The Audi R8 LMS Cup heads to Thailand for the first time with Rounds 3 and 4 set to take place at the Chang International Circuit. After a dramatic opening weekend in Shanghai, the championship is tightly poised with Swiss GT specialist Rahel Frey of Castrol Racing Team atop the overall standings and a number of rivals snapping at her heels.
The competition is set to intensify further in Buriram, Thailand with most of the Cup’s drivers tackling the challenging 4.5-kilometre, FIA Grade 1 circuit for the very first time.
“We are delighted to expand the reach of the Audi R8 LMS Cup into another new Asian country,” said Bernd Goeres, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. “The Chang International Circuit gives both our professional drivers and our ambitious privateers an opportunity to really push themselves in a new environment with new challenges. It will be exciting to see how this will impact the close championship battles that are unfolding between our young drivers and their established counterparts.”
Just four championship points separate overall classification leader, Frey, and young talent Martin Rump of Champion Racing Team. Fellow youngster Alessio Picariello of MGT Team by Absolute, reigning champion Alex Yoong of Audi TEDA Racing Team and Audi Hong Kong Team’s former champion Marchy Lee round out a top five that is representative of this season’s mixture of raw, young talent and experienced professional racers.
Competition in the Amateur Cup is also set to heat up over the weekend. Johnson Huang of Absolute Racing leads the way, with Team Audi Volkswagen Taiwan’s Jeffrey Lee only four points behind. Lee will have to contend with former classification champion and GT Asia star Alex Au of Phoenix Racing Asia who re-joins the Cup line-up in Thailand. Another familiar returning face is reigning Amateur Cup champion Daniel Bilski of Thailand-based team B-Quik Racing. He will be driving last season’s championship-winning Cup car in the Masters Cup classification.
Qualifying and Superpole will commence at 11:10 on Saturday, July 23, with Round 3 to follow at 16:00. Round 4 is scheduled for 11:35, Sunday, July 24 (all times UTC+7). Fans can watch all the action live at www.audir8lmscup.com, www.audi-motorsport.com (English) and on series partners’ video portals, LeSports, PPTV and Youku (Chinese).
Due to a cancellation of the KL City Grand Prix event in August, the Audi R8 LMS Cup will now race at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia next month. Race dates remain unchanged for Rounds 5 and 6, taking place on August 13-14.
