[V8] Audi triumphs with Diesel power at Sebring

[Dave Head]

It was more like he was drunk and passed out...

Shawn Head wrote:

>Believe it or not, but I only really got to watch about an Hour of the race.
>I've taken over a much more predominant role with the Audi Club of Florida,
>and as such I was spending most of my time tending to the Audi Circuit
>Corral at the end of turn 17 outside Pit In.
>
>We had about 115 cars participate in the corral festivities, and had a very
>fun time.
>
>As far as the race goes, it was excellent.  The R10 is every bit as quiet as
>everyone has said.  All you really hear is the wind noise and turbocharger.
>That's it.  Even then, you can only hear it when it is going by alone, if
>there is another car nearby, it just gets lost in the fray.
>
>
>Shawn
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Jeremy Ward [mailto:jward.v8 at gmail.com] 
>Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 10:28 AM
>To: 'Audifans V8'
>Cc: 'Dave Head'; 'Shawn Head'
>Subject: Audi triumphs with Diesel power at Sebring
>
>>From last to first?  Reminds me of one of HJ Stuck's races in the V8Q in
>1991.  
>
>Too bad for V8Q-veteran Biela and team :-(
>
>Dave / Shawn,
>
>How was the race from your point of view?
>
>- Jeremy
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: audi-nw-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
>[mailto:audi-nw-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of John Ewald
>Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 6:49 AM
>To: northwest audi enthusiasts
>Subject: [Audi-nw] Audi triumphs with Diesel power at Sebring
>
>Audi MediaInfo
>Ingolstadt, 19 March 2006
>
>Audi triumphs with Diesel power at Sebring
>
>First victory for a Diesel sportscar
>Tom Kristensen achieves another record
>V12 TDI engine writes motorsport history
> 
>The new Audi R10 TDI has immediately written motorsport history in its 
>first outing: Dindo Capello (Italy), Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Allan 
>McNish (Scotland) won the 12-hour race at Sebring (USA) achieving the 
>first ever victory of a Diesel powered sportscar. Tom Kristensen became 
>the first driver to win America’s most famous endurance race for a 
>fourth time, achieving another record after his record seventh Le Mans 
>victory from last year.
> 
>  30 degrees Celsius in the shade, high humidity and asphalt 
>temperatures reaching up to 43 degrees, caused especially difficult 
>circumstances on the Florida track which is one of the most demanding 
>in the world. Allan McNish had already shown the potential of the 
>650-hp V12 TDI engine with a record-breaking pole position time in 
>qualifying. Because the heat exchanger had to be replaced after the 
>morning warm-up, Dindo Capello was forced to start the number two R10 
>TDI from the pit-lane starting his chase from the back of the field.
> 
>  It took Capello only half an hour before he had moved from 35th and 
>last position to second just behind the sister car of Frank Biela. 
>Shortly before the end of the second hour, the Italian took the lead, 
>which the number two R10 TDI kept until the finish. Only changing the 
>fuel filter and two loose wheel nuts caused unscheduled pit-stops.
> 
>  The number one Audi R10 TDI that had clearly led the race for the 
>first two hours did not reach the finish. The car driven by Frank Biela 
>(Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) was 
>withdrawn just before one-third distance due to an overheated engine.
> 
>  The reason: Shortly after the start of the race, the telemetry system 
>of car number one, that transmits the data from the car to the pits, 
>had stopped working. As a consequence, Audi Sport’s engine technicians 
>had no data at all for the whole distance. When Marco Werner reported 
>high water temperatures via radio during the fourth hour of the race, 
>the second placed R10 TDI was called into the pits. The team discovered 
>radiators completely blocked by tyre rubber. After cleaning the 
>radiators, the temperatures sank immediately. However, Team Audi Sport 
>North America decided to precautionary withdraw the second placed R10 
>TDI from the race because the engine had been running with 
>significantly high temperatures for an extended period.
> 
>Quotes after the race at Sebring
> 
>  Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of AUDI AG: "Audi has 
>once again written motorsport history, this time by being the first 
>manufacturer to win an endurance race with a diesel powered sportscar. 
>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.”
> 
>Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "This has been a very 
>tough race and thus a good test for Le Mans. To get the first victory 
>for a TDI engine after our pole position is fantastic. We showed today 
>what’s in our new sportscar with a Diesel engine. Thanks to the whole 
>crew from Audi Sport and Team Joest. Of course it is a shame that we 
>couldn’t bring both cars to the finish. But we learned a lot today and 
>know that it is still a long way to Le Mans.”
> 
>Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #2): "Audi has again done something 
>extraordinary. With this victory we really make a new chapter about 
>motorsport history. It reminds me when Audi started rallying with the 
>quattro to show that four-wheel drive is good not only for farm 
>vehicles. When Audi announced it would go racing with a Diesel engine, 
>maybe many people did not take us seriously. But I think now they will 
>not laugh anymore about us.”
> 
>Tom Kristensen (Audi R10 TDI #2): "Audi had the courage to put such a 
>young car into a race at an early stage. It paid off. I know how many 
>people have been working very hard for this and I would like to thank 
>all of them. I have to say many thanks especially to the mechanics. 
>What they did after the warm-up was a job which normally is not done in 
>this short amount of time. Thanks also to my colleagues Allan and Dindo 
>who drove very well. Crossing the finish line was a historic moment for 
>the Diesel technology. I know that Audi has a good image in America. 
>I’m sure the image of Audi TDI will be soon as good in the US.”
> 
>Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #2): "The whole team should be very proud - 
>we have created a little piece of history. In a few years time, people 
>will look back and realise this was a monumental moment, not only in 
>Audi Sport history, but also in motorsport where the first ever Diesel 
>engine won an international race. We all worked very hard for this one. 
>And we will all be celebrating a lot tonight. ”
> 
>Frank Biela (Audi R10 TDI #1): "The first victory with a Diesel engine 
>and for the R10 TDI is a great story. Especially if you have in mind 
>that we had not so much time. The roll-out happened quite recently. You 
>can only take your hat off to Audi Sport for this achievement. We had a 
>superb car at the beginning of the race. But things like this can 
>happen, that’s racing. Now we have to keep our heads up, look forward, 
>show the same performance at Le Mans and finish the race there.”
> 
>Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #1): "In motor racing you can have 
>mechanical problems sometimes. Of course there is sadness for us 
>because a little problem prevented us from having a good battle for the 
>win. Despite that, it has been a positive weekend. One of the two cars 
>won its first race, this is a big achievement and a big reward for all 
>the work all of us did in developing the R10 TDI. I keep my full 
>confidence for the very big race which is Le Mans.”
> 
>Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #1): "We had good race speed, and as long we 
>were in the race, things went without problems. Of course it is a shame 
>we had to stop prematurely. Despite that, my thanks to Audi and Team 
>Joest. The boys had a lot of work this weekend. Audi faced stiff 
>competition after such a short period of testing. Others often don’t 
>have the courage to do this in public.”
> 
>Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director, Team Audi Sport North America): "We 
>are happy about the success because we have been working extremely hard 
>for that. It’s even more important we learned a lot of things - we can 
>take home a long list and work towards Le Mans. This will happen with a 
>lot of joy because we have seen the potential the R10 TDI has and that 
>the concept is right. Losing one car very early was not nice, and I 
>really feel sorry for the guys of car number one. They also worked 
>through many nights.” 
>_______________________________________________
>Audi-nw mailing list
>Audi-nw at u.washington.edu
>http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/audi-nw
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Audifans V8 mailing list
>Send posts to: mailto:V8 at audifans.com
>Manage your list connection: http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/v8
>Have an Audi V8 question?  Check the Audifans Knowledgebase!
>http://www.audifans.com/twiki/bin/view/Audi/V8
>Have a V8 answer? ... Please help others by adding to the KB ... all contributions welcome!
>
>
>  
>