With this recurring column, ooooIYKYK aims to summarize activities of Audi racing campaigns and competition endeavors. This weekly series brief updates of results, preparation, happenings and rumors pertaining to on track activities. See a full calendar of motorsport activities involving Audi Sport factory, customer and Sauber F1 teams maintained HERE.
OPEN WHEEL RACING
FORMULA 1 ROUND #4, F1 STC SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 🇸🇦
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Recap
In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber the team experimented with split strategies that saw Gabriel Bortoleto pit in early under a safety car to then run a long 48-lap stint on hard tires.
The final positions still exhibited no reward, with Nico Hulkenberg finishing P15 and Gabriel Bortoleto finishing in P18.
With this triple header of Japan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the team gets a short break before the season picks up again in Miami.
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal
“Another long, hard weekend for the team. We started the race with the drivers on different strategies. We boxed Gabriel under the lap 1 Safety Car, and he drove a 48-lap stint on the hard tyres, delivering exactly what we asked of him. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the pace to stay ahead of Doohan at the end of the race and was just overtaken on the line. For Nico, we got the most we could out of the package today with a P15 finish. We find ourselves coming out of the weekend with no damage, an excellent pit stop for Nico, and in a good position to focus the development direction for the C45. It has been a gruelling triple-header for the team, but we will regroup, refocus, and get ourselves in the best shape for Miami in two weeks’ time.”
Nico Hulkenberg (Cảr #27)
Race result: 15th
Fastest lap: 1:33.446 (Lap 39)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Hard) – Lap 33 (New Medium)
“This was the most demanding race of the season so far. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a clean and uneventful Sunday for everyone – I didn’t see a single yellow flag after the first lap. We simply didn’t have the pace to make up more positions or challenge for points. The balance of my car wasn’t ideal, which led to increase tyre wear. There’s no doubt that we’ve got some work to do. On the positive side, we had a clean race on this demanding street circuit and collected plenty of data to analyse. After an intense start to the season and a tough triple header, it’s good for the whole team to have a short break before we reset and go again in Miami.”
Gabriel Bortoleto (Car #5)
Race result: 18th
Fastest lap: 1:34.447 (Lap 39)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 1 (New Hard)
“This weekend has been a big learning experience – from how we prepare, to managing setbacks, and understanding just how important every session is. At the same time, it’s been a really tough one from start to finish. The race itself was frustrating: not much happened on our side. We chose to switch to hard tyres during the Safety Car at the start, but by the final 15 laps, they were completely gone and I was just focused on bringing the car home. Now it’s time to rest, recover, and reset — both mentally and physically. I would like to thank the team, both trackside and back in the factory, for their unwavering support so far: they always have my back, and they help me growing as a driver race after race. I’ll take the lessons from this weekend and head to Miami ready to fight, in a better place and determined to make the most of everything I’ve learned so far in my first five races.”
NEXT ROUND F1 STC SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 🇺🇸
Miami International Autodrome, USA (May 02 – May 04)
SPORTSCAR RACING – GT3, GT4 & TCR CUSTOMER RACING
Worth noting, Audi Sport has begun publishing weekly customer racing race summaries. As a result, the race updates on ooooIYKYK will become even more inclusive now that updates on all customer racing activities are emanating from the team itself. Thanks to Audi Sport customer racing for continuing to keep fans up to date on Audi Sport customer racing activities around the world.
CHINA GT CHAMPIONSHIP (GT3) ROUNDS 1 & 2, SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT 🇨🇳
Eleven Audi Entries in 26 Car Field at CGTC Season Opener in Beijing
This week is the opening double-header round of the Chinese GT Championship at the Beijing International Circuit. This newly reinvigorated series offers eight Audi teams campaigning ten Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II race cars across four classes of racing. The eleventh Audi will be a lone R8 LMS GT4 that also joins the field.
“With such a strong grid for the opening round including 11 Audi R8 LMS race cars, the revitalisation of China GT is clear.” said Alexander Blackie, Head of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. “This is a very good development for the domestic racing scene and we are excited to support our customers across the season as they aim for the championship titles.”
ADAC GT MASTERS (GT3) PRE-SEASON 🇩🇪
Scherer Sport PHX Confirms Audi Campaign in 2025 ADAC GT Masters
Scherer Sport PHX has confirmed a single Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo 2 for the 2025 ADAC GT Masters season with drivers Nico Hantke and Denis Bulatov. Though not new to either racing or racing the Audi Sport customer racing R8 LMS GT3, Scherer is new to the ADAC GT Masters.
Drivers Nico Hantke (21 / Hürth) and Denis Bulatov (26 / Cologne) will make their DTM debut in the Scherer Sport PHX Audi at the opening round of the season, which takes place from 23rd to 25th May at the Dekra Lausitzring.
