Vin Diesel!
There may well be a new 'king of manufacturers' in the Sports car world. It used to be, if you wanted to win a sports car
race, you went out and plunked down your dough on the 'Porsche de jour' and off you went - trophies were soon to follow. Well, now all that has changed - not overnight, but it has changed.
Audi, after demonstrating their products in British Touring Cars, the Trans Am series, Rallying, and others, built the consummate long distance sports car - the R8. Victory after victory followed at both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring, and just about every other venue that the ALMS series runs at. Other teams took their best shots at the R8, but it couldn't be dethroned - until now.
For many, the 'retirement' of the R8 was welcome news. Then came word that the
R10 would be diesel-powered, which actually gave a glimmer of hope to everyone else. The thought of having a diesel-powered car race, let alone win anything substantial, seemed to be a pipe dream at best.
This past weekend at Sebring - debut of the new R10 diesel - shattered the dreams of all the other LMP teams. The new R10 diesel was dominant. One of the two entries took the pole, and then went on to claim the victory.
The V12 powered Audi R10 TDI was in very capable hands. Dindo Capello (Italy), Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Allan McNish (Scotland) took the victory, while the second entry, in the hands of Frank Biela (Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) had to retire due to overheating problems.
The list
of 'problems' for the R10 was fairly short - and for the other teams - and probably not that difficult to solve. Heat exchangers and fuel filters, along with a wheel problem was all that went wrong.
With this historic win - the first for a diesel powered car - it makes you wonder just how many other manufacturers have scrapped engine plans on this Monday morning. Word is that Peugeot is coming to Le Mans with a diesel, and for sure, others will be following suit. Realistically, this has the potential to change the sportscar world as never before.
"Audi has once again written motorsport history, this time by being the first
manufacturer to win an endurance race with a diesel powered sportscar," said a very proud Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of AUDI AG after the race. "This impressively confirms the efficiency of the modern TDI technology. It is especially remarkable that this success was achieved at the very first race of the new Audi R10 TDI. The whole team from Audi Sport and the Technical Development of Audi has once again done a great job. I thank everyone who is participating in this ambitious project."
Audi has earned the right to brag, as what they have accomplished is a huge feat. This is something that could also change the buying public's impression of diesel engines, especially the perception that they are noisy and smell bad, which reporters in the pits attested was not the case at all, and that is something Audi is counting on.
There may well be a new 'king of manufacturers' in the Sports car world. It used to be, if you wanted to win a sports car
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| Audi is the new 'king of manufacturers' in the Sports car world. (Photo: Audi Sport) |
Audi, after demonstrating their products in British Touring Cars, the Trans Am series, Rallying, and others, built the consummate long distance sports car - the R8. Victory after victory followed at both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring, and just about every other venue that the ALMS series runs at. Other teams took their best shots at the R8, but it couldn't be dethroned - until now.
For many, the 'retirement' of the R8 was welcome news. Then came word that the
 |
| The new Audi R10 diesel was dominant throughout the 12 hours of Sebring. (Photo: Audi Sport) |
This past weekend at Sebring - debut of the new R10 diesel - shattered the dreams of all the other LMP teams. The new R10 diesel was dominant. One of the two entries took the pole, and then went on to claim the victory.
The V12 powered Audi R10 TDI was in very capable hands. Dindo Capello (Italy), Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Allan McNish (Scotland) took the victory, while the second entry, in the hands of Frank Biela (Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) had to retire due to overheating problems.
The list
 |
| The list of 'problems' for the R10 was fairly short and probably not that difficult to solve. (Photo: Audi Sport) |
With this historic win - the first for a diesel powered car - it makes you wonder just how many other manufacturers have scrapped engine plans on this Monday morning. Word is that Peugeot is coming to Le Mans with a diesel, and for sure, others will be following suit. Realistically, this has the potential to change the sportscar world as never before.
"Audi has once again written motorsport history, this time by being the first
 |
| "Audi has once again written motorsport history, this time by being the first manufacturer to win an endurance race with a diesel powered sportscar," said Audi Chairman, Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn. |
Audi has earned the right to brag, as what they have accomplished is a huge feat. This is something that could also change the buying public's impression of diesel engines, especially the perception that they are noisy and smell bad, which reporters in the pits attested was not the case at all, and that is something Audi is counting on.