The Grand Prix kicked off early Friday, and guests of the American Le Mans Series were invited to take part in a new program aptly called "Vitesse" - the french word for speed. On hand were various samples of production cars available to the public and their capabilities while driven on the track, at speed, by professional drivers. The purpose of the program is to showcase how the technologies developed by racing research can benefit the cars that the public drives every day.
A company that sells a vast number of passenger cars thanks to improved technology, can in turn channel more into research and racing - a most symbiotic relationship. Members of the media were able to take turns riding shotgun in an Audi R8, Audi RS4, a Corvette Z06 and a Porsche 911. Holding on to the roll bar, while tightly strapped into racing seat - the passenger is given a better understanding of the skill needed to negotiate the changing elevations and sharp turns of this internationally recognized track. Auto123's Justin Pritchard and I both rode shotgun in the Audi RS4, and exited with ear-to-ear-grins.
photo:Lesley Wimbush
A company that sells a vast number of passenger cars thanks to improved technology, can in turn channel more into research and racing - a most symbiotic relationship. Members of the media were able to take turns riding shotgun in an Audi R8, Audi RS4, a Corvette Z06 and a Porsche 911. Holding on to the roll bar, while tightly strapped into racing seat - the passenger is given a better understanding of the skill needed to negotiate the changing elevations and sharp turns of this internationally recognized track. Auto123's Justin Pritchard and I both rode shotgun in the Audi RS4, and exited with ear-to-ear-grins.
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photo:Lesley Wimbush
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