The Audi R8 LMS Cup has announced its six-stop, 12-race calendar for the upcoming 2016 season. The first one-make series from the brand with the Four Rings is scheduled to make its debut in Thailand in its fifth season. Details of the 2016 season were announced today at Auto Guangzhou, where the next generation Audi R8 LMS car was presented to media and fans.
The new Audi R8 LMS will be part of the Cup next season and features improved aerodynamics, Audi lightweight technology and delivers up to 585 hp. Developed specifically for GT racing, the car is now available for customers to order.
The standard format of the Cup’s race weekends will be compacted into two intense days of on-track action next season, with qualifying on Saturday and both races run on Sunday.
The Audi R8 LMS Cup season is set to begin in May with the official test in Shanghai. One week later, on May 14-15, the season gets underway in earnest at China’s Formula 1 facility. Following a two-month break, the title chase resumes in Buriram, Thailand for Rounds 3&4, adding a new circuit and a new country to the Cup’s expanding regional roster.
Next, the Cup will travel to Malaysia in August, with the race location expected to be confirmed soon. Rounds 7&8 will take place at Korea’s International Circuit on September 10-11, with the Cup then moving to Taiwan in October. Having made history in 2015 as the Penbay International Circuit’s first international event, Rounds 9&10 – the penultimate of the 2016 season – are sure to once again be hotly contested at this dedicated Audi event in October.
The 2016 season finale will take place in China in October or November with details to be announced soon.
Next year will also see the addition of a new category: as well as the Overall title and Amateur Cup, the series will feature a new Masters Cup for non-professional drivers racing the current Cup car. The expanded 2016 grid is expected to feature a comparable number of new and current generation cars. Further details regarding the 2016 season will be announced soon.
The new Audi R8 LMS is making its Asian racing debut this weekend in the inaugural FIA GT World Cup at the 62nd Macau Grand Prix. Audi Sport drivers Edoardo Mortara and René Rast, along with Audi R8 LMS Cup drivers Marchy Lee and Jeffrey Lee, are all racing the new R8 LMS, while Philip Ma is competing in the GT race in the proven Audi R8 LMS ultra.
