Class Victory For Audi Customer Team At The Anniversary In Spa

Class Victory For Audi Customer Team At The Anniversary In Spa

Tresor Attempto Racing scored a class victory in the highly acclaimed edition of the Spa 24 Hours to mark its 100th anniversary. The team deployed the Audi R8 LMS in GT3 and GT4 versions to do so. 

An event that would revoke the memories of the Spa 24 Hours that was held for the first time exactly 100 years ago, the Audi customer racing team – Tresor Attempto Racing – put in a convincing performance in the Bronze Cup, the second strongest class with 20 participants in a field of 66 GT3 sports cars. Max Hofer, Andrey Mukovoz, Aleksei Nesov and Dylan Pereira fought a close battle with their pursuers right to the end. As class winners and tenth in the overall standings, the four private drivers were also the best of eight Audi R8 LMS driver line-ups. 

Saintéloc Racing, another Audi customer team, also contributed a class podium result with second place in the Gold Cup of Paul Evrard, Gilles Magnus, Jim Pla and Hugo de Wilde. Stefan Wieninger put in a faultless performance at the second ADAC Racing Weekend at the Nürburgring.

Attracting 99,500 spectators on the last weekend in June 2024, the event saw the ‘privateer’ driver Wieninger from Land-Motorsport drive behind fellow Audi driver Martin Zander in the first sprint in the Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy in the Audi R8 LMS. This was in the initial laps until he decided and successfully overtook Zander from the ‘équipe vitesse’ team and won by 7.5 seconds after 24 laps.

In the second race, Wieninger even built up a 12.4-second lead over the Porsche of his closest rival. Berthold Gruhn won Class 2a in both races in his Audi R8 LMS. The GTC Race series also held its second competition at this event. In the second sprint, Land-Motorsport finished third with Ivan Peklin. The Audi customer team Stradale Motorsport remained undefeated in South Africa. At the fifth event of the Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop racing series, South African Arnold Neveling won all three sprints on the Aldo Scribante circuit in his Audi R8 LMS. Andy Deng maintained his lead in the GT Sprint Challenge standings in China. At the second event, the driver from the Winhere Racing by HAR team won the second race on Sunday. He celebrated this success after a tactically clever drive, as he delayed the pit stop for a long time.

Due to a handicap stipulated in the regulations, he had to make the longest mandatory pit stop of all the competitors at 95 seconds. In his victory on the Ningbo circuit, he left Li Dongsheng and Li Donghui behind in another Audi R8 LMS. This driver duo had already achieved second place the day before with the Climax Racing team. Another Audi customer team, Zhou Tianji and Lin Weixong from Team Azure Lane by ‘HEHEHE’ Racing, finished third in the first race.

 

Audi R8 LMS GT4

In a promising position, Robert Consani and Benjamin Lariche improved to second place in the Silver Cup standings at the halfway point of the GT4 European Series powered by Rafa Racing Club season. At the third event at Spa, the Audi R8 LMS of the Speedcar team led the 55-strong field after the first pit stop, but Consani was beaten by 3.8 seconds at the end of the one-hour race. After three of six events, Consani and Lariche moved up one position in the Silver classification and are now the second-best of 21 driver pairings. Jürgen Hemker collected three trophies at the ADAC Racing Weekend at the Nürburgring. The private driver from the Konrad Motorsport team drove the Audi R8 LMS GT4 to third place in his class in the first race of the Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy. In the DMV Super Touring and GT Cup as part of the same event platform, Hemker won his class in the first race and was second in the second race. At the second race weekend of the P9 Challenge at the Lausitzring, the Audi R8 LMS GT4 achieved two double victories in its category. Sophie Hofmann won Class 2 for Seyffarth Motorsport ahead of the driver duo Bernd Schaible and Tobias Erdmann. In China, Team Harmony Racing took two second places in the GT Sprint Challenge in the GT4 category. Bao Junbin and David Chen secured these results in the Audi R8 LMS GT4 at the second event on the Ningbo circuit. Harry He from the Madness Racing Team completed the second result with third place in another Audi.

Maruti Suzuki e Vitara Gets 5-Star Bharat NCAP Safety Rating

Maruti e Vitara

Maruti Suzuki India has been awarded a 5-star Bharat NCAP safety rating for its e Vitara, marking a moment for the company's electric vehicle strategy.

The e Vitara is built on Suzuki’s Heartect-e platform designed for electric vehicles to deliver strength, structural rigidity and advanced high voltage protection. The ‘Made-in-India, Made-for-the-World’ e Vitara is designed and tested for temperature conditions across the world, ensuring performance from as high as 60deg Celsius to as low as -30deg Celsius. The model is offered with 49 kWh and 61 kWh battery options.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, said, “Congratulations to Maruti Suzuki for achieving 5-star Bharat NCAP in both adult and child occupant protection for their e Vitara. I am especially glad that Maruti Suzuki has shown real leadership in providing 7 airbags as a standard across all variants of the e Vitara.”

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “The 5-star Bharat NCAP rating for e Vitara, our first Battery Electric Vehicle, is a moment of immense pride for all of us at Maruti Suzuki. Using the Bharat NCAP 5-star rating, we will export the e Vitara to more than 100 countries of the world. Bharat NCAP’s globally benchmarked stringent vehicle test protocols have been a catalyst in empowering customers to make informed decisions. I thank the Minister Gadkari, the officials in his Ministry and test agencies for their rigorous efforts and commitment in shaping India’s journey towards safe mobility.”

The e VITARA’s body structure uses more than 60 percent ultra-high tensile and high-tensile strength steel. Its battery protection system incorporates a structural design with an energy-absorbing battery pack mounting structure.

Key safety features include 7 standard airbags (including the Driver's knee airbag), Level 2 ADAS (Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control), Hill Hold Control, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and a 360-degree Surround View Camera.

Mahindra Launches First Dealership-Based Ultrafast EV Charger In Anantapur

Mahindra Charger

Mahindra has marked a major milestone in its nationwide electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure expansion with the inauguration of its first dealership-based ultrafast charger – a 180 kW Charge_IN station.

This is the first of many such installations planned across Mahindra dealerships, forming a key pillar of the company’s commitment to building India’s ultrafast charging network.

This initiative scales up Mahindra’s Charge_IN ecosystem, complementing the 250 highway fast-charging stations already announced. The new 180 kW ultrafast chargers will enable EV users to charge quickly and conveniently at strategically located dealerships across the country, with 24x7 on-ground support.

Hyundai Motor India Wholesales Grow 9.1% In November

Hyundai Creta

Hyundai Motor India, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has reported wholesales of 66,840 units in November 2025, up 9.1 percent YoY as against 61,252 units last year.

This includes domestic sales of 50,340 units, up 4 percent YoY and exports of 16,500 units, up 27 percent YoY.

Tarun Garg, Whole-time Director & Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor India, said, “Supported by GST 2.0 reforms, we continue to carry forward sales momentum with a year-on-year growth in our monthly domestic sales in November 2025. Further, our commitment to bolstering India’s role as a global manufacturing hub is further solidified with 26.9% year-on-year growth in monthly exports.”

He further added that the all-new Hyundai Venue SUV, the company's first software-defined vehicle in India, has received more than 32,000 bookings within a month of its launch. The new Venue features ccNC infotainment powered by Nvidia.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Reports 28% Sales Growth In November

Toyota

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has announced its wholesales for November 2025, reporting total sales of 33,752 units, up 28 percent YoY.

This includes 30,085 units sold in the domestic market and 3,667 units exported.

Varinder Wadhwa, Vice-President, Sales–Service–Used Car Business, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “Following a positive festive season supported by the government’s progressive GST reforms, we continue to witness a strong momentum, with a growth of 19 percent. The recent introduction of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder Aero Edition and Fortuner Leader Edition has also continued to help us reinforce this growth trajectory, receiving recognition across the country. The innovative initiatives such as the Drum Tao and the launch of the toyota experiential museum (tem) in Bangalore, have been highly appreciated, further strengthening customer engagement and brand connect.”