Premiere coincides with anniversary: The Audi R8 GRAND-AM will make its debut on the 50th running of the Daytona 24 Hours from January 26 to 29. Teams APR Motorsport and Oryx Racing are each fielding one of the newly developed customer sport race cars in the GT class of the endurance classic.
The “Rolex 24 at Daytona” ranks among the finest classics in international motorsport. The event has been thrilling the sports car fan community since 1962. Some of the greatest racers in history have entered their names on the winners’ list – from Jacky Ickx and Hans Herrmann through to Hurley Haywood, A. J. Foyt or Derek Bell. Reinhold Joest, the founder of Audi Sport Team Joest has personally won this classic race in Florida too. Current Audi factory driver Mike Rockenfeller decided the competition in his favor with an American team two years ago.
On the event’s 50th anniversary the organizer is treating the audience to an unusual and spectacular experience. A champions party with numerous racing legends, an exhibition of historic overall-winning cars, a carnival complete with a Ferris Wheel, a 5-kilometer run on the track for all sports enthusiasts on Saturday before the race, autograph sessions and pit walks are just some of the attractions featured on the last weekend in January.
We are proud to be part of the action for the first time at the event’s special anniversary,” stresses Werner Frowein, Managing Director of quattro GmbH, which has developed the Audi R8 GRAND-AM. “Two customer teams have already opted for our new race car and we are currently in negotiations with other buyers. Following its appearance at Daytona, the Audi R8 GRAND-AM will also be seen at the other twelve rounds of the GRAND-AM series. In the future, our customers will be directly supported by Audi of America.
This presence in America is another important element of developing Audi Sport customer racing.” At the season opener, the Audi R8 GRAND-AM is competing against about 30 other vehicles in the extremely large field of the GT class while so-called Daytona prototypes are driving for overall victories. The Daytona 24 Hours marks the beginning of the 2012 GRAND-AM Road Racing season. In 2008, Audi was last represented in the United States for a whole season with a factory commitment featuring the Audi R10 TDI LMP1 sports car and won the title in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).
Source: http://www.audiusanews.com/pressrelease/2771//premiere-audi-daytona-24-hours