The KW automotive group is broadly positioned with its two suspension brands KW suspensions and Reiger Suspensions.

KW Motorsport Manager Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Rechenberg: "While we focus primarily on developments for the circuit here in Fichtenberg, our motorsport applications for off-road use are created by our colleagues at Reiger in the Netherlands. We work closely together on this. Thus, one or the other rally vehicle has already been on our 7-post vertical vehicle dynamics test bench."

Installed in numerous race cars ex works
For several years, various car manufacturers have relied on KW and Reiger developments in their customer sports programs and racing operations.

In endurance races on the circuit, vehicles in the GT3 and GT4 classifications in various championships, such as the BMW M4 GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R, Mercedes-AMG GT4, Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport and Toyota GR Supra GT4, are equipped with the multiple performance-adjustable KW motorsport dampers.

Thomas Rechenberg: "At the moment, we are developing the dampers for a customer sports car that will be released in 2023, and in 2022 we will equip one or the other DTM motorsport team with our dampers for the first time."

Dominance in rallying
Factories such as Ford, Subaru and Toyota rely on Reiger dampers in rally racing. At the opening round of the World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo, for example, only vehicles with Reiger dampers finished in the top 5, with Sébastien Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche in the Ford Puma Rally1 (center gallery) winning ahead of Sébastien Ogier and Benjamin Veillas in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and Craig Breen and Paul Nagle in the second-best Ford Puma Rally1.

KW automotive customers also won the 8,000-kilometer Dakar Rally through the deserts of Saudi Arabia, led by Toyota Gazoo Racing with Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (gallery left). Places 1 to 6 were exclusively vehicles with Reiger dampers.

Reiger Suspension is also represented with its developments in many other off-road championships.

Winning GT customers at Daytona
After that, KW customers triumphed on the circuit as well. At the Daytona 24-hour race, Porsche Motorsport customers won in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. Other GT3 cars with KW racing dampers were the two new BMW M4 GT3s from BMW Team RLL (gallery on the right).

In the run-up to the US classic, the Porsche customer team RS1 also won the BMW M Endurance Challenge round at Daytona with its new Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport.

kwautomotive.com

kwsuspensions.ch

Nico Müller gives a foretaste of what to expect on the Flüela Pass on February 8.

Next Tuesday at 7 p.m. Audi factory driver Nico Müller will push the all-electric sports car with the four rings to its limits on a specially prepared ice surface on the Flüela Pass in Davos. The DTM and future Audi Le Mans driver will test acceleration, handling and braking performance in wintry conditions.

Virtual winter driving training
At the Audi Ice Experience at an altitude of over 2,000 meters, guests learn how to get through the winter safely. In addition to helpful tips and exercises, the focus here is also on driving fun, especially when the Audi RS e-tron GT takes to the ice.

This will show what is possible with 646 hp and the most advanced quattro drive ever. A dynamic driving experience in a class of its own to experience live.

Interactive Live Session
During the interactive virtual session you will learn everything about the sophisticated technology of the Audi RS e-tron GT and what it means to safely drive the most powerful Audi ever over ice and snow.

The highlight: in various challenges, Nico challenges the instructors of the Audi driving experience and shows why he is the fastest Swiss behind the wheel.

The live session is free of charge and will be held in German. The following additional highlights await you:

• Insights into Audi's winter driving training
• Presentation of the Audi RS e-tron GT with exclusive insights from the expert
• Electric mobility in its most dynamic form for virtual experience
• Live Q&A with race driver Nico Müller
• Impressive images of the dynamic driving experience - from the vehicle, from the air and from the trackside

This is how you are
Everything you need to know about this event, about the Audi RS e-tron GT and about Nico Müller's career to date can be found on the internet (see link below). Registration is via this Link .

audi.ch/ch/web/en/innovation-experience/events/digital-events/audi-rs-e-tron-gt-ice-drive-nico-mueller.html

The traditional season-opening race in the USA took place in sunny, but for Florida unusually cool and, especially at night, almost freezing temperatures. However, those who followed the 24-hour race in Daytona live on site or - as is possible in Switzerland - on the live internet stream, really warmed up their motorsport hearts.

