For the first time, a diesel-powered sportscar has won the American Endurance classic "Petit Le Mans”. With victory at Road Atlanta, Audi prematurely clinched the Manufacturers’ Championship in the LM P1 "top class” of the American Le Mans Series, having already won the Drivers’ and Teams’ titles.
Audi triumphed at Road Atlanta despite its petrol-driven LM P1 prototype competitors being allowed to race with 65 kilograms less weight, making them faster than the two R10 TDI prototypes. The key to success was the reliability of the revolutionary diesel sportscar which ran throughout the 1000 miles without the slightest technical problem. Consistent lap times, a good strategy, fast pit stops and the low consumption of the V12 TDI engine made Audi’s success possible.
"Due to the situation regarding the regulations we did not have the speed to control this difficult race. But we were consistently fast enough to be at the front in the end, thanks also to a good strategy. We have earned this victory yet again with great reliability, team work and consistency,” said Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport.
A record crowd of over 90,000 spectators watched the Audi drivers fight with the petrol-driven prototypes, before the two Audi R10 TDI cars finally settled themselves in the top two positions at the beginning of the seventh hour and looked set for a commanding 1-2 result.
However thirteen minutes before the end of the 9-hour plus race, the R10 TDI of Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro/Marco Werner came in contact with a slower GT car, damaging the front left suspension and ending their chances for second place.
Biela/Pirro/Werner were classified 7th overall and 4th in the LM P1 class. It was the sixth overall victory in nine races for the new ALMS champions, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish.
Audi celebrated its seventh "Petit Le Mans” victory in a row – and the first one with the new R10 TDI.
Results
1 Capello/McNish (Audi R10 TDI) 394 laps in 9h 16m 49.835s 2 Johansson/Mowlem/Kurosawa (Zytek) - 4 laps 3 Dayton/Gidley/Meira (Lola-AER) - 5 laps 4 Minassian/Primat/Campbell-Walter (Creation-Judd) - 6 laps 5 Maassen/Bernhard/Collard (Porsche) - 8 laps 6 Luhr/Dumas/Rockenfeller (Porsche) - 9 laps 7 Biela/Pirro/Werner (Audi R10 TDI) - 11 laps
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