April 19, 2010 - Published By Josh -
in Audi Motorsports. Closed
Ingolstadt, April 16, 2010 – In a weekly column Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen gives some exclusive insights behind the scenes of the world’s most famous endurance race and the preparation by Audi Sport Team Joest.
“That Dindo (Capello) and Allan (McNish) won the 8 Hours at Le Castellet last weekend with an absolutely perfect performance was good for the team who worked with the R15 plus in racing conditions for the first time. Now we know that we’re heading in the right direction with the new car. The only problem that came up in the race was a loose outside mirror – now if that’s not a good omen for Le Mans! Continue reading ‘Tom Kristensen’s exclusive Le Mans countdown Part 7′
APR Motorsport is campaigning the only Audi in North American road racing this year. Their 2010 Audi S4 has been entered into the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS class along side their 3 VW GTIs that run in the ST class. The CTSCC series is a partner series that travels and races with the Grand-Am series. Last weekend’s race at Barber Motorsport Park served as the team’s home race as it is only a few hours away from APR’s headquarters in Opelika, Alabama. Although the race ended prematurely, we view it as a success. The team showed amazing progress and proved that the S4 is here to compete and is poised to put Audi back on the podiums across North America.
Jordan Taylor qualified 5th and was the fastest “non mustang” contender during qualifying. Taylor put the car in contention early and moved the car all the way up to 2nd place before pitting the number 01 Audi S4. The team had the perfect pit strategy. Just as they brought the car in there was a full course yellow, and after a quick pitstop and tire change the car re-entered the car in 5th place, with all the cars ahead of them still needing to pit. Unfortunately it appears that there was a rear differential mount failure that happened as Ian Baas launched the car normally out of the pit lane. This mount failure caused the car to go into limp mode and Ian experienced notable power loss as a result. The decision was made to pull the car from the race at that point.
Team ABT Sportsline is determined to fight for victory in the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife on 15/16 May. For the sixth time, the squad from the “Allgäu” will contest the classic event in the “Eifel” which they have finished as the runner-up twice before.
To finally take the trophy that is still missing home to Kempten, team principal Hans-Jürgen Abt has formed two strong squads for the cockpits of the more than 500-hp Audi R8 LMD cars: Mattias Ekström and Timo Scheider whose combined track record includes four DTM titles will take turns at the wheel with their DTM team colleague Oliver Jarvis and the three-time Le Mans winner Marco Werner. Lucas Luhr, Christopher Mies and Emmanuel Collard will share the second car with Christian Abt. The reigning ADAC GT Masters Champion is returning to the cockpit to contest his favourite race.
“The race on the Nordschleife holds a magic attraction for any racer and any motorsport fan,” says Hans-Jürgen Abt. “We’ve got a wealth of experience at the ‘ring’ and the R8 is a powerful car, plus we’ve got eight guys who are hot to clinch an exploit, as is the whole team.” This year will mark the sixth start of the squad from the Allgäu in the Eifel: the team has contested the race twice with the natural gas powered Audi A4, twice with the Abt-Audi TT-R and in 2010 will enter the Audi R8 LMS for the second time.
The ABT teams at the 24 Hours in 2010
# 2 Christian Abt, Emmanuel Collard, Lucas Luhr, Christopher Mies
# 100 Mattias Ekström, Oliver Jarvis, Timo Scheider, Marco Werner
AUDI AG WORLDWIDE RELEASE: Luxury in grand style: The new Audi A8 L
INGOLSTADT, Germany, Apr 15, 2010 - The new A8 is a concentrated high-tech package that confirms Audi claim to technical leadership – “Vorsprung durch Technik”. And now the brand is introducing the top version of its flagship model. The A8 L W12 quattro, with a long wheelbase and a twelve-cylinder engine, sets new standards of luxury, dynamism and efficiency in the top automobile manufacturing league. The Audi A8 L is being launched with a twelve-cylinder engine, but by the end of the year will be available with all the engines currently offered for the A8.
What’s fascinating about the A8 L is its supremely powerful presence; its design is clearly derived from the brand’s genes and yet has undergone further refinement. The long wheelbase does not disturb its taut outlines, which remain as athletic as they are elegant. Continue reading 'Luxury in grand style: The new Audi A8 L'
We had the chance to join APR Motorsport at Barber Motorsport Park last weekend. I will be posting full details of the trip and race results tonight, but first I thought I’d share a teaser… Ride along with Jordan Taylor as he pilots the APR Motorsport Audi S4 during qualifying at the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Check back tonight for a full write up, driver’s quotes and a bunch of pictures!