Louis Delétraz must save fuel
In all five categories - DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTD Pro and GTD - there were countless lead changes and battles for the individual victories until the chequered flag fell at 13:40 local time. In the exciting final phase, two Swiss drivers were also on course for victory - but in the end they had to settle for third places.

Louis Delétraz had fought his way back to the top spot himself in the Tower Motorsports Oreca when he was beaten by American Colton Herta and Dutchman Giedo van der Garde (a former Sauber GP driver) on the 743rd of 751 laps completed at Daytona International Speedway.

Louis Delétraz: "At the last refueling stop there was apparently a problem, which is why the tank wasn't full enough. So I had to take my foot off the gas and couldn't really fight back. Unfortunately, with four hours to go we already lost about a minute due to a puncture, but fought our way back. Otherwise it might still have been enough."

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, the driver from Geneva was leading until the last lap before the LMP2 car fell victim to an electric gremlin.

Wheel-to-wheel duel for GT victory
Slightly disappointed at narrowly missing out on victory, which at Daytona is always rewarded with a coveted Rolex chronograph for all the drivers, was Alexandre Imperatori, too, although the man from Freiburg was also on the podium in the end.

In an epic duel between two Porsche factory drivers, his partner Laurens Vanthoor lost out to Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet in the final kilometers. The collision in the final chicane resulted in a half spin by the Belgian, after which a Ferrari also passed in second place. After all, it was the first podium at Daytona for both Imperatori and Delétraz.

Müller/Shearer accident
Nicolas Lapierre of Franco-Switzerland, who competes under a French license, finished in a thankless fourth place with his LMP2 team, just 13 seconds behind the winning team.

The Oreca of Nico Müller and Fabio Scherer, which had been leading several times, retired in the middle of the night shortly before half-time due to an accident with the Lucerne driver at the wheel that cannot yet be explained. Until then, Müller had set his team's fastest race lap and the twelfth-best of all 40 LMP2 drivers.

No repeat for Ellis
Leading laps were also collected by three hapless Swiss with their GT3 cars. The Mercedes-AMG with last year's winner Philip Ellis had to make a time-consuming pit stop on Sunday morning after a total of 151 laps at the head of the GTD class due to bodywork damage. Eight laps down, it was down to 6th place.

After just three and a half hours, the race was over for Raffaele Marciello's Mercedes. For Rolf Ineichen, class winner in 2018 and 2019, and his Lamborghini teammates, the fun was over after 400 laps in the 14th hour, having just taken the lead.

Acura/Honda defeats Cadillac
Overall victory went to the Acura DPi of Indy champions Helio Castroneves (BR) and Simon Pagenaud (F) and Oliver Jarvis (GB) and Tom Blomqvist (S). The American Honda brand Acura celebrated a one-two victory over the five Cadillacs also competing in the premier DPI class.

The four fastest teams each covered around 4354 kilometers with an average of 181.3 km/h. The complete results are available at this Link.

Overall standings 24H Daytona 2022

imsa.com

daytonainternationalspeedway.com

The 2022 IMSA season traditionally begins with the 24 Hours of Daytona. 61 cars start on Saturday.

The Americans may talk about the 60th edition of the famous 24 Hours of Daytona. In fact, however, the first sports car races lasted only a few hours before the actual marathon premiere took place in 1966. It ended with the triumph of the legendary duo Ken Miles/Lloyd Ruby in a Shelby American Ford MkII.

End of an era
Nowadays, up to five drivers take turns at the wheel of the fastest Daytona Prototype (DPi) sports cars. For them, 2022 marks the end of an era, as from next year the LMDh regulations will also apply in Europe, i.e. Le Mans.

If only U.S. teams with five Cadillacs and two Acuras settle the victory among themselves at the weekend, renowned brands such as Porsche, Audi and BMW will be back at the forefront of the action from 2023.

