Audi has won the best motorsport platform award in the 2017 auto motor und sport (ams) Best Cars China awards. The jury cited the intense competition in the Audi R8 LMS Cup’s 2016 season and the brand’s strong presence across other Asian GT3 events as key factors for the award. The quality of the global Audi motorsport programme and the manufacturer’s legacy of transferring benefits from motorsport into road cars were also highlighted.
“The award is great recognition of our expanding racing programme in Asia,” said Bernd Goeres, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. “We will continue our work in 2017 with a very competitive line-up in the Audi R8 LMS Cup and customer entries on the best circuits of Asia.”
The 2017 Best Cars China awards were presented during a gala ceremony in China’s capital, Beijing, on Tuesday, February 14.
“Audi made significant contributions to the development of motorsport in the region last year”, said David Hiebaum, Managing Director of Sportauto Asia, the sports car sub-brand of ams.
In 2016, the Audi R8 LMS Cup not only excited the tens of thousands who filled the grandstands of Asia’s most famous circuits, but also reached a global audience of millions through its extensive media coverage.
Around 65 million people tuned in to watch the Audi R8 LMS Cup’s 30-minute television highlights shows on leading sports channels, including Fox Sports, Star Sports and Gear One, as well as Chinese stations such as Guangzhou TV Sports and Chongqing TV. Additional millions watched the 60-minute online live-streams from each round of the sprint race series and logged onto the Cup’s extensive social media coverage on various Chinese and international platforms – with total content reach hitting 85 million.
Launched alongside the Audi R8 LMS Cup in 2012, Audi Sport customer racing Asia builds on the global customer racing platform of Audi. In addition to the Audi R8 LMS Cup, in 2016, the programme supported entries into some of Asia’s and Europe’s leading motorsport series and events including the FIA GT World Cup at the Macau Grand Prix, the Sepang 12 Hours, GT Asia Series, and the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
The Audi R8 LMS Cup’s sixth season will begin with Rounds 1 and 2 at the Sepang International Circuit on 6-7 May.
