Audi Teams face tough task at Le Mans

[Erik]

- Audi R8 cars start the 24 Hour race with handicaps
- Duel between French and American importer teams
- Tom Kristensen can write Le Mans history


The two Audi importer teams from the USA and France are faced with a particularly
difficult task during the 73rd running of the 24 Hour race at Le Mans on 18/19 June.
In contrast to last year, the Audi R8 is no longer the fastest car on the grid. At
its sixth and final appearance, the most successful Le Mans Prototype in history
with 54 wins (four of those in Le Mans) must start with 50 kilograms of ballast and
approximately 30 hp less - the regulations handing the latest generation of
sportscars an advantage.

The effects were clearly visible during pre-practice: The three Audi R8 prototypes
lost over six seconds to the fastest of the new LM P1-Prototypes, which can compete
with significantly more engine power. That is five-tenths of a second per kilometre.
The maximum speed along the renowned Hunaudières Straight is now only just 310 kph.
At its debut in 2000, the R8 reached almost 330 kph at Le Mans. At that time the V8
twin-turbo power plant produced 610 hp, and now it’s down to approximately 520 hp
due to the smaller diameter engine intake air restrictors stipulated by the latest
Le Mans regulations.

The two competing Audi teams, ADT Champion Racing and Audi PlayStation Team ORECA,
must therefore take their chances over the distance. The teams are not expecting to
qualify on the front two rows. However, in the race they will attempt to exploit the
Audi R8 prototype’s known strengths: the almost legendary reliability, the Turbo FSI
engine’s low fuel consumption and the serviceability.

Furthermore, all three Audi cockpits are filled with high-calibre squads. The
drivers of the two "American” R8 sports cars can lay claim to a total of 14 Le Mans
victories. The former Audi works driver Stéphane Ortelli is the only Le Mans winner
in the French importer team. However, his team mates Jean-Marc Gounon and Franck
Montagny are Le Mans veterans.

Audi works driver Tom Kristensen, who has already won Le Mans six times in only
eight attempts, could write Le Mans history. A seventh victory would make the Dane
the most successful Le Mans driver ever. This time Kristensen drives alongside JJ
Lehto and Marco Werner, who is the only Champion team driver never to have won in Le
Mans. Frank Biela, Allan McNish and Emanuele Pirro share driving duties in the other
R8. Italy’s Pirro can be proud of a unique record: Since 1999 he has started the
race six times in an Audi, and has stood on the winners’ rostrum six times in
succession.

During qualifying on Wednesday (15 June) and on Thursday (16 June), the two Audi
teams will concentrate solely on setting the cars up for the race, which starts on
18 June at 4 p.m. The French flag will be waved at this time by Dr Martin Winterkorn.

[Bingocaller]

Tom lets see some history :race: :revs:

[Mr Balsen]

I was at the Le Mans track last sunday for the qualifying session.

I can tell you, there is world of difference between the Audi R8 and the french LMP1. It is one thing to be very fast at Le Mans. It is another to be reliable and fast during 24 hours....

Cheers from Paris,
Frederic.

[Bingocaller]

Originally posted by Mr Balsen
I was at the Le Mans track last sunday for the qualifying session.

I can tell you, there is world of difference between the Audi R8 and the french LMP1. It is one thing to be very fast at Le Mans. It is another to be reliable and fast during 24 hours....

Cheers from Paris,
Frederic.

Thanks man u just made my day :0:

Was abit worried when I read Eriks post :mech:

[Benman]

Originally posted by Bingocaller
Was abit worried when I read Eriks post :mech:
No need to worry, it is an R8 after all.;)

Ben:addict:

[Bingocaller]

Originally posted by Benman
No need to worry, it is an R8 after all.;)

Ben:addict:

LOL thats true :revs:

Cant wait

[Benman]

Originally posted by Bingocaller
LOL thats true :revs:

Cant wait
Less than a WEEK to GO!!!!! I'll be on the couch watching the whole time!:D Well, that is except for the stupid gaps that Speed Channel will have for their other stuff.