Only Siffert and Lienhard
The only Swiss overall winners in the history of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, as the race is officially called, were Jo Siffert in 1968 in a Porsche 907 and Fredy Lienhard in 2002 in a Dallara SP1.

This is likely to remain the case, as no Swiss driver is competing for the favored DPi teams. Mike Rockenfeller, who lives in Thurgau and drives a top Caddy, has held a Swiss passport for some time but remains a German racing driver.

Müller is confident
The Swiss presence is strong in the LM P2 class, where eight teams with ten technically identical Oreca 07-Gibson V8s will decide the winner among themselves. Nico Müller starts his LMP2 campaign, which will also take him to the WEC, with High Class Racing. One of his three partners is Fabio Scherer who, like the DTM driver, is racing in the USA for the first time.

The Danish team is not among the absolute best, but anything is possible over the distance.

Nico Müller: "The team is doing a good job so far. We're certainly not the favorites, but we still reckon we have a good chance because our pace has been really promising so far."

Delétraz in winning team
The team will tackle the race from fourth position in LMP2. The grid positions were allocated last Sunday based on the outcome of a 100-minute qualifying race in which Scherer and Dane Dennis Andersen took turns at the wheel. P2 would have been possible without any time loss during the pit stop.

Daytona and its special track characteristics are also new territory for Geneva-based Louis Delétraz. The reigning champion in the European Le Mans Series has found shelter with Tower Motorsports from the USA, which won the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta last November and the year before. So they know how it's done.

Two classes for GT3 cars
There are also four fast candidates for the podium in the two GT classes under GT3 regulations. The organizers of the North American sports car racing series have set up a new class structure for them.

The previous GTLM category will no longer exist. It will be replaced by the new GTD Pro class, in which pure professional racers can share a car. In the GTD class, as before, at least one "amateur" must be on board at each race, and even two at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Ineichen and Ellis back at the place of success
Even though he is not a professional, Rolf Ineichen is racing a Lamborghini Huracán in GTD-Pro with three strong Italians. In a similar constellation, the Lucerne native has already won at Daytona (2018 and 2019) and Sebring (2019).

Philip Ellis, too, knows how to do it. A year ago, his star really rose thanks to a heroically won battle for the GTD victory. Then elevated to the status of a Mercedes-AMG works driver, the man from Zug also won in the DTM. With the proven Team Winward from the USA, he wants to repeat last year's success.

Alexandre Imperatori from Freiburg in a Porsche and Raffaele Marciello from Ticino in a Mercedes are further contenders for the podium thanks to equally strong team partners.

Complete 24-hour race in livestream
The Daytona International Speedway in Florida, which opened in 1959, differs from other tracks, among other things, in its highly banked corners: the angle of inclination in the oval sections of the 5.73-kilometer circuit is up to 31 degrees.

The race will start at 13:40 local time (19:40 CET) on Saturday, January 29. Outside the USA and Canada, it will be broadcast live over the entire distance on the Internet (here the direct link). The livetiming is available at this Link.

Result qualifying race Official start list

imsa.com

daytonainternationalspeedway.com

The highlights of the final leg, which ended with Sébastien Loeb's eighth Monte victory.

The 90th Rally Monte Carlo 2022 delivered what was expected of the affiche. The two Sébastiens - Ogier in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and Loeb in the also new Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 - fought a terrific duel for victory right from the start on Thursday evening. None of the world-class drivers from the three manufacturer teams were in contention for it under normal circumstances.

In a class of its own
On Thursday evening, world champion Ogier set the pace with fastest times on the first two classic stages. Loeb, who only had a few days after the Dakar Rally (2nd) to completely adjust to the hybrid vehicle with a good 500 hp and the climate, only lost a small amount of time.

On the second stage, the nine-time world champion showed all his class and experience and took the lead with four consecutive best times in six SS. At the end of the day, Loeb was just ten seconds ahead of the younger man. Only Ford regular Gus Greensmith was able to make an impression with the first WRC best time of his career.

