The Race of Champions saw more action than usual this past weekend. In the very first round, Heikki Kovalainen managed to stuff his Audi R8 GT into the wall while going head to head against Sebastien Loeb. Kovalainen clipped the inside barrier that separates the two tracks before spinning into a concrete wall, destroying his racer’s suspension and knocking himself unconscious in the process. Kovalainen said that a sticking throttle was the cause of the accident in his Twitter feed, though the video also looks like he simply got too close to the inside barrier.

Fortunately, Kovalainen was not seriously injured during the bang-up. Likewise, his girlfriend, who was riding in the vehicle at the time, walked away from the incident without so much as a scuff as well.

The only only Audi R8 Le Mans-specification sports car racing outside Europe or the United Kingdom has claimed two top-10 finishes in its debut on Bathurst’s Mount Panorama circuit. The Penfold Audi Sport Audi R8 LMS driven by owner Mark Eddy finished eighth and ninth in races for round five of the Vodka O Australian GT Championship last

weekend. The Audi challenged a world-class field of almost 30 GT3-level sports cars representing Aston Martin, Mosler, Lamborghini, Porsche, Lotus, Viper, Corvette and Nissan. In only its fourth Down Under event and its first outing since round three in May, the 500 horsepower V10-engined coupe performed faultlessly and continued to improve its lap times, Eddy said. The car’s progress through the field to finish ninth in race one was impressive, considering it started only 16th after a frustrating build-up to qualifying. “There were delays because of accidents and incidents in both practice sessions and we really didn’t get enough laps for the first time on a track like this. “Then I got baulked in qualifying. I was pretty frustrated, because I don’t think I’ve qualified outside the top 10 in about five years.”

However, Eddy made amends immediately in race one, proving the pace of the Audi R8 LMS. He overtook three cars on the first lap, advanced two more spots on the second lap and another on lap six and clinched ninth place on the final lap.

Starting ninth in race two, Eddy duelled with a Lamborghini Gallardo rival for 12 laps before taking eighth place at the chequered flag.

“In the end I was pretty happy. The car went really well and didn’t miss a beat. I’ve come away from this round with the car in perfect shape and with some set-up data for the next time we come to Bathurst,” Eddy said.

“We’ll try to have a test before the next round and then I’ve also entered the car in a one-hour race at the Island Magic meeting at Phillip Island later in November. It’s at its best over longer race distances and we should go well there.” Mark Eddy is now eighth in the Vodka O Australian GT Championship drivers’ standings.

The Penfold Audi Sport team will contest the Championship’s sixth and final round at Melbourne’s Sandown Park circuit on 19-21 November, during the Norton 360 V8 Supercar event.

2010 Vodka O Australian GT Championship, Mount Panorama (Round 5 of 6)

Race 1: 1 Tony Quinn (Aston Martin) 2 Klark Quinn (Mosler MT900) 3 David Wall (Porsche 997 Cup S) 9 Mark Eddy (Audi R8 LMS)

Race 2: 1 Tony Quinn (Aston Martin) 2 Klark Quinn (Mosler MT900) 3 David Wall (Porsche 997 Cup S) 8 Mark Eddy (Audi R8 LMS)

Drivers points after Round 5: 1 David Wall (Porsche GT3 997 Cup S) 475.5 2 Dean Grant (Lamborghini Gallardo GT3) 423 3 Peter Hackett (Lamborghini Gallardo GT3) 397 4 James Koundouris (Porsche 997 Cup S) 386
5 Greg Crick (Dodge Viper GT3) 336.5
8 Mark Eddy (Audi R8 LMS) 287.5 *

(*Mark Eddy did not compete in round four)

Penfold Audi Sport by Chris Nixon, Automotive Publicist.

Audi vehicle interiors are widely considered to be among the best, if not the best, but chief Audi designer Stefan Sielaff isn’t entirely satisfied. Tapping his fingernails hard on a curved strip on the dashboard of an R8 coupe, he says, “This I don’t like. It’s too plasticky. We’ll change this and cover it with leather material.”
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