Ben:addict:

[Erik]

Le Mans, 17 June 2005
Audi on second row at Le Mans

- Audi R8 sports cars third, fifth and eighth on the grid
- Allan McNish fastest Audi driver in qualifying
- Record-crowd and heat battle expected


Despite the handicaps imposed by the regulations, the Audi R8 makes a good
impression in its sixth and last start at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Audi factory driver
Allan McNish (Team ADT Champion Racing) set the third-fastest time shortly after 10
p.m. in Thursday’s final qualifying session. Thus, the best-placed R8 will start the
race on Saturday from the second row of the grid. Formula 1 test driver Franck
Montagny secured Audi PlayStation Team ORECA the fifth spot on the grid at their
first Le Mans entry with an Audi. The second "American” R8 will start the race from
the fourth row.

Rain showers on Wednesday meant that the starting positions for the 73rd edition of
the French Endurance classic were decided in the final qualifying session on
Thursday evening. Although all three Audi R8 sports cars were already fitted with
the engines for the race, Allan McNish lost just 3.080 seconds to pole position on
the 13.650 kilometres - much less than expected. During the pre-test session a
fortnight ago, the fastest sports cars of the new generation, which the regulations
allow a significant power-advantage, had been almost six seconds faster.

Because they did not see any chance to secure a place on the front-row of the grid
due to the handicaps, the Audi teams during qualifying completely concentrated on
the setup for the race which will start on Saturday at 4 p.m. After an impressive
crowd attended the qualifying, organisers expect a record-crowd over the weekend.
The Audi teams must prepare themselves for a similar heat battle as in 2002: For
Saturday and Sunday, temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius are predicted for the
Sarthe area. Eurosport TV covers almost ten hours live coverage from Le Mans.

Quotes after qualifying

Frank Biela (Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #2): "For us the qualifying was much
better than we had expected. We knew from the very beginning that we wouldn’t start
from pole position. So third place is a great achievement. This evening we also made
some changes to the race set-up and are now sorted very well.”

Allan McNish (Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #2): "Getting third place on the grid
is a bonus - I honestly didn’t expect to be that high up the grid taking in to
account the weight ballast and power restrictions. Critically we’re ahead of some
cars that, if we’d started behind them, could have compromised the early stages of
the race for us.”

Emanuele Pirro (Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #2): "We have a fast but
importantly, a comfortable and easy car to drive for a 24 Hour race - it is early
days, but I’m very happy. Allan did a great job to get third - it gives us real
confidence - but more importantly we’re looking in very good shape in race trim.”

JJ Lehto (Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #3): "We didn’t really attempt a
qualifying run but we’re not that far off the qualifying pace either so that is
encouraging. The car is good and I am very happy with the balance of the car - we
are looking good for the race. It’s going to be tough, but I’m confident.”

Tom Kristensen (Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #3): "We already knew from the
pre-test session that we can not fight for pole position. But we are much closer
than we thought which we are very happy about. First we wanted to concentrate
completely on the race set-up this evening. But then things went so well that I
tried another quick lap, of course without taking too many risks. I feel absolutely
comfortable in our R8 and I’m looking forward to the start.”

Marco Werner (Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 #3): "I tried to improve our time up
until the very last minute, but unfortunately got stuck in the traffic. But that
doesn’t matter, because this evening we made a big step forward: Our R8 feels much
better than yesterday and even at the beginning of today’s session. We found a
perfect race performance. I’m absolutely happy because now I know what we are able
to achieve this weekend.”

Jean-Marc Gounon (Audi PlayStation Team ORECA Audi R8 #4): "I am very happy because
Franck did a very good job on the one-lap shoot. We are not far away from the
reference which is McNish who knows the car. We also improved the set-up for the
night. Now we have nothing we need to change for the race. I am very happy with our
Audi. It will be a tough, but a very nice race.”

Franck Montagny (Audi PlayStation Team ORECA Audi R8 #4): "I had three runs on soft
tyres, but only one worked. The other two times I got stuck in traffic. The best lap
was the one just before the end of the first part of the final qualifying session,
and it was a nice feeling when Dr Ullrich came to me and said ‘bravo!’ The car is
very good and we have done all the work for the race we needed to do.”

