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Le Mans Preview: Audi Perspective
By by: George Achorn, photos by George Achorn and Jim Sykes
Jun 14, 2007, 02:49
This year’s running of the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans may prove Audi’s biggest challenge to date. Though the brand’s reach now reaches further than ever with three different Audi-powered teams and one Lamborghini, Peugeot’s two diesel-powered 908s and sortie of driving aces have shown themselves to be incredibly fast, logging the fastest lap during the Le Mans test day. All things considered, 2007 is stacking up for Audi as one of the most interesting runnings of the 24 Hours in its eight year history in La Sarthe.
| Audi Sport | Audi Sport is the team to beat at Le Mans. Having solidly all but one year since 2000, the uber dominant and super-meticulous Audi Sport team has only twice given up a loss at Le Mans – once in its first year to BMW and once to Volkswagen Group sister brand Bentley, who was running an Audi-powered Bentley prototype driven by star Audi drivers.
This year, Audi fields a three-car team, adding a threesome of younger “rookie” drivers. Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller, and Alexandre Premat take a break from their DTM schedule to make a showing at Le Mans.
Audi R10 #1
Team: Audi Sport North America
Class: LM P1
Driver Lineup: Frank Biela , Emanuele Pirro, Marco Werner
Engine: V12 90-degree twin-turbo Audi TDI
Structure: Carbon-fiber Monocoque
Transmission: Audi/X-trac 6-speed sequential
Returning to Le Mans as reigning champions, this is the team that put diesel firmly on the map here, taking an outright win for the R10 in its first year running.
Audi R10 #2
Team: Audi Sport North America
Class: LM P1
Driver Lineup: Rinaldo “Dindo” Capello , Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish
Engine: V12 90-degree twin-turbo Audi TDI
Structure: Carbon-fiber Monocoque
Transmission: Audi/X-trac 6-speed sequential
Though not the returning champs, this lineup is still perhaps the most favored to win. Allan McNish is always good for posting some of the fastest laps to be done in an Audi, and his teammate Tom Kristensen is the most winning driver ever at Le Mans with seven outright wins notched in his belt.
Kristensen only recently got the knod to race at Le Mans, following a serious accident in the DTM’s opening race. Mike Rockenfeller had been slated to take the Dane’s place in car #2, with Audi DTM driver Mathias Ekstrom replacing the young German in Audi’s rookie car, but a test last weekend at Brands Hatch in a DTM car by Kristensen convinced Audi Sport boss Wolfgang Ulrich that Kristensen was ready to return to Le Mans.
Audi R10 #3
Team: Audi Sport Team Joest
Class: LM P1
Driver Lineup: Lucas Luhr, Alexandre Premat, Mike Rockenfeller
Engine: V12 90-degree twin-turbo Audi TDI
Structure: Carbon-fiber Monocoque
Transmission: Audi/X-trac 5-speed sequential
Audi’s rookie team joins the Audi Sport lineup in a third car to run alongside the ALMS-regular R10s. Showing a new black-accented livery, the third R10 should be interesting to watch as these new Audi drivers are some of the most up-and-coming in the sportscar world.
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| Swiss Spirit | Swiss Spirit is an interesting addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans lineup. A regular competitor in Europe’s Le Mans Series (LMS), this Swiss team is fielding a Lola chassis fitted with what is essentially a largely unchanged engine from the Audi R8 racecar mated to a transmission that we’re told was originally developed for the Champ Car series.
Audi engineers are involved with the Swiss Spirit team, making sure the everything goes properly. However, this isn’t nearly the army of staff that Audi Sport maintains for their own cars. Rumors suggest this may be Audi’s way of showing that a gasoline-powered Audi racecar can be just as competitive as a diesel and thus stave off penalties levied on their own R10 TDI. True or not, this is an interesting experiment and the first time Audi has considered providing its still potent and also eligible V8 FSI engine to a privateer. While the R8 chassis is no longer compliant, the engine most certainly is, and the pairing with Lola makes for a potent competitor.
Lola-Audi B07/10 #5
Team: Swiss Spirit
Class: LM P1
Driver Lineup: Narcel Fassler, Jean-Denis Deletraz, Iradj Alexander-David
Engine: V8 90-degree turbocharged Audi FSI
Transmission: Audi/Ricardo 6-speed sequential
This all-Swiss team performed well during its first outing in the LMS series and landing a podium finish. That said, the diesel-powered Audis and Peugeots have shown themselves to be much faster. The real battle for this car will be with other petrol-powered LM P1 cars like Pescarolo. |
| JLOC Isao Noritake | Fielded by the Japanese Lamborghini Owner’s Club, this is the second year for the black Lamborghini Murcielago GT1 competitor. Without the budget of an Aston Martin or Chevrolet, the privateer-developed Lamborghini is still most interesting to watch.
Since Audi AG owns Lamborghini Automobili outright, the JLOC Murcielago is worth a mention, even if it’s the only car of the group not to be powered by an Audi engine.
It’s great to see Lamborghini at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While it would be even better to see Lamborghini themselves fielding a works team, or providing a highly-developed customer program similar to Aston Martin.
Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT #53
Team: JLOC Isao Noritake
Class: LM GT1
Driver Lineup: Marco Apicella, Atsushi Yogo, Koji Yamanishi
Engine: V12 Lamborghini
Transmission: Lamborghini/Hollinger 6-speed sequential
Given the team is the Japanese Lamborghini Owner’s Club, it’s no surprise that two of the three drivers laud from Japan. However, this is Lamborghini, so Yogo and Yamanishi are also joined by 42-year old Italian Marco Apicella.
With no less than six Aston Martins (two factory, four privateer), five Corvettes (two factory, three privateer) and two Saleens fielded by highly-respected Le Mans veterans Oreca making up the entire remaining field for the GT1 class save for one lone Ferrari, the cards are certainly stacked heavily against the JLOC Lamborghini. |
| Team Spyker Squadron b.v. | A pillar of the Dutch brand Spyker is motorsport. Also owner of a Formula 1 racing team, Spyker’s “Spyker Squadron” has returned to Le Mans for the fourth time with a GT2 entrant based on its C8 sportscar. As with the street version, power comes from Audi’s 90-degree V8. No, the engine is not as developed as the one in the Swiss Spirit Lola, but Spyker has shown themselves as strong runners again this year in the 12 Hours of Sebring and also the full schedule of the LMS.
Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R #85
Team: Spyker Squadron b.v. / NL
Class: LM GT2
Driver Lineup: Andrea Chiesa, Alex Caffi, Andrea Balicchi
Engine: V8 90-degree Audi
Transmission: Hewland NLT 6-speed sequential
Spyker’s #85 car might be considered their rookie car. Only 43-year old Caffi has experience at Le Mans, with two races under his belt since 1999. Teammates Chiesa (43) and Belicchi (30) are both new faces at the 24 Hours.
Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R #86
Team: Spyker Squadron b.v. / NL
Class: LM GT2
Driver Lineup: Johnny Kane, Jarek Janis, Mike Hezemans
Engine: V8 90-degree Audi
Transmission: Hewland NLT 6-speed sequential
Spyker’s more experienced team, this driver lineup does include a Le Mans first-time with 23-year old Jarek Janis. However, teammate Johnny Kane has participated here three times and Mike Hazemans has six 24 Hour races under his belt. Both are returning 2006 team drivers for Spyker.
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