- Car Collection Motorsport triumphs at 24 Hours of Dubai
- Team MS7 by WRT in second position
- First endurance racing success of the latest evolution of the Audi R8 LMS GT3
Dubai/Neuburg a. d. Donau, January 14, 2019 – Audi Sport customer racing has had the perfect start to the 2019 motorsport season with a one-two finish at the 24-hour race in Dubai. The two Audi Sport customer racing teams celebrated the first one-two result of the latest evolution of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 in a major endurance racing event. After 607 race laps, the #88 Audi R8 LMS GT3 from Car Collection Motorsport with Dimitri Parhofer/Christopher Haase/Frédéric Vervisch/Rik Breukers crossed the finish line with a one-lap advantage over the Audi from Team MS7 by WRT, driven by Mohammed Saud Fahad Al Saud/Michael Vergers/Christopher Mies/Dries Vanthoor.
"Sincere congratulations to our customer teams Car Collection Motorsport and MS7 by WRT on this outstanding success in Dubai," said Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing.
"The 24-hour race with a total of 74 teams featured a strong field, so that makes us all the happier about the first endurance racing success of the latest evolution version of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 following its homologation – this one-two result is an impressive performance by the further development of our customer sport race car."
The squad from Car Collection Motorsport had started from the front row and taken the lead for the first time 10 laps into the race. As the race went on, the lead initially changed between the front-running teams. Then, from the 16th hour onward, the number 88 Audi R8 LMS GT3 had a dominant lead. In the end, the squad was able to look back on a total of 560 leading laps – more than any other team. In the last third of the race, the MS7 by WRT team advanced to second position and defended it up until the end. In total, five Audi R8 LMS cars – from Attempto Racing, BWT Mu¨cke Motorsport, plus the second race car from Car Collection Motorsport finished in the top 10 in Dubai.
Car Collection Motorsport has regularly participated in the 24 Hours of Dubai since the event's first running in 2006. The victory now marks the biggest success of the Audi Sport customer racing team in endurance racing. For Audi Sport, it marked the second victory in Dubai following the success of Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in 2016.
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