Early start instead of miracle
On the third day, Ogier turned the tide in his favor again. With a difference of 21.1 seconds after 13 of the 17 stages, things seemed to be going in favor of the world champion, who will not defend his title in 2022. However, the final tally is made at the end of the day.

On the 16th SS, which Ogier had tackled with a 24.6-second lead over Loeb, the leader suffered a slow puncture. With a 34-second gap, his time loss was limited, but with his rival 9.5 seconds ahead of him before the final stage, he could only hope for a miracle to claim his ninth victory at the "Monte.

When Ogier (gallery, left) was given a ten-second time penalty during the final Power Stage for jumping the gun, which shouldn't happen to a multi-champion, it was clear. Loeb saved a half-second lead on the road to the finish, and in the end it was 10.5.

Title fight opened
With his new co-driver Isabelle Calmiche, the soon-to-be 48-year-old Alsatian celebrated his 80th victory in a WRC race. This makes them the first winners of the new WRC hybrid era.

Irishman Craig Breen made the M Sport Ford World Rally Team's triumph all the sweeter. M Sport Ford WRT leads the makes/teams World Rally Championship after the season opener. Taking into account that Loeb and Ogier are still competing sporadically at best, Finn Kalle Rovanperä, who is third in the standings, is the first WRC leader in 2022 thanks to the five additional points for winning the final Power Stage.

In the race, Rovanperä (Toyota), Gus Greensmith (Ford) and Thierry Neuville (Gallery right), who set the only SS best time for Hyundai, took the next places below the podium. Vice world champion Elfyn Evans (Toyota), who is seen by many as a potential successor to Ogier, finished 21st overall and scored only a few championship points. A ride out cost him a lot of time. Ott Tänak (Hyundai), the 2019 world champion, retired after two punctures without a spare wheel for the liaison stage.

Senior podium for Olivier Burri
The two Swiss teams did respectably. Olivier Burri did not have anything to order in the WRC2 Open for previous R5 cars and current Rally2 vehicles. However, in the WRC2 Masters Cup, the sub-category for drivers over 50 years of age, the man from Belprahon in Bernjurassi took second place at the wheel of a Volkswagen Polo.

Gritting his teeth, Burri had to acknowledge that he had no chance against the Italian Mauro Miele in a Skoda Fabia. Only on SS13 and SS17 was he able to wrest at least two best times from him and the Belgian Freddy Loix (former WRC works driver), whom he relegated to third place overall.

In the 15-team RC4 group, Sacha Althaus and Lisiane Zbinden took a good fourth place in their Renault Clio Rally4. They were more than four minutes off the podium, but the duo can still be satisfied.

acm.mc

wrc.com

The young man from Aargau is considered a super talent and is a diamond in the rough: At just 16 years old, he was the youngest driver to start in the ADAC GT Masters in 2017. Last season, Ricardo Feller won the championship title together with Christopher Mies in this highly competitive racing series for GT3 sports cars.

German car dealer group makes his dream come true
But the youngster from Suhr's big goal has always been the DTM.

Ricardo Feller: "It's just cool that this dream is now coming true. I want to compete with the best in the DTM, and ABT Sportsline is exactly the right place for me. I'm aware that 2022 will be a challenge. Regardless of my teammates, the competition in the DTM will probably be even stronger than last year. I want to measure myself against the best - and they are currently racing in the DTM."

His DTM entry is made possible by the Scherer Group. With 31 car dealerships at 19 locations, it is one of the largest automobile dealers in Germany. Scherer has a long-standing, close partnership with ABT Sportsline, the world's leading tuner of vehicles from the Volkswagen Group.

Consequences of good customer contact
The contact with the young Swiss man also came about through business.

Company boss Christian Scherer: "Motorsport has always been an excellent contact exchange. Ricardo's family has a garage in Switzerland, where Ricardo was still actively involved until recently. They are a customer of ours and that's how we got to know and appreciate each other personally. Ricardo is hotly traded on the driver market. He had many offers. I am proud that he has chosen Scherer Sport. He has all the qualities to become one of the greats."

