Audi R8 GTD Driver Lineups Confirmed for Rolex 24

Audi of America unveiled Thursday the driver lineups for its five customer R8 LMS cars that will tackle the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The German manufacturer will be seeking back-to-back GT class wins in the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic, although with four teams that are all new to the GT3-based contender the Daytona high banks.

Flying Lizard Motorsports will field a pair of Audi R8 LMS cars for Seth Neiman, Dion von Moltke, Alessandro Latif and Filipe Albuquerque (No. 35) and Nelson Canache Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, Tim Pappas and Markus Winkelhock (No. 45).

Both von Moltke and Albuquerque are defending class winners of the event.

Also making the switch to Audi is Paul Miller Racing, which will field a single entry for Bryce Miller, Brit Matt Bell and Audi Sport customer racing drivers Rene Rast and Christopher Haase.

Fall-Line Motorsports, which debuted in Rolex Series competition late last year, will see its No. 46 car driven by Charlie Putnam, Charles Espenlaub, James Walker and Audi factory driver Oliver Jarvis, who was also part of last year’s Daytona winning team.

The fifth and final R8 in the race will be fielded by GMG Racing for drivers James Sofronas, Alex Welch and Audi Sport customer racing drivers Frank Stippler and Marc Basseng.

“We have a fantastic group of racing partners and drivers this season and look forward to defending last year’s Daytona win,” said Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America. “The successes of the R8 in endurance racing are a testament to the engineering found in every Audi on the road today.”

While all five Audis are expected to contest the entire TUDOR Championship season, only Fall-Line’s full-season lineup of Espenlaub and Putnam has been confirmed.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John