For those keeping track on Audi Sport customer teams, Scherer Sport PHX was formed in 2023 when Scherer Sport merged with Phoenix Racing. Scherer had been racing since 2016, while Earnst Moser’s Phoenix Racing dates back to 1999. The latter has been racing on-and-off in the ADAC GT Masters since 2007 and has even fielded factory-backed efforts for Audi Sport in multiple series including the DTM. Moser’s son Ron will serve as team principal for the first time in 2025.
Though this is also the first year for the combined team, the former Phoenix Racing team from which it partially spawned boasts six race wins and two pole positions in the ADAC GT Masters. In addition to that, Scherer Sport PHX won the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring in 2024. It is now set to write a new chapter with its entry into the ADAC GT3 series.
RALLY & HILLCLIMB RACING
PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILLCLIMB 🇺🇸
Pikes Peak International Hillclimb Offering Plenty for Audi Aficionados
In addition to inducting Audi rally legend Michèle Mouton into the Pike’s Peak International Hall of Fame for her record-breaking win in 1985 and thus crowned the only female “King of the Mountain”, the iconic hillclimb event has even more worth watching for 2025. The event race week takes place June 17-22 2025.
Confirmed on its competitors list are no less than nine Audi entries. These include:
#2 Audi quattro
Class: Pikes Peak Open
Driver: David Hackl 🇺🇸
#10 Audi 4000 quattro 🇺🇸
Class: Pikes Peak Open
Driver: Emmanuel Cecchet (rookie)
#16 Audi S1 E2 Tribute 🇺🇸
Class: Pikes Peak Open
Driver: Alex Kim (rookie)
#75 Audi RS 001 quattro Group S Tribute 🇬🇧
Class: Pikes Peak Open
Driver: David Rowe
#117 Audi 4000 quattro 🇺🇸
Class: Pikes Peak Open
Driver: Trevor Aweida
#212 Audi TTS 🇸🇰
Class: Pikes Peak Open
Driver: Matus Huska
#246 Audi TT RS 🇺🇸
Class: Unlimited
Driver: Josh Tenge (rookie)
#342 Audi TT RS 🇩🇪
Class: Pikes Peak Open
Driver: Christian Ghimbos (rookie)
#970 Audi 200 Avant 🇺🇸
Class: Pikes Peak Open
Driver: Scott Anderson (rookie)
FIA WORLD RALLY RAID CHAMPIONSHIP 2024 DAKAR RALLY 🇸🇦
Universal & Red Bull Team to Create Dakar: Against the Desert Documentary Recapping 2024 Audi Victory
In an effort to help bring attention to the World Rally Raid Championship and its grueling-yet-iconic Dakar Rally, Though the documentary is set to follow a number of personalities and race campaigns throughout the event, it is notable that race winner Carlos Sainz is chief amongst them, and that his victory was scored at the wheel of an Audi RS Q e-tron.
Watch the trailer for the documentary embedded above. The documentary drops on May 12 in Europe and May 13 in the USA. It will be available on all major digital platforms.
AMERICAN RALLY ASSOCIATION PRE-SEASON 🇺🇸
The Four Rings Ride Again in the American Rally Association
40 Years have passed since John Buffum campaigned an Audi quattro in American Rally, and now the four rings is set to return to the sport. Costa Rican driver Roberto Yglesias and his team at Pura Vida Rally are trading his Ford Fiesta from the L2WD class for an Audi A1 Maxx Rally that will compete in the FIA Rally2 class.
If you haven’t heard of the Audi A1 Maxx Rally program, that’s because it’s not factory. This particular car is an Argentinian homologated alternative to FIA Rally2.
Yglesias told Dirtfish.com: “The Maxx Rally cars, which race around the world known as Maxi Rally or N5, provide similar power and suspension travel elements than an R5 or Rally2 car but at a much lower cost of maintenance as it utilizes more commonly-available parts rather than relying on a single-manufacturer supply.
Fascinatingly, there’s a surprising amount of non-Audi hardware in this Audi A1. According to Yglesias’ account, the A1 is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter BMW Mini engine while using an X-shift 6-speed sequential gearbox built within a Subaru 6-speed case as well as Subaru differentials.
Check out more on this story on Dirtfish.com.
UPCOMING ROUNDS: WEEK 17 (APR 20-APR 27)
Sidenote: See full season calendar HERE.
18-20 – 24H Series Europe Michelin 12H of Spa-Francorchamps, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – GT3
18-20 – F1 STC Saudia Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudia Arabia – F1
18-20 – FFSA GT Championnat de France, Nogaro Easter Cups, Nogaro, France – GT3, GT4
25-27 – British GT Championship, Silverstone 500, Silverstone Circuit, UK – GT3
25-27 – DMV Super Touring and GT Cup, Circuit Zolder, Belgium – GT4
25-27 – DTM, Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Germany – GT3
25-27 – GT America, Circuit of the Americas, USA 🇺🇸 – GT3
26 – TCR Europe, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal – TCR
26-27 – International GT Open, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal – GT3
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