http://www.carzi.com/2008/12/10/audi-leaves-alms-american-le-mans-series/

http://www.carzi.com/2008/12/06/ken-block-gymkhana-practice-drift-video/

Audi announced today that its factory team will not participate in the American Le Mans Series in 2009. The Audi factory team, which has dominated the series since it joined in 2000, will take the opportunity to create a more formidable presence in the European arena, particularly the 24-Hours of Le Mans race, with its newly developed R15 sport prototype (rendering pictured above).

Though some may see this as a symptom of economic difficulties, for Audi motorsport and American race fans, the hand that taketh away also giveth. The Audi R15 sport prototype will premiere at the 12-hour race in Sebring, Florida on March 21, 2009. The company will also make the new R8 LMS available for customer use in the GT3 class. Americans can look forward to a different ALMS, as well as the hope of still seeing Audis driven by the capable hands of non-factory teams.

Scroll down to read the complete press release.

http://www.carzi.com/2008/12/05/2008-honda-f1-racing-comes-to-end/

Those drivers with dreams of being a rally titan should pay special attention to this eBay Motors find, despite a set of rather daunting circumstances for potential customers in the U.S. A Dutch seller has created what appears to be—based on the rather skimpy selection of low-res images—a fairly flawless replica of the Audi Club Quattro Sport that was campaigned in 1980 by the likes of Michèle Mouton in the World Rally Championship.

Assembled from three donor Audis to, “Get the lines correct, windshield angles correct and all the measurements of the bodyshell accurate to the original,” the car is actually propelled by the not insignificant 4.2-liter V-8 from an S4. Sounds pretty good right? The only real problems are the car’s location (a town called Veghel in the Netherlands), the rather steep price ($69,000 buy it now), and the fact that the auction is ending in about 30 minutes at the time of this writing. Fast action required!

+ eBay Motors: 1980 Audi  GT

http://www.madwhips.com/audi-r8-gt3-essen-motor-show/

Introduced to the world this past August, it seems that Audi and racing team ABT Sportsline are spending some time at the Nürburgring with this, supremely wild R8 GT3.

The hugely winged and kitted R8 is said to have been fitted to the requirements of a GT3 race car, meaning that all of its 500 horsepower is directed to the rear wheels only—as four-wheel drive isn’t permitted in the formula. That prodigious shove from the V-10 engine is handled through a six-speed sequential gearbox. We’ve heard rumors that the racy R8 was clearing the ‘Ring in laps of around eight minutes, forty seconds, which isn’t bad considering the recently rainy driving conditions.

Have a closer look at the super R8 GT3 in our gallery above, or scroll down below to read a few words penned by the spy shooter himself.

In order to compete in the 634-mile-long 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race, Volkswagen seemingly forged, machined, and filed away at a giant block of steel until the Touareg TDI Trophy Truck was born. To be unveiled at the L.A Auto Show, and christened with the name Touareg, the only similarities the truck has with its road-going relative are its four wheels and its name. Knowing that, it would certainly be quite a blunder to take this beast of a machine lightly.
 
A 5.5-liter V-12 clean turbo diesel engine growls somewhere underneath its sharp and cutting exterior and is able to produce 550 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque. And will need every bit of that power considering it weighs in at a massive 5650 pounds. Hopefully, its Xtrac six-speed sequential transmission will be able to hold up to that combo.

+ Carscoop: VW To Unveil Touareg V12 TDI Race Truck at L.A. Show

With participants hailing from Formula 1, NASCAR, the World Touring Car Championship, the World Rally Championship, and more, the Race of Champions is a pretty impressive spectacle. The event challenges drivers, usually splint into teams representing the drivers’ country of origin, to navigate the super tight confines of a road course, shoehorned onto a stadium field.  The ROC found a new home at Wembley Stadium last winter, and will take place there again this year.

Adding a bit of excitement to the proceedings this go-round, the wide swath of racers will be piloting the hardcore KTM X-Bow. The newly debuted track demon would seem to be a natural choice for the tight confines of Wembley, and one that has got the drivers talking already.
 
Longtime F1 driver David Coulthard is excited to trade in his standard racecar confines for a night with the X-Bow, calling the car “ingenious” and adding, “I think it looks absolutely stunning – I can hardly wait to get behind the wheel in December.”

The ROC is set to go off on December 13th this year, though it remains to be seen if U.S. motorsports fans will get a broadcast.