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With a total of six R8 LMS GT3s, the Audi teams started the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2023. With sixth place as their best result, they were denied the seventh overall victory on the Nordschleife, but the race remains in the best memories thanks to the specially wrapped R8s.
Frédéric Vervisch, Mattia Drudi, Ricardo Feller and Dennis Lind drove the Audi R8 LMS GT3 with starting number 1 of the Audi Sport Team Scherer PHX in the design known from the USA with a white background and the flowing historic Audi Sport colors. Audi started with this outfit in the late 1980s. In 1988 they won the Trans-Am racing series with the Audi 200 quattro. A year later, the Audi 90 quattro was successful in the IMSA championship. This was the first time that the Ingolstadt-based company had transferred the all-wheel drive known from rallying to circuit racing.
The Audi Sport Team Car Collection started in the Eifel with the four up-and-coming Audi Sport junior drivers Luca Engstler, Max Hofer, Gilles Magnus and Dennis Marschall. Their design was based on the hybrid racing car R18 e-tron quattro, which is one of the pioneers of electrification in motorsport. With its three Le Mans victories in a row, among other things, the era of the LMP1 racing cars is one of the most successful in Audi motorsport history. The white and silver design with the matte black surfaces above the tires is reminiscent of the open fender surfaces that were mandatory in LMP1 racing at the time. The look is rounded off by the lines and angled surfaces that were among the features of the R18 e-tron.
The Audi R8 LMS with starting number 39 began the series of retro designs with a look back to the earliest era. The characteristic combination of yellow stripes all around and the historic Audi Sport colors of mahogany brown, grey and red on a white background represents the rally years. Most motorsport enthusiasts will know the legendary Audi quattro models that won almost all of the well-known rallies between 1984 and 1987, such as Monte Carlo and San Remo. The vehicle used by the Audi Sport Team Land was driven at the Nürburgring by Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Patric Niederhauser.
The second R8 of the Audi Sport Team Scherer PHX was also a very special car at the classic in the Eifel. Driven by the three former Audi factory drivers Timo Scheider, Martin Tomczyk and Mike Rockenfeller, the car bore the starting number 40 - a tribute to the 40th birthday of Audi Sport GmbH, from which all these design icons originated. With the traditional base color silver with red accents and the prominently positioned four rings, this foil represented Audi's motorsport division like no other. This design is known in a modified form from the Super Touring Car era or the beginning of the LMP era. Furthermore, Audi's safety cars or intervention cars in various series still use this design today.
"This year, the audience at the Nürburgring can look forward to a special appearance," said Head of Audi Motorsport Rolf Michl before the 2023 24-hour race. "The four Audi R8 LMS offer the many fans of this race and the Audi brand, as well as photographers and cameramen, an exciting new interpretation of unforgettable motifs."
The manufacturer Spark has launched these four special Audi R8 LMS GT3s as models in scale 1:43. The cars, made of resin, were produced in the usual high Spark quality and reflect the original as best as possible. For €69.95 per vehicle, the models are delivered with Audi factory packaging.
Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II #1 24h Nürburgring 2023 Audi Sport Team Scherer 1:43, RRP: €69.95, item-no.: 5022300131
Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II #22 24h Nürburgring 2023 Audi Sport Team Car Collection, RRP: €69.95, item-no.: 5022300132
Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II #39 6th 24h Nürburgring 2023 Team Land 1:43 Spark, RRP: €69.95, item-no.: 5022300133
Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II #40 24h Nürburgring 2023 Audi Sport Team Scherer 1:43, RRP: €69.95, item-no.: 5022300134
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