I'm Sure You All Heard...(Audi Petit)
Audi has announced their entry of two cars for Petit Le Mans next month, not really surprising, but glad to see another great battle lineup for this year.
PEUGEOT > ALL.
From www.motorsport.com
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Audi, a name that conjures up victory in the minds of many when they think of dominance in the American Le Mans Series. The German marquee has been one of the winningest manufacturers in the series, primary in the LMP1 class. In past years, Audi teams have landed nine Petit Le Mans victories at the Road Atlanta road course in Braselton, Georgia. This morning in Germany, Audi AG announced that they will indeed return to the American-based series to contest the 12th running the event.
"The race at Road Atlanta already marks the first part of our preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010," explained Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "We want to use it as an opportunity for our engineers to learn even more about the new Audi R15 TDI in direct competition with strong rivals. A lot of things can be simulated on test rigs and in track tests. But nothing can replace the experience gathered in actual racing events."
The first year of Petit was not sanctioned by Dr. Don Panoz but it did set the stage for the formation of the American Le Mans Series with the series first race in 1999. Audi has competed the Petit contest eight times and won every time, both in the legendary Audi R8 (six wins) and the Audi R10 TDI (three times).
In their last adventure at the 2008 event, it was a wild event with Allan McNish and Rinaldo "Dindo" Capello taking the P1 class and overall victory in a comeback after starting the challenge from pit lane, at the rear of the field. This year, the pressure is on as they will campaign the Audi R15 TDI.
"I raced in the first ever Petit in 1998 and when I think of last year with over 110,000 spectators witnessing a spectacular race, including my novel way to the starting grid and such a close finish, and with the teams and drivers line-up for '09 it looks like it will be just as much fun," McNish said.
The last and only time the R15 TDI ran on American soil was in mid-March of this year at the historic Sebring International Raceway. Even with the challenge from the debut of the new Acura P1s and the challenge from Audi's rivals in Europe: Peugeot, the Audi team overcame all and landed the manufacturer its ninth 12 Hours of Sebring victory.
Racing under the Audi Sport Team Joest, they will field two Audi R15 TDIs with the duo of McNish and Capello looking to repeat last year's win but perhaps with less drama at the start. Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr will be in share the driving duties in their diesel-powered R15 TDI. Reserve driver will be Mike Rockenfeller.
"I'm personally very pleased, as are Audi Sport, that we are back racing again and especially to be going to Petit which has become one of the biggest sportscar races on the calendar," McNish commented. "It shows Audi's commitment to sportscars and the American Le Mans Series and I'm personally delighted to be racing in America again."
The last time the R15 TDI was challenging for victory was at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. They ended third to their arch-rivals Peugeot, it was the first loss for Audi at La Sarthe after scoring eight consecutive wins.
"We're convinced that we weren't able to fully exploit the potential of the R15 TDI at Le Mans," Ullrich said. "At Road Atlanta, we'll have the opportunity to test on Sunday before the race so that we should be in a better position than we were at Le Mans. Despite the strong competition by Acura/Honda, Peugeot, Mazda, Oreca and other prototype teams we figure on having good chances of fighting for victory, as we did over the past few years."
Petit Le Mans is a 1,000 miles or 10-hour event, whichever comes first which definitely adds to the drama. Toss in the two Acura ARX-02a teams (de Ferran Motorsports and Highcroft Racing), two Peugeot Sports 908 HDi FAPs, Team ORECA-Matmut-AIM and other top prototype contenders, the Petit event will be action-packed and one not to miss.
The Road Atlanta Petit Le Mans event is set for September 23-26.
"I enjoy the Road Atlanta track, it is one of the old style tracks with fast corners that follow the natural flow of the land -- it's a track that sorts the men out from the boys," added McNish.
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Originally Posted by simontibbett
