2007 LeMans Thread

[Bartek Sikorski]

Audi Remains Unbeaten in LM P1 Class of American Le Mans Series


• Audi Sport North America wins Team Championship
• Allan McNish/Dindo Capello miss out on overall victory
• 50th ALMS race for Dindo Capello

In round nine of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the Audi R10 TDI remains unbeaten: Allan McNish (Scotland) and Dindo Capello (Italy) scored an LM P1 category victory ahead of their team mates Marco Werner (Germany) and Emanuele Pirro (Italy) at Mosport (Canada). During almost the entire race, the Audi R10 TDI led outright in front of the lighter LM P2 sports cars. But at the end of the race due to a technical problem, Allan McNish lost the overall victory to Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas (Porsche). With the positions one and two in the LM P1 category, Audi Sport North America clinched the LM P1 Team Championship with three races remaining.

Dindo Capello, who started from pole position, led the "sister” Audi of Emanuele Pirro for a long time in the early stages. Capello, who celebrated his 50th American Le Mans start in Mosport, handed over his leading R10 TDI to team mate Allan McNish after one hour. Following the final pit stop phase, McNish was comfortably in the lead until he fell to second position with five minutes to run due to a gearbox problem he encountered in the final quarter of an hour.



When Marco Werner took over the #2 Audi R10 TDI from Emanuele Pirro after 70mins, he was not able to exit the pits in front of the pace car and lost one lap to the leading cars. Resuming in eighth position, Werner swept back up to fourth position overall and second place in the LM P1 class, shattering the lap record en route.

The tenth round of the American Le Mans Series will take place in Detroit (US state of Michigan) next weekend (31 Aug-1 Sep). It will be the first start for Audi in the "Belle Isle Detroit Grand Prix” which takes place for the first time since 2001.

QUOTES:
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport)
"The Audi R10 TDI was the dominating car of the entire field at Mosport. Unfortunately we were missing luck. Now we have to look to the future. We still have three races in which we hope to beat the lighter LM P2 sports cars. Congratulations to the Team of Audi Sport North America, who clinched the Team title in the premiere class of the LM P1 sportscars three races before the end of the season.”


Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #1)
"A really cruel ending to a weekend that had been so good for us until the last few moments of the race. I couldn’t believe Allan had got a gearbox problem almost within sight of the chequered flag. Technical issues are so rare to us. We’ve waited for another overall victory since St Petersburg in April and I honestly believed we’d had all of the bad luck we could suffer.”


Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #1)
"My Audi R10 TDI worked very well while excellent strategy from Audi Sport North America put us in control of the race. I was able to pull away in traffic but with a few minutes to go, encountered a technical issue with the gearshift. I was stuck in fourth gear at times losing us a lot of time. I lost the lead with just five minutes remaining. Despite Dindo and I taking our seventh class win of the season and extending our championship lead, we’re obviously very disappointed having come so close to winning the race outright.”


Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #2
"We had the fastest car today, we were really good, but we lost one lap due to a confusing situation during a full course yellow, which was not our fault. Without this incident we would have won the race. It was very unfortunate that we were prevented from giving Audi and our team this win.”


Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #2)
"I am disappointed, because again we lost the race in the pits. During the yellow phase the time was too short to be on the track in front of the pace car. Because of that we lost one lap. The Audi R10 TDI was very good today, it was a lot of fun to drive, but unfortunately we were one lap behind. The luck was not on our side today.”


Dave Maraj (Team Director Audi Sport North America)
"Audi Sport North America scored its eighth LM P1 1-2 of the season but it was also a very disappointing race for us. The #1 Audi encountered a technical issue concerning the transmission with just 10 minutes to go after an outright victory had looked all but certain. The #2 R10 TDI suffered due to a misunderstanding not of our making during a full course caution. Marco set the fastest race lap so the safety car confusion makes it even more frustrating for us.”

