2000 Audi R8R and R8. The pattern is set

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "2000 Audi R8R and R8. The pattern is set"

Damian Ferguson
5 years ago
Views:

2000 Audi R8R and R8 The pattern is set Apart from Ulrich Baretsky s V8 engine, there was nothing the same about the thoroughly detailed R8 that first turned a wheel at Neustadt on December 23, 1999.

1 2000 Audi R8R and R8 The pattern is set Apart from Ulrich Baretsky s V8 engine, there was nothing the same about the thoroughly detailed R8 that first turned a wheel at Neustadt on December 23, Audi Sport director Dr Wolfgang Ullrich totally revised the project and abandoned any idea of a coupé. The result, designed by a team led by Wolfgang Appel, Audi Sport s head of vehicle technology, with Michael Pfadenhauer looking after the aerodynamics and described by Ullrich as revolutionary, was about to show the sports car world what Teutonic efficiency really meant. (While the engineering and design was carried out by Audi, the chassis of the R8, like the R8R, was actually produced by the Italian specialist racing car manufacturer Dallara.) The R8R was wheeled out at Charlotte, where Biela and Pirro finished sixth. A spin dropped the Capello/Alboreto/ McNish car out of contention. The use of combined oval and road courses proved unpopular, and the ALMS quickly dropped them from its schedule. (Courtesy Audi) In class terms, the Audi R8R had competed in the LMP category, and the R8C in the LM GTP grouping. For 2000, changes had been made, and the R8 was classified as an LMP 900, such cars weighing no less than 900kg and having a maximum of either 6.0-litre normally-aspirated or 4.0-litre turbocharged engines. (A second, lighter and less powerful class, LMP 675, was also introduced that year.) 19

At Sears Point, Emanuele Pirro left the track in

capable of beating the R8s in America during 2002.

2 At Sears Point, Emanuele Pirro left the track in spectacular fashion... (Courtesy Gary Horrocks)... but the car soldiered on to finish 15th. (Courtesy Gary Horrocks) The Panoz was the only car capable of beating the R8s in America during The race at Washington was one such example. (Courtesy Gary Horrocks) 49

3 2005 Audi R8 The days of the kingdom are numbered Arguably, the Audi R8 was less active in its final full year, with just one car contesting the LMES. However, Champion was back up to two for all of the ALMS rounds and there were still three at Le Mans for the R8 s swansong there, although, for the first time since 1999, Volkswagen Group cars were not the favourites to win the 24 hour race. With the restrictions on the car for 2005 and 2006 Audi had got the car to such a point that anybody could Audi R8 at rest: Sebring (Courtesy Martin Spetz) 79

4 Marco Werner, and team-mates, inherited the lead at Sebring, just 90 minutes before the end of the 12 hour race. (Courtesy Gary Horrocks) inspiration, its director at the time, Kevin Rose, inquired about the possibility of it running its own car there. The timing, said Ingram, was perfect. The Bentley programme was coming up to its third year and there were a lot of resources from the group going into that. One of the byproducts of this was that Audi decided not to run a works team in 2003 so this was our opportunity. I spoke to the people I knew in Audi Sport from touring car days. We came to an agreement whereby we could buy a car and I put together a programme. In normal circumstances we would have gone straight to Richard Lloyd [who had run the R8Cs as the Audi UK touring cars] but he was involved in the Bentley project. A suitable alternative was found in the person of Mike Earle who had run the Johansson R8. The logic was that his guys understood the R8. We decided to do Sebring as a warm up and then Le Mans. For me 57

with a V8 FSi engine identical to that used to win the 2005 Le Mans.

5 Audi Powers Lola During 2007, the Audi R8 s engine made a surprise return to Le Mans and the Le Mans Series. In the April of that year, while the press was attending a preview of the Silverstone Classic festival, a Lola B07/10 was on the Northamptonshire track s South Circuit, testing for the first time with a V8 FSi engine identical to that used to win the 2005 Le Mans. The entrant for the car was the Swiss Spirit team whose principal, Fred Stadler, had, thanks to his connections with the Volkswagen Group and, in particular, engineer Heinz Lehmann, been able to convince Audi that such a project was feasible. The FSi engine had little in common with the Judd engine more likely to be fitted to such a car, but the entire project was completed in 11 weeks, from start to finish. Key elements of the installation package included custom cast aluminium bell housing with integral oil tank; specially built monocoque with custom engine mounts; bespoke carbon composite air intake assembly, and Megaline semi-automatic gearshift system. A debut third place for the Lola-Audi at Valencia in the May proved it could work. At Le Mans the patriotically red and white liveried Swiss car was driven by Iraj Alexander, Jean-Denis Deletraz who had put the project together and Marcel Fassler. Following an off-day before, the car qualified 14th on the grid, but then ran as high as seventh at the end of the first hour, before dropping back after a whole series of troubles, and eventually retiring with electrical issues just before midnight. After Le Mans, budgetary problems intervened and the project disappeared from sight. Swiss Spirit s Audi FSi-engined Lola was first seen testing at Silverstone. Lola designer, Julian Soul (far right), was on hand. (Author s collection) Rain was a feature of Le Mans in The Lola-Audi first stopped on the track at about 4.30pm, spun after colliding with a Panoz two hours later, and then, just after 7.00pm, stopped again. It eventually crawled back to the pits to have its electric harness checked, but was retired shortly before midnight. (Author s collection) 104

1990 JAGUAR TWR XJR-11

1990 JAGUAR TWR XJR-11 Year: 1990 Configuration: RHD Engine: 3500 cc Price: SOLD 1990 Jaguar XJR-11 Chassis 490 This important Jaguar is one of just three XJR-11 World Sportscar Prototype Championship