[audisport] 2015 Line UP | Jarvis to replace Kristensen | n7thGear™ Motorsport News

[audisport] 2015 Line UP | Jarvis to replace Kristensen Jan 8, 2015 9:03:11 GMT -6

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Post by n7thGear™ on Jan 8, 2015 9:03:11 GMT -6

Audi Sport has confirmed its WEC line-ups for 2015

Audi Sport held their end of season presentations in Nackarsulm. As well as celebrating the 2014 season which saw the four rings take yet another victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the German manufacture also looked ahead to the 2015 season. It was there they made their announcement about who would be filling the seat, vacated by Tom Kristensen. In addition to the driver line-up announcement, Audi also announced that it will bring back the the proven Audi R18 e-tron quattro next year.

Audi Sport has confirmed its WEC line-ups for 2015. Briton Oliver Jarvis will replace Tom Kristensen alongside Lucas di Grassi and Loïc Duval, while Felipe Albuquerque, Marco Bonanomi and René Rast will share an R18 e-tron quattro at Spa and Le Mans.

Just a couple of days after Porsche’s ‘Night of Champions’ gala, Audi hosted its own end-of-season festivities yesterday at the Audi Forum in Neckarsulm, Germany, where the brand’s 2014 winners were presented with their prizes and the 2015 racing programme was revealed by Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

Audi’s 2015 WEC programme will continue to be handled by Audi Sport Team Joest and Oliver Jarvis, 30, has been chosen to replace Tom Kristensen. The Briton will team up with Loïc Duval and Lucas di Grassi who themselves have replaced Dindo Capello and Allan McNish in recent years.

Oliver, who will contest the entire championship in an R18 e-tron quattro, has already appeared at Le Mans four times for Audi (two podiums, two retirements). He has also raced in championships such as Formula Renault, F3 (Britain and Japan), A1 GP, Super GT and DTM.

The team’s other full-time prototype will be driven by André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler, while a third car will be entered for the 6 Hours of Spa and the Le Mans 24 Hours, in the hands of Felipe Albuquerque, Marco Bonanomi and Germany’s René Rast, 28.

Rast is a three-time winner of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (2010, 2011, 2012) and has a fine record in 24-hour races, including a GT class win at Daytona in 2012, wins at Spa in 2012 and 2014, and a victory at the Nürburgring in 2014 under his belt with Porsche and Audi. He made his Le Mans debut last year with Sébastien Loeb Racing (Oreca-Nissan LM P2 prototype).

Audi will also continue its DTM programme with no fewer than eight Audi R5s run by Audi Sport Teams Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg. Drivers Mattias Ekström, Jamie Green, Miguel Molina, Edoardo Mortara, Nico Müller, Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Scheider and Adrien Tambay have already been named.

The German make also introduced its new Audi Sport TT Cup single-make series that will raise the curtain at six DTM rounds in 2015. The maximum field will be 18 cars but Audi has received 165 requests!

Meanwhile, the replacement for the Audi R8 LMS is now ready to race and will appear at the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Spa before it goes on sale at the end of the year.

Last but not least, Jörg Zander has been appointed to take over from Dr. Martin Mühlmeier at the helm of Audi Sport’s technical department.

The Briton, Oliver Jarvis will take the seat and drive for Audi in LMP1 next year alongside Loic Duval and Lucas di Grassi for Audi in the WEC. Already in the last few years the 30 year old has proven his ability to drive in the top level in endurance racing, driving the #3 Audi at Le Mans on several occasions. His best finish at Le Mans being third overall in 2012 and 2013 for Audi. His strong showings at the endurance classic was enough to convince the powers that be at Audi that he is ready for the step up to a full WEC season.

With Jarvis’s promotion up to a full season drive, a seat has been left available for 2015’s third car. ADAC GT Masters driver Rene Rast has been chosen to take the seat. The 28 year-old German made his debut at Le Mans this year with Sébastien Loeb Racing. Rast helped bring the car home to a fourth place in finish in the LMP2 class. In 2014 he also managed to win the 24 Hours of the Nurbergring and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in a GT3 specification Audi R8. Next year he will share the third Audi R18 with Filipe Albuquerque and Marco Bonanomi at the WEC rounds at Spa and Le Mans.

Audi gathered at Audi Forum in Neckarsulm. With a trio of 24 Hour race wins to celebrate at Le Mans, Spa and the Nurburgring, the Manufacturers title in DTM and wins in Blancpain Endurance, Blancpain Sprint, the overall Blancpain GT Series and ADAC GT Masters success to celebrate too it was a busy night on stage with the efforts of Vincent Vosse’s WRT in particular keeping the Belgian busy, together with Laurens Vanthoor and Rene Rast, multiple winners all!

There was confirmation that the new version of the R8 LMS will debut in 2015 and will race at both Spa and the Nurburgring.

The biggest news that night was the confirmation of Oliver Jarvis as the new full season driver in the FIA WEC, with Rene Rast a similarly deserved graduate from the GT ranks to fill Jarvis’s shoes in the third car, presumed at present for its usual Spa and Le Mans outings.

There was a jab too at the persistent Formula One rumours, asked (in a clearly pre-scripted question!) whether there was any truth to the rumours, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said “I don’t care what Mercedes does, we have programmes that are successful on track, and successful in business terms too. We will continue to make our decisions on that basis which has served us very well indeed over the past 15 years and more.”

The biggest cheers though were inevitably reserved for "Mr. Le Mans" Tom Kristensen as he steps down from the driving seat for the last time.

Huge standing ovations from the assembled Audi family and guests greeted speeches from Audi CEO Rupert Stadler and, of course, Audi Sport boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich.

Tom was, of course, confirmed as an Audi Ambassador, and will have an official role as a consultant on driver fitness.

The final surprise of the night saw the ‘Audi Legends’ Messrs McNish, Biela, Werner, Pirro and Capello sneak out of their seats for a ‘reveal’ of a very special gift from Audi to Tom. He’ll have a ‘long term loan’ of the 2013 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, the car that carried him to the last of his astonishing 9 Le Mans 24 Hours victories.

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[audisport] 2015 Line UP | Jarvis to replace Kristensen

Post by n7thGear™ on Jan 8, 2015 9:03:11 GMT -6

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