RESULTS:
1. Dumas/Bernhard (Porsche) 125 laps in 2h 45m 43.043s
2. Capello/McNish (Audi R10 TDI) + 19.576s (1st in LM P1)
3. Maassen/Briscoe (Porsche) + 30.598s
4. Pirro/Werner (Audi R10 TDI) + 33.892s (2nd in LM P1)
5. Herta/Franchitti (Acura/Honda) + 1m 00.640s
6. Bach/Devlin (Lola-Mazda) - 1 lap
7. Dyson/Smith (Porsche) - 1 lap
8. Fernandez/Diaz (Acura/Honda) - 1 lap
9. Wallace/Leitzinger (Porsche) - 1 lap
10. O’Connell/Magnussen (Chevrolet) - 9 laps
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[Habitual Speeder]

It was a cool race to watch. I was just off to the left of the Podium...



It's a shame the ALMS has thinned out, in the last couple of years. They need more participation in each of the classes...GT1 consisted of only 3 cars (all Vettes)!

[Bartek Sikorski]

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In the tenth race of the American Le Mans Series on the new street circuit in Detroit, Audi demonstrated their impressive performance of modern diesel engine technology.
The Audi R10 TDI of Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) was in the lead until four laps before the end of the 2:45 hours of the race. In an exciting battle it was beaten by a lighter Porsche of the LM P2 category by only 5.9 seconds.

Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) in the “sister” Audi completed an excellent team performance with third place overall and second in LM P1. With that Audi celebrated the 20th consecutive victory in the LM P1 category, the “king class” of the Le Mans prototypes and secured two races before the end of the season the Manufacturers title for the eighth time.
The two Audi R10 TDI sportscars, which started the race from the fourth row, gave the fans an impressive show. In the first hour of the race Marco Werner had to come to the pits for a stop-and-go-penalty but still climbed back to the third position. Emanuele Pirro, who took over the cockpit during a full-course-yellow, demonstrated at the restart the power of his Audi R10 TDI and went directly to the head of the field. For the final 35 laps, he had a hard battle with Romain Dumas (Porsche) and defended his lead until lap 102 of 106. When Dumas went in the lead, both cars touched slightly. Pirro re-took the lead but after short time but at the end he was ultimately beaten by less than six seconds.
Quotes after the race
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “We saw another dramatic ALMS race. After Mosport we thought that it could not be closer. To lose the overall victory three minutes before the end after a long lead hurts of course. But on the other side we did not expect to fight against the lighter LM P2 cars for the victory on this street circuit, especially after the qualifying. The race performance and the strategy of the team were very good. Our drivers demonstrated once more the meaning of Audi TDI power.”
Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #2): “It was a great race. Dumas was quicker in the end. I tried everything what I have learned in 30 years of motor racing, but I didn’t want to play dirty. I had a lot of pick up and I unfortunately could not do more in the last laps. Audi and TDI technology did a wonderful job today, this is a fantastic result and I am satisfied.”
Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #2): “A big thank to Audi and the team of Champion Racing. Our pit crew did a superb job for us. The Audi R10 TDI was very good, my stint was okay. Unfortunately we lost the race in the last five minutes - we almost had the victory in our pockets.”
Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #1): “Having taken over from Allan after the restart I was baulked. The leading Porsche of [Romain] Dumas was slow at the green flag which slowed [Chris] Dyson and me enabling Emanuele [Pirro] to take a clean run from fourth behind me and into the lead. For almost the next 30mins, Dyson was defending third place very hard and that cost the #1 Audi any hope of overall honors. It was then a case of ensuring another good LM P1 points score for the championship.”
Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #1): “Second and third places overall for Audi on possibly the least suited circuit for our R10 TDI is a positive result. We were much more competitive in the race than had been expected partly due to us being good in traffic. I had grabbed the lead 10mins before I pitted to Dindo during a full course yellow but we encountered a nut problem on the front left wheel which cost us valuable seconds and dropped us into the pack.”
Dave Maraj (Team Director Audi Sport North America): “For the third consecutive race it looked as if Audi could get back on to the top step of the winner’s podium which, considering the nature of this track, was a creditable achievement. But once again we found ourselves being pipped in the closing minutes and it was a case of second place overall once again for us. It was a tremendously close and exciting race at a superb facility and another LM P1 1-2 finish for Audi Sport North America which earns Audi the Manufacturers’ title to go with the Team’s award we got in the previous race.”
The results at Detroit
1 Dumas/Bernhard (Porsche) 106 laps in 2hrs 45m 36.179s
2 Pirro/Werner (Audi R10 TDI) + 5.948s (1st LM P1)
3 Capello/McNish (Audi R10 TDI) + 17.970s (2nd LM P1)
4 Wallace/Leitzinger (Porsche) + 22.242s
5 Brabham/Johansson (Acura/Honda) + 22.569s
6 Fernandez/Diaz (Acura/Honda) + 23.887s
7 Dyson/Smith (Porsche) 41.513s
8 Bach/Devlin (Lola-Mazda) - 1 lap
9 Maassen/Briscoe (Porsche) - 2 laps
10 O’Connell/Magnussen (Corvette) - 3 laps