Dindo Capello gave Team Joest a good start by putting the number 7 Audi R15 Plus on the front row. Peugeot dominated the race early but technical problems befell the Peugeot Lions. Audi R15 Plus gets its first win and proves that it can be very competitive against the rivals from Peugeot and Aston Martin. With confident and steady driving stints by both Allan McNish and Dindo Capello, the R15 finished the race with a dominating 6 lap lead on the Aston Martin. Aston Martin racing finished in a strong 2nd place effort. The last podium spot went to the Lola from Rebellion Racing. The top Peugeot 908 HDi FAP finished in 4th place.
April 10, 2010 - Published By Josh -
in Audi Motorsports. Closed
Test entry in the Le Castellet 8 Hours
Dindo Capello second in qualifying
Next stage in the development program of the Audi R15 TDI
Ingolstadt/Le Castellet, April 10, 2010 – The 2010-spec Audi R15 TDI (internally labeled “R15 plus”) will tackle its début race from the front row of the grid. Dindo Capello recorded the second fastest time in Saturday’s qualifying for the 8-hour race at Le Castellet (France).
37 days after the roll-out of the R15 plus, the test race at Le Castellet marks the next phase in the development program of the diesel-powered sports race car. After aerodynamic tests at Homestead (Florida), a multi-day endurance test at Sebring (Florida) and tire tests at Monza (Italy) Audi Sport Team Joest uses the season opener of the Le Mans Series at Le Castellet to begin the detailed race-setup work on the updated LMP1 car.
The first conclusion: The R15 plus is sensitive to the slightest changes and is immediately fast. In two of the three free practice sessions Dindo Capello and Allan McNish set the fastest time. In qualifying, only the Peugeot 908 of the Oreca team was less than half a second quicker, which – contrary to Audi Sport Team Joest – had previously tested at Le Castellet like most of the other teams. Continue reading ‘Capello puts the Audi R15 Plus is on the front row at Le Castellet’
Ingolstadt, April 9, 2010 – In a weekly column Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen gives some exclusive insights behind the scenes of the world’s most famous endurance race and the preparation by Audi Sport Team Joest.
“Bonjour from Le Castellet! There’s some good news to report: on Wednesday I was finally able to drive the new Audi R15 plus at Monza. As you know, I tore the heel tendon in my left leg in January while playing badminton. Even my doctors were surprised that I’m able to sit in a race car again just twelve weeks later.
After just a few laps I really felt comfortable in the cockpit again and I had much less of a problem than in 2007 after my serious DTM accident. The lap times were immediately right and I reeled off the short program which the guys from Audi Sport Team Joest had given me.
Using the clutch was the most painful thing for me to do because I can’t properly push down the pedal yet. I’m sure you can imagine that it takes a lot of force to depress the clutch pedal in a LMP1 TDI car. You’ve got to push 50 kilograms each time – and in my case with an injured left foot that was heavily swollen after the test. Continue reading ‘Tom Kristensen’s exclusive Le Mans countdown – part 6′
Note: This release contains European information, some information may not apply for the US
Dynamic design, enthralling performance and exemplary efficiency – the Audi TT Coupe and the TT Roadster are now more attractive than ever. The design of the lightweight bodies made primarily of aluminum and the interior have been revised with great attention to detail, while new technologies lower the fuel consumption of the compact sports car. New to the lineup is a powerful and highly efficient four cylinder: The 2.0 TFSI develops 155 kW (211 hp), but is content with an average fuel consumption of just 6.6 liters per 100 kilometers (35.64 US mpg). Continue reading 'The Audi TT: dynamic, lightweight and highly efficient'
Extraordinary trade fair displays are ‘par for the course’ at Audi, and have been for years. This was true at Design Miami in Basel and Miami, and it will also be true at the Milan Furniture Fair, also commonly known as the Milan Design Week, were Audi will have a display for the first time ever. The highlight will be Lucid Flux, a light installation by innovative designer Moritz Waldemeyer to showcase two new Audi models, the sub-compact A1 and the A8 luxury sedan. (continue reading...)