Factory driver and brand ambassador
Ricardo Feller received a factory contract from Audi Sport customer racing for 2022. With Nico Müller and Patric Niederhauser, two more Swiss drivers are already in the service of the four rings. In return, Rahel Frey is leaving the squad after many years.

In addition to the DTM, Feller will contest numerous other races for Scherer Sport in the coming season. He is also the company's new brand ambassador.

Christian Scherer: "Ricardo is not only a fast racing driver, he also has a lot of charm and is eloquent. He will go down well with our customers and employees with his manner. In addition, he comes from a family business that is run in a similar way to our company. It's a perfect fit."

Ricardo Feller will make his debut at the official DTM test drives in Hockenheim at the beginning of April. The 2022 DTM, with a total of eight race weekends, will kick off the new season from April 30 to May 1 in Portimão, Portugal.

abt-sportsline.com

The "Monte" heralds a new era in rallying. The teaser shows the three hybrid models in action.

The three manufacturers Ford, Hyundai and Toyota have installed the same hybrid unit in their new Rally1 cars. The German company Compact Dynamics already supplies such components for Formula 1, WEC and Formula E.

More than 500 hp system performance
The electric motor operates behind the transmission on the drive shaft. The 3.9 kWh battery is coupled with an MGU motor that delivers up to 100 kW of power (134 hp) and 180 Nm of torque during acceleration. The maximum system output for the electrically assisted 1600cc turbo combustion engines is now over 500 hp.

This is accompanied by more robust chassis and safety cells. Hybrid mode, use of clean energy for the service park and use of 100 % clean fuel (eFuel) also form a sustainable approach with which the FIA is ushering in the new era of the World Rally Championship.

Duel of the two multichampions
The 75-team entry list for the Rally Monte Carlo is headed by the Toyota Yaris Rally 1 #1 of eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman only drives sporadically after this, so will not be defending the title. His teammates are runner-up Elfyn Evans (GB), Kalle Rovanpera (FIN) and the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta.

For Hyundai, Thierry Neuville (B), Estonian Ott Tänak and Oliver Solberg (S) will compete with the new i20 N Rally1. The new Ford Puma Hybrid Rally 1 cars from M-Sport will be entrusted to Irishman Craig Breen, Gus Greensmith (GB), Adrien Fourmaux (F) and, for the time being, only at the "Monte" to nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb. Loeb traveled directly to the final WRC test in the Maritime Alps after finishing second in the Dakar Rally. The duel between Ogier and Loeb therefore adds an extra dimension to the season opener.

With two Swiss
Two Swiss hope for success in their classes. Old master Olivier Burri will be competing in the Principality for the 24th time with co Andersson Levratti, as in 2019 and 2020 with a VW Polo GTI Rally2. The Bernjurassier is aiming for victory in the WRC2 Master Cup, a classification for over-50s.

Sacha Althaus and Lisiane Zbinden will be competing in their Renault Clio Rally4, just like in the Swiss Rally Championship. They are also hoping for a podium in their class.

Live on Servus TV
The event will start on Thursday evening, January 20, in Monaco, followed by two night stages. The finish after a total of 17 special stages is on Sunday, January 23, shortly after midday.

The Austrian TV channel Servus-TV broadcasts several SP live. Which one you can find out under this Link. On the YouTube channel of the WRC, there are also running summaries of the individual stages.

acm.mc/

wrc.com

Steve Zacchia and his dad Patrick from Yverdon-les-Bains took turns at the wheel of a Ligier JS2 R with three equally fast and reliable Frenchmen. The quintet was already ahead in qualifying and dominated the action in the ten-car TCX class almost at will. The Swiss importer of the Ligier sports cars, which are ideally suited for customer racing, is Horag Hotz Racing from Sulgen.

