without any experience of the Nordschleife and in the closing stages convincingly defended the class lead. “The Audi R8 LMS and this race were great fun,” beamed the Swabian following his successful Nordschleife debut. “It was a fantastic experience. My thanks go to Phoenix Racing who did a fantastic job. I’m speechless that I managed to finish on the podium here!”

Great delight also erupted in the Black Falcon team that brought one of its two Audi R8 LMS home in fifth place overall and third position in the GT3 category. Sean-Paul Breslin (Great Britain), Christer Jöns (Ingelheim), Kenneth Heyer (Wegberg) and Johannes Stuck (Liechtenstein) also choose the best compromise between speed and reliability.

Nevertheless, the 24-hour race around the Nürburgring did not run as desired for the newly opened Customer Sport Centre at Audi Sport. The 38th running of the long-distance classic was plagued by numerous accidents and incidents from which none of the favourites escaped unharmed – also not the Audi customer teams ABT Sportsline, Black Falcon and Phoenix Racing, which were deserted by the necessary luck during the race following the strong qualifying performance.

All three teams lost one of its Audi R8 LMS in accidents. Nordschleife typical defects on two other cars ensured that only two of the seven Audi R8 LMS competing saw the chequered flag in this unusually hard and incident packed 24-hour race.

The race on the world’s longest and toughest race track ended particularly early for the two fastest Audi R8 LMS. Both the Phoenix R8 LMS with start number 98 (Marc Basseng/Mike Rockenfeller/Frank Stippler/Hans-Joachim Stuck) and the ABT R8 LMS with start number 100 (Mattias Estkröm/Oliver Jarvis/Timo Scheider/Marco Werner) retired as early as Saturday evening due to accidents.

Shortly after 9:00 p.m. it claimed Marc Basseng (Phoenix Racing R8 LMS #98), who was running second at this time, in the track sector “Pflanzgarten 2″. “I was overtaking a slower car which had its left-turn signal blinking,” explained the Phoenix driver. “I was completely alongside him when he suddenly moved over. I wanted to avoid having an accident and swerved onto the grass, and hit a kerb exactly with the centre of the car.” The impact from below was so hard that the V10 engine was damaged and the R8 LMS ground to a halt in around the “Tiergarten”.

About an hour later bad luck also claimed Marco Werner (ABT Sportsline R8 LMS #100). The three-time Le Mans winner experienced a near identical situation in the sector “Pflanzgarten” when also running in second position. Werner was barged off by another car and had to park his R8 LMS with the rear-left suspension torn-off.

Marcel Fässler (Phoenix Racing R8 LMS #99) also had external contact on Saturday night, which fortunately ended with a damaged wheel. At 10:22 p.m. the silver-red R8 LMS took the lead for the first time and which Marcel Fässler, Frank Biela, Pierre Kaffer and Marc Hennerici temporarily extended to more than two-minutes during the night. After almost 17 hours a defect on the engine mounting also brought the race to an end for the second Phoenix-R8. “That really was a shame as we were really running strongly up to that point,” said Marcel Fässler.

Christian Abt was also involved in a collision in the second R8 LMS of the ABT Sportsline (#2) team. The result was tyre failure and deranged wheel alignment. Nevertheless, on Sunday morning at 10:42 a.m. after a fantastic fight back Christian Abt, Emmanuel Collard, Lucas Luhr and Christopher Mies were once again in second place on the same lap as the then leading hybrid-Porsche, when Lucas Luhr stopped on the track around the “Pflanzgarten” with a transmission problem.

Black Falcon Racing lost one of its two Audi R8 LMS (#111) during the night because of an accident. The second R8 LMS fielded by the private team from the Eifel ran just as reliably throughout the entire 24 hours as the third Phoenix team car – apart from gearbox issues just at the end of the race.

“We are happy that the R8 LMS remains unbeaten in its class in this race,” explained Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who was at the race himself. “We developed this car logically for customer sport, and the cars which finished third and fifth overall embody our customer sport idea perfectly. Congratulations to the Phoenix Racing and Black Falcon teams. The other cars put in great performances, but like many other top cars the extremely fast pace claimed its victims. ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing both lost a car when in promising positions due to accidents, which are typical on the Nordschleife. The two technical defects are also typical for this race track.”

Results

1 Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy (BMW) 154 laps in 24h 00m 18.168s
2 Farnbacher/Simonsen/Lehman/Seefried (Ferrari) + 3m 54.191s
3 Bronzel/Ludwig/Rostek/Winkelhock (Audi R8 LMS) – 1 lap (1st GT3)
4 Hartung/Söderlund/Sandström/Öhlin (BMW) – 2 laps (2nd GT3)
5 Breslin/Jöns/Heyer/Stuck (Audi R8 LMS) – 2 laps (3rd GT3)
6 Alzen/Schwager/Jäger/Bert (Porsche) – 3 laps
7 Werner/Müller/Priaulx/Adorf (BMW) – 4 laps
8 Zehe/Schelp/Roloff/Bullitt (Porsche) – 4 laps
9 Aust/Adams/Übler/Grossmann (BMW) – 5 laps
10 Weiland/Forbes/Riemer/Horn (Porsche) – 6 laps