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From YourSITE.com Events Coverage The plight of Audi’s potential participation in this year’s American Le Mans Series has been as tumultuous as Sebring Raceways undulating pavement and as unclear as beer goggles worn proudly by all in the track’s notorious Green Park. With rules less than optimum for Audi’s R10 LMP1 racecar and serious class competition promised by Peugeot in Europe, the only thing Audi motorsports enthusiasts could count on this year was a knock-down, drag-out race of momentous potential. Factory-backed and ALMS rule emboldened LMP2 teams from Porsche and Acura were set to square off in Florida against the Audi R10 and its European diesel-driven competitor from Peugeot. Shell brought the diesel, Patron brought the Tequila and a party ensued.
Even without the heavy-hitter competition, Sebring is always a fan favorite. “It’s the season opener and Super Bowl all rolled into one,” says Radio Le Mans. It’s also a 12-hour party in sunny, warm Florida smack dab in the middle of Spring Break on most college calendars. Whether you’re a coed from Ole Miss or backwater Everglade native making your annual pilgrimage out of the swamp, Sebring draws fans of racing and inebriation alike. The blonde sorority girl saying “heyyy” at you in that warm southern drawl from the back window of a Ford pickup cruising the infield is as intoxicating as the sound of prototypes throttling up the front straight. It’s a potent mix and makes for perhaps the best event on the American Le Mans schedule.
With the French in town and running fast, it is perhaps natural that proud Audi stepped up its presence at the track. The usual two-car Audi Sport Team Joest squad was there, but so too was a large two-story Audi hospitality structure in the paddock area and a newer and larger brand display just adjacent to the ever-growing Audi corral for owners. That brand display featured not only an R10 display car and the usual smattering of Audi’s hottest models, it also included the as-of-yet-unavailable B8-generation A4, the upcoming TTS and the same R8 V12 TDI Le Mans design study that’d been displayed in Geneva Switzerland just one week prior.
Leading up to the race, a bad wreck during qualifying left grid placement determined by practice lap times and that helped Audi’s Alan McNish score pole position for his R10. Peugeot though looked strong, turning faster qualifying laps than Audi.
When the green flag dropped and racing began, the Peugeot quickly grabbed the lead and began putting distance between itself and the Audis. Sebring though is not about turning an hour or two of fast laps. Endurance is key and an advantage Audi can typically bank on.
About twenty minutes into the race, as Dindo Capello set up for turn three while dodging some slower traffic, the Italian’s #1 R10 came into contact with one of the three Flying Lizard Porsche 911s. The clip wasn’t bad, but enough to cause some slight damage to the rear right of the R10 and to send the 911 off into the grass and into the tire barriers. It was an accident, but an avoidable one ruled IMSA and Dindo was issued a stop and go penalty.
That wouldn’t be the only difficulty for Audi. A combination of pavement conditions and the rear suspension sutup on both R10s saw several Audi teammates getting loose in Sebring’s turn 10. Notorious more for some of the hardest partying fans watching from scaffolding nearby, 10 isn’t the most technical bend on the track. However, conditions were enough to cause the Audi team some issues, Marco Werner sliding off-track twice in the #2 car and others having similar issues.
In the meantime, the brutally fast Peugeots were finding out that Sebring can also be brutal – a rough course to be sure. The 908 HDi was having its own issues and dropped off pace. Audi Sport got down to business as is their nature and, by midpoint in the race, the two R10s were leading by a good margin. The #2 Audi even enjoyed a forty second lead over its sister car.
That’s when things got difficult. The lead car suffered some significant failures, including a bad turbocharger on the right bank of its burly V12 and faulty brake rotors. Both needed changed, costing the Werner-Luhr-Rockenfeller team sixteen laps and the lead. Some stop-and-go penalties and a light accident by Rockenfeller didn’t help things.
Brake rotor issues plagued the other Audi as well, necessitating a swap. A push-rod in the front right suspension would also need changed and, by the time all had been repaired, the Capello-Kristensen-McNish car was also three laps down behind the now-leading Porsche RS Spyder from Penske. Like the veteran he is, Kristensen fought back hard and got himself back on the lead lap. Unfortunately, the 12 hours ran out and Audi finished only 67 second behind the leading LMP2 Porsche.
During race weekend Audi confirmed it will contest a full season of the American Le Mans Series this year, which is truly good news for American fans. Still, Sebring was the race of races we’d say – technical difficulties aside. This will likely be the only event in America this year where you’d have caught 7-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen or ALMS LMP1 champs Alan McNish and Dindo Capello at the wheel. It is also likely the only race where Peugeot would compete against the Audis and a field of ALMS-bolstered LMP2s from Porsche and Acura. The ALMS season should be stronger than ever, though its opening event at Sebring didn’t let us down as likely being the biggest slugfest of the season.
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