Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo Set for End-of-Year VLN Debut

Photo: Stefano Ciabattoni

The Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo will make its race debut later this year in VLN competition according to Head of Audi Sport customer racing Chris Reinke, who has confirmed the package’s rollout to customers in 2019.

Revealed in a series of spy photos of the car testing earlier this summer, the German manufacturer’s GT3 contender is set to feature significant aero updates, likely to correspond to a planned facelift for its road-going model.

While declining to go into detail on the extent of the changes, Reinke said the Audi Evo will take part in a to-be-determined VLN race later this year, as an SPX entry for yet-to-be-homologated cars.

Four VLN rounds remain this season, with races in September and October.

“We confirmed we will run it in a VLN race,” Reinke said. “We don’t know which one yet.

“Obviously we have to introduce it before the end of the year to get teams ready for next year. That’s where we are at the moment.”

Audi is one of several GT3 manufacturers that are set to roll out Evo kits next year, in the first year of the new cycle of GT3 regulations.

Details on Lamborghini Evo Expected Next Month

Lamborghini, meanwhile, expects to release details of its Evo kit next month, according to its motorsports boss Giorgio Sanna.

The Italian manufacturer’s updated Huracan GT3 has also been spotted testing at Monza in recent months, and according to Sanna, will feature aero, electronics and suspension upgrades.

Sportscar365 understands it will also include a sizable engine update, based around the new Huracan Performante.

“We are working on the Evo as an upgrade to the existing car mainly to have better drivability,” Sanna told Sportscar365. 

“This is the main target of the car, but there will be a lot of new technical features so it will be a double step compared to the existing car.”

12H Bathurst Eligibility to Prevent 2019 Evo Debut

Both Audi and Lamborghini Evos, as well as new-for-2019 cars from Aston Martin, McLaren and Porsche, will not be eligible for February’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, as the race is again expected to run to the previous year’s SRO Balance of Performance.

It will therefore force Audi to revert to its previous-spec R8 LMS GT3 for the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, something Reinke said comes at a detriment to car sales.

“We would have been ready and for us, it makes total sense from a business side, to run it,” he said. “The regulations are different.

“So we’ll introduce a new car [update] and then the first big international race is with the old one.”

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