SEPANG 12HR: Phoenix to run two Audis

The Phoenix Audi team has joined the entry for next month's Sepang 12 Hours enduro in Malaysia.

Phoenix Racing, which has a combined total of three victories with Audi in the Nurburgring and Spa 24-hour classics, will field a solo second-generation R8 LMS under its own name for factory drivers Markus Winkelhock and Nicki Thiim and team regular Niki Mayr-Melnhof.

The German squad will also run a second car under the Audi Hong Kong banner to be driven by former grand prix driver Alex Yoong, Marchy Lee and Shaun Thong.

Phoenix joins already-confirmed entries in the GT3 class from the M-Sport Bentley team and fellow Audi squad WRT at the home of the Malaysian Grand Prix on December 11. Gianmaria Bruni has joined fellow Ferrari factory drivers James Calado and Matt Griffin in the Clearwater Racing squad's 458 Italia.

The 14 GT3 cars on the entry list will be bolstered by seven in the GTC class for one-make racers, four in the touring car division and one in GT4.

The event has been taken over for 2015 by the Stephane Ratel Organisation, which will incorporate the 12 Hours into its new Intercontinental GT Challenge next year.

It will be the final round of a series that also includes the Spa 24 Hours, the Bathurst 12 Hours and a new six-hour race at Austin on the bill of the Pirelli World Challenge opener in March.

Ratel said: "We are extremely happy to see that our co-operation with the Sepang International Circuit on the 12 Hours project is bearing fruit.

"This is an important event for us because we want to create high-profile GT3 events in the Asia-Pacific region.

"This year the Sepang 12 Hours will still be run as a stand-alone event, but next year it will play an important part in the success of the Intercontinental GT Challenge."

Originally on Autosport.com