In the TCE division of all touring cars, only the top two TCR teams turned a few more laps in the 24 hours at the Dubai Autodrome. Here, the first half of the race smelled of another Swiss success like in previous years.

TCR victory to Thai
Differential damage and a broken damper on the Audi RS3 LMS (gallery left) cost the night's leading team AC Motorsport from Belgium, with which the Swiss Yannick Mettler and Miklas Born were competing for the first time, valuable time.

As a result, an also strongly piloted Cupra TCR from Thailand took the class lead all the way to the finish. Mettler and Born with their two Belgian partners were still able to bring second place safely to the finish.

Turbulence at Autorama Motorsport
On the way to a possible victory was also the Audi entered for the first time by Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power, which professional Rob Huff had driven to pole position. After the defective gearbox had been replaced, the race was over for car number #116.

The two VW Golfs (center gallery), on the other hand, were not very lucky from the first hour. The #112 was literally torpedoed by a Porsche during the night and had to be brought back to the pits. The change of the rear axle took about 20 minutes.

The champion car with start number #111 was doing well until a spin with impact by Constantin Kletzer required about half an hour of repairs. With one hour to go, the two Autorama teams were only 20 seconds apart after a nice and trouble-free catch-up.

Britain's Alex Morgan brought home the podium as the fast final runner for himself and his four team partners, which included Gustavo Xavier as the only Swiss. Jasmin Preisig, Fabian Danz and their two colleagues had to settle for a thankless fourth place.

Double victory for Belgian Audi customer team
Overall victory went to the Saudi flagged Team MS7 by WRT from Belgium with drivers Mohammed Saud Fahad Al Saud, Axcil Jefferies, Christopher Mies (ADAC GT Champion 2021 with Ricardo Feller), Dries Vanthoor and Thomas Neubauer (gallery right). They won ahead of their WRT teammates Benjamin Goethe, Arnold Robin, Maxime Robin, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Frédéric Vervisch. The winning team was in front for almost 90 percent of the distance.

Of the Swiss drivers competing in the GT classes, only Raffaele Marciello was able to celebrate a top result. The Ticino driver was less than eight seconds off third place overall.

Swiss GT pilots failed
Among the retirement victims were the teams of Dinamic Motorsport (Porsche) with three Swiss drivers and the Lamborghini with Rolf Ineichen and Adrian Amstutz, who were initially also in the leading group.

Both Porsche teams from Fach Auto Tech that started in the Cup classes 992-Pro and 992-Am also retired early. The reasons can be found on the homepage of the Schwyz team under this Link to read.

The multiple race winner of the 24H Series Daniel Allemann did not even come to the race after a serious training accident of his Porsche.

The same happened to the specialist Porsche in its collision with a KTM GT2 as it did to other GT teams with Swiss crews.

Class ranking Overall ranking

24hseries.com

LowRide magazine collaborated with American Dreams on the R 18 M project, while the R 18 Aurora was developed by Garage 221 on behalf of BMW Motorrad Roma.

Typical colors blue, white and red
The R 18 (gallery below) is inspired by the brand's motorsport history and features the typical colors of blue, white and red. The Aurora takes its cues from older cruisers.

For the Aurora, Garage 221 made use of the seat of a BMW R 1200 C from 2005, turn signal holders from a 1982 R 100 and part of the rear frame of a 1991 K 75, among other things, which were remodeled.

For the paintwork of the body parts, the color code of a BMW R 100 RT from 1983 was used. The oil radiator grille is inspired by BMW cars of the sixties.

bmw.ch

With their history, enthusiast automobiles represent living cultural history. Now The Motor Chain has been launched to preserve the history of our young and classic cars and to increase confidence in their condition.

All vehicle data and documents can be archived quickly and efficiently. The vehicle owner has access at all times - whether on a cell phone, tablet or PC.

Trustworthy documentation
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In addition, The Motor Chain offers dealers and private vehicle owners the option of making the documentation available online to trusted third parties. For example, to answer questions about maintenance and care needs or to create sales documentation.

Complete history of the vehicles
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themotorchain.com