The Audi R8 LMS remains top: Team Rosberg was the best of three Audi squads with its victory at the DTM season opener in Portugal, while Team WRT clinched two second places at Brands Hatch in the sprint season opener of the GT World Challenge Europe. The Audi RS 3 LMS is also in top form as Comtoyou Racing leads the TCR Europe after a success at the beginning of the season. Meanwhile, Audi Sport customer racing Asia has launched a special support program for juniors.
Audi R8 LMS GT3
Successful DTM season opener: Nico Müller in Team Rosberg’s Audi R8 LMS is among the first winners of the 2022 DTM season. After the Swiss secured pole position for the second race with a two-tenths of a second advantage at Portimão, he managed a flawless start defending his position against Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti. Despite an early pit stop, the Audi Sport driver managed to make perfect use of his tires until the end of the race. As a result, he ultimately won on the Algarve circuit with a 3.4-second advantage over Ferrari driver Felipe Fraga and Bortolotti. Müller is now in second place in the standings. Audi is also second in the manufacturers standings with points tied with championship leader Mercedes-AMG. In the team standings, ABT Sportsline is the second-best team ahead of Rosberg.
Second place in the standings after two podium finishes: Team WRT started the new Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup season with two second positions in Great Britain. Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts, the champions of the past two years, scored valuable points for Team WRT at Brands Hatch. Weerts overtook a car in front right at the start in the first race from fifth on the grid. After the pit stops, teammate Vanthoor improved to second place. In the second race, Patric Niederhauser with Saintéloc Racing also had a chance for a podium but a slow pit stop during the change to Aurélien Panis threw his Audi back to fifth position. This benefited his Audi Sport driver colleagues Vanthoor and Weerts who again finished second. With a gap of only three points, they are now second in the standings. Audi Sport customer racing was pleased with a strong team performance as a total of six R8 LMS cars of the customer teams finished in the top ten. World Motorcycle Champion Valentino Rossi, who was on the grid with Frédéric Vervisch, scored his first points with Audi in eighth place.
