Martin Rump (21) of Champion Racing Team will start from pole in Round 1 of the 2016 Audi R8 LMS Cup after clocking the fastest time in Saturday’s Superpole shootout. Joining Rump on the front row at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday is KCMG’s Yuichi Nakayama (24).
Rahel Frey (30) of Castrol Racing Team was third quickest in the session ahead of Belgian driver Alessio Picariello (22) of MGT Team by Absolute.
With Rump, Nakayama and Picariello, three of the top four drivers are young, new series additions, shaking up the order.
Defending champion Alex Yoong (39) and 2015 season runner-up Cheng Congfu (31) will be starting from eighth and tenth on the grid respectively after a difficult day in wet conditions.
“The new additions have proved their strength and really made a difference,” said Rene Koneberg, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. “We are delighted to have such a competitive line-up with a large collection of young talent.”
Audi Sport TT Cup 2015 champion Jan Kisiel (21) qualified in seventh, further proving the credentials of the Cup’s new young drivers. In addition, the qualifying sessions saw 16-year old Cup debutante Jasper Thong from Hong Kong become the youngest driver in Audi R8 LMS Cup history.
Rounds 1 & 2 take place tomorrow at the Shanghai International Circuit. Fans can watch both races live on the Audi R8 LMS Cup official website, www.audi-motorsport.com and on series partner video portals LeSports, PPTV and Youku at 10:05 and 15:25 (UTC+8).
Watch all races live at:
www.audir8lmscup.com
www.audi-motorsport.com
Quotes
Martin Rump (Champion Racing Team)
“I’m absolutely delighted with how the qualifying turned out. With a new car to get used to, it was a lot to learn on the very first go. This is a big step forward for me and an exciting challenge. I’m looking forward to sharing the line-up with such great drivers this season.”
Yuichi Nakayama (KCMG)
“Congrats to Martin Rump. Tomorrow, I will win.”
Rahel Frey (Castrol Racing Team)
“We have a nice field and it is going to provide intense competition this season. We have two youngsters in first and second place for tomorrow’s race, both from single-seater background and they seem to be very well prepared for the Audi R8 LMS Cup. I will do my very best tomorrow – let’s see who wins.”
Alex Yoong (Audi TEDA Racing Team)
“I had a procedural error when I went out. I didn’t realise the ABS was switched off. In the first turn I flat-spotted my tyres. Qualifying in eighth place means I will have a lot more work to do tomorrow but we’ll keep pushing on.”
Cheng Congfu (FAW-VW Audi Racing Team)
“My engineer and I definitely underestimated the conditions outside. Starting from P10 is not ideal, but there are two rounds tomorrow and a lot of places for me to climb. I’m confident I will recover from this. The championship this year is very demanding.”
Jan Kisiel (KCMG)
“The qualifying was okay but it could have been much better. With a single mistake, I learned how easy it is to lose time. But it is my first year with the Cup and I will try hard. I have been driving front-wheel cars for five years and I just need to switch and get used to the GT3. Like in the Audi Sport TT Cup, the atmosphere here is really nice, as it always is with the Audi family.”
Starting Grid for Round 1
1. 18/Martin RUMP/Champion Racing Team
2. 19/Yuichi NAKAYAMA/ KCMG
3. 66/Rahel FREY/Castrol Racing Team
4. 6/Alessio PICARIELLO/ MGT Team by Absolute
5. 88/Marchy LEE/Audi Hong Kong
6. 8/Aditya PATEL/Team Audi R8 LMS Cup
7. 43/Jan KISIEL/KCMG
8. 1/Alex YOONG/Audi TEDA Racing Team
9. 11/Kyong-Ouk YOU/Team Audi Korea
10. 99/Cheng Congfu (Franky)/FAW-VW Audi Racing Team
11. 51/Johnson HUANG/Absolute Racing
12. 7/Jeffrey LEE/ Team Audi Volkwagen Taiwan
13. 17/Mark CHUNG/J-Fly Racing by Absolute
14. 55/Vincent FLOIRENDO/EN Sport by Absolute
15. 26/THONG Wei Heen (Jasper)/Phoenix Racing Asia
16. 13/SUN Jing Zu/Absolute Racing
17. 38/YOON Sanghwi (Rick)/Phoenix Racing Asia
18. 15/Chun Hua CHEN (Kevin)/J-Fly Racing by Absolute