Audi Team Leads at Sebring

The Audi R10 TDI has remained to be the sports car to beat after an impressive performance during the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA). Despite the numerous new regulations set for the race, the Audi AG---luxury unit of Volkswagen and recipient of quality Volkswagen rotors ---have made quite a start into the 2007 motorsport season with its innovative diesel sports car and successful dress rehearsal for the Le Mans 24 Hours scheduled on June 16 and 17. The victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring was the eighth victory received by Audi for Volkswagen.

The Audi R10 TDI has remained unbeaten in its ninth consecutive race and had to start with only 10 percent smaller fuel tank which means 81 liters instead of 90 liters. The Audi has to stop for refueling five laps earlier that its competitors. Despite the prowess show by the Audi R10 TDI during the race, a newcomer has been able to take on the lead on various occasions with its 150 kg lighter LM P2 cars. And it was only second to last hour that Frank Biela (Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) were able to take the lead in the most exciting and thrilling competitive sports car race ever witnessed. Frank Biela was able to equal Tom Kirstensen’s record of four overall Sebring victories.

The Audi R10 TDI ran without experiencing any technical problem for the entire generation of the 12 Hours of Sebring despite the demanding track. The only unscheduled pit stop was caused by a puncture in the second hour costing the winning car two laps plus two-time penalties and a stop-and-go penalty but in the end the Audi team won the race.

The updated engine of the Audi R10 TDI featured more compact diesel particle filters from Dow Automotive, together with some further enhanced suspension, the latest generation of Michelin tires and the weight-optimized transmission of the R10 TDI which worked flawlessly during the Le Mans dress rehearsal.

Unfortunately, the Sebring week did not prove to be as great for the second Audi Team with the defending champions of the American Le Mans Series, Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) plus Le Mans record winner Tom Kirstensen (Denmark). An accident happen during the Thursday evening’s night practice session, the R10 TDI had to be completely rebuilt over night. And despite the lack of time to set up the car completely, Capello together with McNIsh and Kirstensen were able to lead the race before the starter and the battery had to be changed twice. The Audi team finished fourth overall and second in the LM P1 class garnering high points.

The Results at the 12 Hours of Sebring

1 Biela/Pirro/Werner (Audi R10 TDI) 364 laps in 12h 01n 14.838s

2 Herta/Franchitti/Kanaan (Acura/Honda) - 6 laps

3 Fernandez/Diaz/Martinez (Lola-Acura/Honda) - 8 laps

4 Capello/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R10 TDI) - 11 laps

5 Dumas/Bernhard/Castroneves (Porsche) - 13 laps

6 Brabham/Johansson/Dayton (Acura/Honda) - 18 laps

7 Beretta/Gavin/Papis (Chevrolet) - 23 laps

8 O’Connell/Magnussen/Fellows (Chevrolet) - 23 laps

9 Wallace/Leitzinger/Lally (Porsche) - 24 laps

10 Dyson/Smith (Porsche) - 31 laps

Famous Quotes after the Race

• Dr. Wolfgang Ulrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "The team really has earned this victory. It has worked hard for it. We are happy winning Sebring another time and are unbeaten at Sebring since 2000. But we’ve also seen today how close it is now between the LM P1 and LM P2 cars. My fear that the two categories have been put together too closely, have been proved by today’s race.”

• Frank Biela (Audi R10 TDI #2): "Of course it’s nice to equal Tom Kristensen’s Sebring record. I’m very pleased. After the problem in the warm-up and the puncture at the beginning of the race I was not really expecting the victory anymore. It’s just superb that it ended this way.”

• Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #2): "It’s been a great race for us. We had quite a few problems at the start of the race and were almost two laps behind. But in such long races you should never give up. In the end of the day the fastest and strongest car won. It was a nice win for us and a great start of the season. It was a race full of mechanical problems for everybody. But our car was really strong throughout the race.”

• Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #2): "I’m absolutely happy despite the day did not start too good in the warm-up. Also the beginning of the race was not the best with the puncture and the penalties in pit lane. But the car ran perfectly in the race – it’s simply an Audi, and you can rely on that. The race was fun although the last stint was very long. I was thinking about the brakes from time to time, but most of the time about the next restroom…”

• Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #1): "It was a shame to effectively be out of contention for overall race honors before mid distance after losing around 30 minutes to replace the starter motor twice but that is motor racing sometimes. It is very good for Audi to repeat our Sebring win of last year with the R10 TDI.”

• Tom Kristensen (Audi R10 TDI #1): "We were grateful to be in the race after the accident on Thursday night – the team and mechanics worked very hard to get us to the grid. The early stages of the race looked good for us. We came to Sebring for our car to win so of course it’s disappointing to have encountered these issues. But again the mechanics got us out and up to speed so that we could fight back but unfortunately not right at the front at the finish. Apart from the starter problem, the car ran beautifully.”

• Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #1): "We encountered starter problems on our car which was a shame because we were in a very strong position. But to finish 1-2 in LM P1 is still very pleasing. Our team showed a lot of strength of character to keep fighting. It’s now very clear that we have stiff competition from both Acura/Honda and Porsche – it’s going to be a tough battle with those cars.”