[Bartek Sikorski]

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Fourteen years after its memorable one-two-three finish in the great French race in 1993, Peugeot’s return to the Le Mans 24 Hours could hardly have got off to a more successful start. The new Peugeot 908 HDi FAP shared by Frenchmen Stéphane Sarrazin, Sébastien Bourdais and their Portuguese team-mate Pedro Lamy took the chequered flag at the end of the 24-hour race in 2nd place. In spite of the untimely retirement of the N°7 car of Nicolas Minassian, Marc Gene and Jacques Villeneuve with just 100 minutes remaining after figuring in 2nd place at one stage, the weekend proved particularly promising for Team Peugeot Total whose objective in contesting the world famous
endurance classic was to gain valuable experience for its return in 2008.

Despite the changeable, occasionally appalling weather, Team Peugeot Total had every reason to be pleased with the way the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours unfolded. It was barely a year ago at a special press conference here at the French circuit that it had unveiled a mock-up of the V12 diesel engine it had earmarked for the forthcoming Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. Twelve months later, the real thing powered the Le Mans prototype to pole position for the celebrated race after previously posting the fastest
time in the official pre-event practice day and also securing Le Mans Series successes at Monza and Valence.

Prior to Le Mans, the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP had covered no more than 3,500km in race simulations, yet this weekend saw it go much, much farther. The N°7 car had amply exceeded that threshold when it was sidelined with the finish in sight and the N°8 sister car ultimately took the flag in 2nd position, a dream result that has permitted Team Peugeot Total to collect a great deal of valuable data and experience that will obviously prove useful in its build-up to the 2008 race.
France's Stéphane Sarrazin qualified the N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP on the coveted pole position for Saturday afternoon's start in a thrilling showdown with the team's rivals Audi during race-week's opening practice session, while Nicolas Minassian put the N°7 car third on the grid.

The two French cars consequently powered away from the first two rows at the stroke of 3pm yesterday (Saturday) in front of more than 200,000 spectators. Unfortunately, shortly after the race's five-hour mark, the N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP was forced to pit to have its rear wheel-bearings replaced. The incident saw the car of Sarrazin/Lamy/Bourdais drop back to 13th overall, but they battled unrelentingly throughout the ensuing night to secure a footing on the provisional podium at daybreak alongside their team-mates Minassian/Gene/Villeneuve (Peugeot N°7) who had inherited 2nd spot when the race leader crashed out on Sunday morning.
Unfortunately, with exactly 100 minutes remaining, the oil pressure of the N°7 car’s engine fell alarmingly, prompting the crew's instant retirement. The powerplant of the other car also showed signs of weakness in the dying laps but Sébastien Bourdais succeeded in holding on to cross the finish line of the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours in 2nd place!
Frédéric SAINT-GEOURS (Executive Vice President, Automobiles Peugeot): "Today’s result is excellent and very promising for the future. All the resources we have invested in this Endurance programme both financially and in human terms are based on a long term presence."

Michel BARGE (Director, Peugeot Sport): "I have to admit that the end was pretty nerve-racking, especially when we lost a car with about an hour and a half remaining. We saw some big falls in oil pressure and we’ve now got to work on reliability to try and obtain the same degree of performance during races that we have in testing. Our intention in 2007 has always been to bed ourselves in progressively to prepare for next year. I would like to congratulate everyone in the team and also all the
drivers who complemented each other so well and whose experience has been so valuable for this project."

