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Baretzky said that the R18's engine is making more power than the R15's performance ballanced engine, and we know that Peugeot commented at Sebring (on the race highlights broadcast) that the R15 was making plenty of power down the straights, enough that the Pug's best hope for a pass attempt was to get on the R15's tail and try for a slingshot/drafting pass.
Either Peugeot was sandbagging in their engine department (reliability or posturing?), or with the current regs, they've lost a bit of their edge, or Audi may have the better aero and/or chassis (on the R18).
However, the biggest thing that Peugeot said about the Audi R15's straightline speeds at Sebring wasn't so much top end (where the cars seemed to be equal), but under accelleration. And that's down, at least from what I've seen, to the R15 having a slight torque advantage, or the R15's VTG turbos, and obviously, Audi have invested in 1-2 VTGs for the R18's V6.
That makes me wonder if it's down to the turbos, and if it is I'd have to say that I'd be shocked that Peugeot hasn't adopted VTGs if they haven't (the fairly small size of the Pug's turbos has been referenced), since the principal is now proven and that Audi and Peugeot share Garrett/Honeywell as turbocharger suppliers.
And for the ASR, that's the only legal form of TC legal under ACO/IMSA rules. And ASR is governed by sensors that track the wheel or axle, which cut power. Which is fine on gasoline engines, as they have spark plugs--pretty simple.
Things aren't as easy on diesel engines, as the only way to cut power is, as you've suggested, cutting the injectors. However, I don't know if it's any more effective than killing spark plugs/coils. Part of the reason why Audi didn't run ASR on the R10 in most of '06 was because of reliability reasons and that it took them forever to get it to work in the first place, and Audi has made ASR systems for gasoline engines for years, though it was often teamed with ESP (which is currently illegal under the present regs).
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