Stéphane Ortelli (Audi PlayStation Team ORECA Audi R8 #4): "For us every lap was
counting today. We have only one car in our team, so we don’t have the opportunity
to go with one car for a race set-up and with the other one for a qualifying result.
But P5 is not too bad to start the race. On the other hand we were able to work for
the race. For us it was a dream qualifying today. We all love our R8 and the car’s
set-up, so we can expect a lot for the race.”

Dave Maraj (Team Director Team ADT Champion Racing): "Champion Audi was the top Audi
team on Wednesday and also on Thursday but although that is encouraging, it counts
little for the race. I am surprised that Allan achieved third place - we had
anticipated around sixth position. Tom was unlucky when he was on softer tyres and
encountered traffic. For me winning Le Mans would be a lifetime achievement.”

Hugues de Chaunac (Team Director Audi PlayStation Team ORECA): "We expected to
qualify between fourth and eighth, so it was a good qualifying for us. We did not
try very hard because the race is more important. We are happy with the result and
the car which is very well balanced. To see how reliable the Audi is gives the team
a lot of confidence. For me it is the first time to have so much confidence on the
reliability before a 24-hour race. There has not been a single problem with the R8
since the first day here.”

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "All three teams have worked towards
a very good set-up for the race. The drivers are all satisfied. The long-runs we did
in the night were quite good. In the race the strategy will be important, not taking
any risks and making good pit-stops. I think we can do two laps more than our
competitors in the night-stints. The Michelin tires should be good for three stints
in a row during the night. It looks much better for us than during pre-practice.”

The starting grid at Le Mans

1 Collard/Boullion/Comas (Pescarolo-Judd) 3m 34.715s
2 Loeb/Helary/Ayari (Pescarolo-Judd) 3m 35.555s
3 Biela/McNish/Pirro (Audi R8) 3m 37.795s
4 Michigami/Ara/Kaneishi (Dome-Mugen) 3m 38.094s
5 Gounon/Montagny/Ortelli (Audi R8) 3m 38.281s
6 Cochet/Nakano/Jouanny (Courage-Judd) 3m 38.735s
7 Minassian/Campbell-Walter/Wallace (DBA-Judd) 3m 38.929s
8 Kristensen/Lehto/Werner (Audi R8) 3m 38.988s
9 Short/Barbosa/Ickx (Dallara-Judd) 3m 39.643s
10 Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek) 3m 41.177s

[Benman]

Erik,

Thanks for the update. It would be great to see Audi pull off yet another victory.

Technically, Bentley broke the streak, but we all know that Audi really won that year (SAME engine, SAME "moddified" chassis, SAME suspension, SAME crew, SAME drivers, SAME team coordinators, etc...).

Audi has been winning since 2000. The sixth victory in a row would be tremendous, but the Peskys look strong, will be a great race. And only ONE DAY TO GO!:incar: :race:

Ben:addict:

[Benman]

SPEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!:vgrumpy: :vgrumpy:
Just found out they will have LESS coverage than last year!:vgrumpy:

They're actually going to INTERUPT the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Craftsman Truck AND Hooters Pro Cup!?!:doh: :( :nono:

Now they're down to @ 17 hours coverage!

SPEED, you've SOLD OUT TO NASCAR AND STOCK CAR racing!!!!

NASCAR, go get your own dang channel! Oh wait, they already HAVE their own channel. Then LEAVE ours alone!

ARGGGHHHH:vgrumpy:

Ben:addict: Sorry, I just HAD to vent!

[5000S old skool]

I feel the exact same way Benman. All NASCAR is, is billboards for companies racing each other in circles. It's in circles so they make sure everyone sees all the ads written all over the cars....

Welcome to America..

[5000S old skool]

Anyway Audi won Le Mans again..

GO AUDI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:rs4addict :rs4addict :rs4addict
:rs6kiss: :rs6kiss: :rs6kiss:

:they need one for the R8:

[Audi RS4]

AND Tom Kristen from our little Denmark wrote history.. Congrats Tom :thumb: