ALMS was extra special this year!  Thanks to Audi of America and the Audi Motorsport Exterience Team:  Andrew Sattler, Francesca Iacobucci, and Marissa Nesta for the Audi hospitality tent at turn 14 and the numerous festivities.

Those ABC members who registered for this event experienced a weekend of great food and fun. 

It began on Friday with a raffle for a ride in the Audi R8.  Larry Boyer and Henry Bakemeyer both had a chance to ride with professional race car driver Pattie Hughes Mayer from Atlanta. Henry summed it up..."It was a ball.  Patty is a good race car driver.  She was pretty agressive.  We found the marbles in the carousel.  Top speed into turn 5 was about 210 kilometers."

Guests were invited to participate in paddock tours on Friday and Saturday.  The tour provided an up-close look at the race car and the racing operations. 

Saz's provided excellent meals Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Everyone raved about the shish kabobs and those ribs!

The Audi Corral filled up on Saturday, the day of the big race.  A special Michelin Tire Q&A session was held for interested guests. 

The highlight of the event was the Audi Driver Meet and Greet.  Andy Stattler interviewed Marco Werner, Katherine Legge and Marcel Fassler.  Katherine related her Road America incident when she ran into the wall after a problem with her race car.  She spray painted her name on the wall and hopes that portion of the track might be renamed "Katherine's Kink"!

Next, Brad Kettler (Technical Director for Audi Sport North America) joined guests for a technical discussion and Q&A.  He talked about the Audi philosophy.  He said that this track provides "many places where you can stretch it out".  The Audi race cars have smaller fuel tanks compared to the competitors' cars.  Brad was hoping for a dry race.  It would be best if it is a "green flag race front to back".    He talked about collecting data during tests of the R10.  There are over 80 channels in the pit.  On each lap, they collect 30 GB of data for analysis by engineers in Inglestat.  He said the R10 is rated at the top - it's a complex and fantastic road car. 

Many of the Audi guests participated in a raffle drawing to access the Audi R10 TDI pit area during the RA 500 and experienced an Audi R10 TDI pit stop.  

The icing on the cake was the Audi R10 first and second place finishes!   

Take a wild ride with the overall winners of the last ALMS round at the 4.0mi Elkhart Lake circuit. Say hello to 191mph inside Audi's mighty R10 TDI.

Here are a few photos from the event.