RNW Staff

The final event of the 2019 Australian GT season will see a number of Australia’s leading GT3 teams contest the inaugural Pirelli AGT SuperSprint for just under four hours of track action on one of the greatest circuits in the world – Bathurst’s iconic Mount Panorama.

Yasser Shahin is the 2019 Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup champion as the world’s first and only one-make series for full-spec GT3 cars took a final bow at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit today. The Bend Motorsport Park driver kept his cool in the searing heat, his fifth-place finish in round 10 enough to secure him the title. Ensport Motors by Absolute Racing’s Vincent Floirendo took the Challenger Trophy championship on his memorable return to motorsport, while China’s Sheng Yanwen took the Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup GT4 title for his FEA team.

Porsche has won the manufacturers’ title for the first time in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. At the final round of the world’s most important championship for GT3 vehicles in Kyalami (South Africa), the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Frikadelli Racing drove to victory. In a chaotic nine-hour race, works driver Nick Tandy (Great Britain) as well as the Porsche Young Professionals Dennis Olsen (Norway) and Mathieu Jaminet (France) dominated the action when it mattered. Porsche earned the decisive points thanks to third place for the GPX Racing squad with drivers Kévin Estre (France), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Richard Lietz (Austria). The drivers’ championship title also went to Porsche: Dennis Olsen secured the crown with his second victory of the season after winning the season-opening round at Bathurst (Australia).

For the second consecutive race, Strakka Racing took the spoils in the Pro-Am class as Christina Nielsen, Dominik Baumann and Adrian Henry D’Silva were victorious in their #43 Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Kyalami 9H. In the final race of the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge and Strakka’s last outing for the year, there was disappointment for the #44 Pro after the crew were forced into retirement at the three-hour mark.

The final race of the year also turned out to be one of the most spectacular for R-Motorsport in 2019. The southern hemisphere summer temperatures gave way to torrential rains that made the Kyalami 9 Hour in South Africa a daunting challenge. Despite the difficult conditions, both of the cars entered by the team from Niederwil (Switzerland) saw the chequered flag, finishing tenth and 14th respectively.

Stephen Pattrick (#33 Bullitt Racing – Mercedes AMG GT4) and César Machado (#23 ABM Grand Prix – Ginetta G55 GT4) secured pole positions for the two final races of the GT4 South European Series at Autódromo do Estoril in Portugal. Pattrick gave Bullitt Racing its first-ever pole in the series in the first qualifying session, while Machado claimed his second consecutive pole in the second session.

The 9 Hours of Kyalami in South Africa provided a new setting with a highly varied endurance racing competition for the finale of the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC). Audi Sport customer racing missed its chance of clinching a sixth title in this racing series, as several setbacks repeatedly caused both Audi R8 LMS to lose ground and in the end forced them to settle for positions four and eleven. In the manufacturers’ classification, Audi placed third.

Two pole positions and one win was the fantastic result which BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver Alexander Sims (GBR) secured at the season opener of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Diriyah (KSA). In the second race, on Saturday, Sims celebrated a commanding victory from first place on the grid – the first in his Formula E career. With 35 points, Sims also took the lead in the driver’s standings. Maximilian Günther (GER) drove a magnificent recovery race from ninth on the grid and finished the race in second place, but a retrospective time penalty saw him drop down into 11th place.

A decisive move by The Bend Motorsport Park’s Yasser Shahin saw the Australian take victory in the penultimate round of the 2019 Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup to move one step closer to clinching the final GT3 title of the championship’s history at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit. A spirited run to second by Alex Au in the safety car-interrupted, 11-lap night race ensured the CTVS Racers by Absolute driver remains in the title fight. B-Quik Racing’s Daniel Bilski claimed the final podium place.

A strong second place for Porsche works driver André Lotterer (D) in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship 2019/2020 season-opener on Friday and valuable experience gathered in the second Diriyah E-Prix race was, overall, an encouraging debut for Porsche in the fully-electric race series. “We are up with the frontrunners; the pace is there. We can build on that,” explained Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development Porsche AG.

The Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team had a positive start into the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, securing podiums in both races this weekend. As in the first round of the Diriyah E-Prix on Friday, Stoffel Vandoorne finished third again in the second race of the season.

Just one day after the difficult beginning to the season, Lucas di Grassi and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler impressively came back: The Brazilian celebrated second position in Diriyah and thus the team’s 41st podium success in the 60th Formula E race. Daniel Abt also scored valuable points with a strong fightback.

Nissan e.dams showcased strong pace in the opening rounds for season six of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship this weekend.

Tall Pines Rally 2019 live stream

It has been a great start to the season for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in the 2019/2020 ABB FIA Formula E Championship. At the Diriyah E-Prix in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Porsche works driver André Lotterer (D) was second with his #36 Porsche 99X Electric in the first race of the season. The three-time winner of the Le Mans 24-hour race and 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) champion began the race around the 2.494-kilometre circuit to the northwest of the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, from seventh place on the grid. He gradually worked his way up through the field to secure second place on lap 30, behind winner Sam Bird (GB, Envision Virgin Racing). This means that Lotterer also has 18 points in the drivers’ standings after the first race of the season, putting him in second place behind Bird (26 points). The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is currently in third place in the team standings, behind Envision Racing (36) and Mercedes-Benz (23).

The Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Frikadelli Racing will take up the nine-hour race in Kyalami (South Africa) from pole position. At the wheel of the No. 31 vehicle, Nick Tandy (Great Britain) turned the fastest lap in the decisive shootout on the wet 4.522-kilometre circuit in a time of 1:52.825 minutes. The identical 500+hp vehicles campaigned by GPX Racing (No. 20) and Dinamic Motorsport (No. 12) will tackle the final round of the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge from positions four and five.

Sam Bird with the Envision Virgin Racing team clinched the first victory on the debut for the Audi e-tron FE06 in the Formula E season opener. Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi from the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler factory team had a difficult start and finished without points in Diriyah. Tomorrow, they will have a new chance: the next race on the outskirts of Riyadh starts at 3 PM (CET).

Alexander Sims (GBR) finished eighth in the opening race of Season 6 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Diriyah (KSA). The BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver started from pole position following a magnificent performance in qualifying. He led the field in the #27 BMW iFE.20 for the first half of the race. However, he was unable to prevent a number of rival cars from passing him in the closing stages. Sims was rewarded for his pole position and eighth place with seven points towards the Drivers’ Championship.

Dawn of a new era for Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team with successful debut in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. Stoffel Vandoorne secured the team’s first podium in the first E-Prix ever contested by Mercedes-Benz in the history of the brand as Season 6 in the electric racing series got under way at Diriyah.

United Autosports are pleased to confirm that Phil Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque will return to the team for the 2020 European Le Mans Series..