Stéphane SARRAZIN (N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, 2nd): "It’s been simply extraordinary. The mechanics did a fantastic job when we had to find a cure for our mechanical problem early on. We didn’t have sufficient experience to challenge for victory but the weekend’s result is nonetheless very positive."

Sébastien BOURDAIS (N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, 2nd): "The greatest moment of the weekend? The finish, naturally! It was an awesome way to end a crazy race. We had a big engine problem and we just didn’t know whether it would hold for another lap. The team did a tremendous job to get us on the podium of the world’s most challenging race, not even six months after the car’s track debut!"

Pedro LAMY (N°8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, 2nd): "The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP programme started very late. As recently as a year ago, there was nothing, so today’s result is that much more extraordinary. My team-mates all did a fantastic job, too."

[Bartek Sikorski]

Season Finale for the R10 TDI
• Diesel sportscar unbeaten in 20 races
• Final round of the American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca
• Emanuele Pirro hopes to make comeback

The last race of the season in the American Le Mans Series is staged at Laguna Seca (US state of California) one week after the DTM finale at Hockenheim. In contrast to the DTM, the titles in the US Sportscar series have already awarded: Audi won the Manufacturers’, Team and Drivers’ Championships in the LM P1 class for the eighth time in succession.

The Audi Sport North America team will nevertheless try everything to clinch yet another victory on one of the most picturesque and challenging circuits in the USA. It would be the 21st consecutive win for the revolutionary Audi R10 TDI, which remains unbeaten in the LM P1 class since its debut in March 2006.

At Laguna Seca last year Audi celebrated a one-two in the overall classification, even though the significantly lighter LM P2 Sportscars are at a clear advantage around the tight and twisting circuit. Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland), who secured the Drivers’ Championship at the penultimate round at Road Atlanta, won in 2006 from their team mates Frank Biela (Germany) and Emanuele Pirro (Italy).

Pirro hopes to be able to return to the cockpit after his heavy accident in practice at Road Atlanta. It will be decided during the race week if the five-time Le Mans winner is fit enough.

Testing starts at Laguna Seca on Thursday afternoon. The race starts in Saturday at 2:43 p.m. local time (11:43 p.m. in Germany) and runs for four hours.

QUOTES:Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport)
"We’ve been very unlucky in the American Le Mans Series this year, which is why winning at Road Atlanta did us the world of good. It would be a fitting end to close the 2007 season with another win at Laguna Seca. However, we are well aware just how difficult it will be for us at this track against the significantly lighter LM P2 sportscars."

Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #1)
"Laguna Seca has a fantastic layout. It’s my favourite circuit in the American Le Mans Series. The ‘Cork Screw’ is world famous, but there are also some other interesting corners which are even more difficult. Now that we’ve won the Drivers’ Championship we can approach the finale in a more relaxed frame of mind. The computer simulations indicate that the LM P2 cars will be quicker than the LM P1 cars around this track as a consequence of their weight advantage. We’ll nevertheless be gunning for another win for Audi."

Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #1)
"I’ve always loved racing at Laguna Seca. The circuit is fast and undulating. Laguna Seca is a good hunting ground for Dindo (Capello) and I. We won there in 2000 and 2006. Now that we’ve tied up the Drivers’ Championship we don’t actually have anything to lose at Laguna Seca. We can drive at maximum attack; however, I think we’ll have to anyway, since the circuit is ideal for the lighter LM P2 cars. There aren’t any long straights on which we can exploit the power advantage of our Audi R10 TDI. We’ll have to take a few risks."

Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #2)
"Laguna Seca is one of my favourite circuits on the American Le Mans Series calendar. At the same time the season finale is a particularly special event. I hope that I’ll be fit again after my accident at Road Atlanta and can hardly wait to get back in the cockpit – particularly after the disappointment of having to sit-out Petit Le Mans. It would be fantastic to finish the season with a good result."

Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #2)
"Unfortunately the championship positions have already been decided. For us it’s all about getting a good result. As always we’ll be trying to do the best possible job for Audi. After Petit Le Mans it would also be good to finish a shorter race in front of the lighter Porsches."

Dave Maraj (Team Director Audi Sport North America)
"I’m certain that it’s going to be another very tough race for us. The Porsches are going to be very fast especially since fuel consumption will also play a major part in who takes the race honours. At least with all of the LM P1 titles decided in our favour, we can race aggressively and hard. I know that the drivers and entire team will give it their best shot so as to finish the season off in style."

SCHEDULE:Thursday, 18 October
16:40 – 17:10 Test session (GT1 / GT2)
17:10 – 18:10 Test session (all classes)
18:10 – 18:40 Test session (LM P1 / LM P2)

Friday, 19 October
09:50 – 10:50 Free practice
14:15 – 15:15 Free practice
15:25 – 15:45 Qualifying (GT1 / GT2)
15:50 – 16:10 Qualifying (LM P1 / LM P2)

Saturday, 20 October
10:20 – 10:45 Warm-up
14:43 – 18:43 Race
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[Bartek Sikorski]

Audi TDI Power Triumphs in ALMS Finale
• Dindo Capello/Allan McNish win at Laguna Seca
• Mike Rockenfeller and Marco Werner finish third
• 13th outright victory for the Audi R10 TDI

In the finale of the American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca (US state of California), Team Audi Sport North America has once again given impressive proof of the performance of Audi TDI Power. With the Diesel technology which is set to enter the US market for road cars in 2008, Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) were able to beat the best Porsche in a photo finish. Mike Rockenfeller (Germany) and Marco Werner (Germany) completed Audi’s triumph in the final race of the season with a third place finish.

It was the 13th outright victory for the revolutionary Audi R10 TDI in its 21st race – on a track that favoured the LM P2 cars, lighter due to the regulations. In the 4-hour race, however, in the end the weight handicap of the LM P1 cars was not so decisive but the enormous torque of the 650-hp Audi V12 TDI engine.

Despite the Audi drivers dropping behind the lighter LM P2 cars during the pit-stops, they were always able to re-pass them. In the last 30 minutes, the spectators once again witnessed a thriller: Dindo Capello had to defend the lead he had taken from the "factory” Porsche of Romain Dumas with Marco Werner defending his third place against the second Penske Porsche. Twice, Dumas was able to pass Capello in traffic but both times, the Audi driver hit back immediately. He crossed the finish line just 0.410 seconds in front of the Porsche. Marco Werner had a similarly slender gap, just 0.415-second ahead of the other "factory” Porsche.

In the first half of the race, Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller had laid the foundations for Audi success. Starting from fifth position on the grid, it took McNish just 15 minutes to conquer the lead. Mike Rockenfeller also showed a strong performance on his first race with the Audi R10 TDI in the American Le Mans Seires, handing over the second R10 TDI in fourth position to Marco Werner.

Werner dropped to ninth place following contact with Stefan Johansson’s Acura/Honda causing a nose change but was able to fight his way back to third position overall.

RESULTS:1 Capello/McNish (Audi R10 TDI) 157 laps in 4h 00m 14.224s (1st LM P1)
2 Dumas/Bernhard (Porsche) + 0.410s
3 Rockenfeller/Werner (Audi R10 TDI) + 21.498s (2nd in LM P1)
4 Maassen/Briscoe (Porsche) + 21.913s
5 Fernandez/Diaz (Lola/Acura) + 24.853s
6 Kanaan/Herta (Acura/Honda) + 25.603s
7 Dyson/Smith (Porsche) + 56.435s
8 Wallace/Leitzinger (Porsche) - 1 lap
9 Campbell-Walter/Primat (Creation-Judd) - 3 laps (3rd in LM P1)
10 Manning/Chilton (Zytek) - 4 laps (4th in LM P1)

[Imhotep Evil]

I think Audi should move from ALMS where LMP1 is too dumbed down to LMS and battle it out with Peugeot.