Midway through 2021, Audi Sport customer racing has reached an important milestone: the production of the 138th GT3 model of the second generation of the Audi R8 LMS, which first hit the market at the end of 2015. Its predecessor, which was available from 2009 to 2015, was built 137 times.

“In our competitive environment, it is by no means a given that a model will be as successful as its predecessor, or even surpass it,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “For us, it was never solely about sporting success. From day one, we configured our customer racing programme in such a way that teams on every continent receive a competitive product, individual care, and a comprehensive service.”

The production-based race car shares half of its components with the road-approved model, and parts of the car are assembled at the Böllinger Höfen production facility in Neckarsulm. Assembly is then completed at the Audi Sport customer racing workshop in the Heilbronn district of Biberach. The R8 LMS has been racing in the ADAC GT Masters since 2016 and received an Evo package in 2019. During this time, the GT3 sports car has claimed 18 wins and 18 pole positions, as well as two Driver titles and one Team championship. This season, the mid-engine sports car is again the most popular car in the series among the teams, with a total of ten cars on the grid.

Audi Sport is now in its tenth year as a partner of the ADAC GT Masters and this season provides three Audi R8 V10 Plus as safety cars and lead car, as well as two Audi A6 Avant 50 TDI, which are used by race control.