The Audi R8 is also the technical basis for most of the successes achieved in customer racing. Audi Sport offers a total of three R8 motorsport models with different performance levels, plus a racing version of the Audi RS 3 Sedan. All Audi Sport customer racing cars have one thing in common: the Audi Sport DNA. And that is in great demand. In 2022, the customer racing department produced the 300th Audi R8 LMS GT3, bringing the total number of race cars built over the course of 14 years to 750.
The year 2022 was also successful on the race track. Never before have Audi Sport customer racing and its teams clinched so many titles and podium positions. “We topped our previous record from the year before by an impressive 11 titles, for a total of 76. Overall, we have claimed 290 individual victories in 806 races, including three at 24-hour races.
That’s also a first-class achievement,” analyzes Rolf Michl.
Audi RS 3 Saloon: fuel consumption (combined) in l/100 km: 9,4–8,9 (WLTP); CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 214–201 (WLTP)* * Information on fuel/electric power consumption and CO₂ emissions in ranges depends on the vehicle’s selected equipment. Consumption and emission figures for the vehicle are available only according to WLTP and not according to NEDC.
Preparations for the 2024 Dakar Rally have begun
However, one vehicle in the Audi Sport lineup is not available for purchase by customers: the Audi RS Q e‑tron4 with which the company competes in the Dakar Rally. The task the Four Rings has set itself is no less than to revolutionize endurance rallying and rank among the best.
As the first manufacturer to use an electrified drive system in combination with an efficient energy converter, Audi will compete against conventionally powered rivals for overall victory in the world’s toughest rally.
The legendary event was held in the Saudi Arabian desert for the fourth time in January 2023. Audi started with three Audi RS Q e-tron4 cars of the second evolution stage in 2023 – with significant improvements over the first version in terms of bodywork and aerodynamics as well as with new operating strategies that further improved the efficiency of the electric drive.
The stages on the route between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf were longer and more difficult than in the previous year, ranging from 114 to 447 special stage kilometers.
Despite various setbacks, the team achieved good individual results, especially on the final stages. “We definitely lacked the necessary racing luck this year, among other things,” says Rolf Michl. “But the most important thing for us is that the complex drive technology worked without a hitch under these really challenging conditions.” Needless to say, Audi is keeping its sights firmly set on a podium finish: “We started our preparations for the 2024 Dakar Rally right away and will come back even stronger.”