Audi LMP1 Discussion

[chernaudi]

Also, the R18 has a bulge on the left side of the engine cover--in one of the Sebring photos, it seems to be quite visible.

[gwyllion]

http://forums.fourtitude.com/entry.p...est-at-Sebring has some very interesting rumors:

• Audi plans to enter 4 cars in the 24 hours of Le Mans: 2 R18s and 2 R18Hs
• With 4 cars they will need 3 additional drivers. Loic Duval might be one of them and Marco Bonanomi will probably get a go as well.

[porsche91722]

If the rumor turns out to be correct, it will be great to see Dindo get another run at Le Mans. Too early to say, but you'd have to wonder at who they'd be putting in the R18 and who they would have in the hybrids.
I guess it would come down to how much development they get into the hybrids before Le Mans, and what real chance they see in getting a hybrid to actually win rather than using it as a publicity tool, and just finishing 24 hours.

[AGD]

I don't know what Audi and Peugeot plan on bringing to Sebring (and Spa for that matter), but it looks like Toyota's goal of being the first hybrid car on the podium might get shattered before they even compete in a race. Granted, we've been thinking that might be the case ever since Toyota uttered those words.

[chernaudi]

Surpised that Joest hasn't been pointed out as entering 3 cars (assuming that the R18 Hybrids will clearly be factory cars), unless they plan on entering an old or at least a non-hybrid R18 as a back up.

And since Joest can only enter 3 cars under the WEC rules for endurance races (and only the two registered or highest finishing cars are points eligible), who could the tender be for the 1-2 non-Joest cars entered? Any rumors on that front recently with private R18 entries?

[AGD]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

And since Joest can only enter 3 cars under the WEC rules for endurance races (and only the two registered or highest finishing cars are points eligible), who could the tender be for the 1-2 non-Joest cars entered? Any rumors on that front recently with private R18 entries?

Can't they just enter an extra car under the Audi Sport North America banner? It may not score WEC points, but I doubt that is Audi's biggest concern at Le Mans.

[Dead-Eye]

It's funny how the rule gets extended to allow "official" three car teams, and the next moment Audi decides that four is better than three

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

It's funny how the rule gets extended to allow "official" three car teams, and the next moment Audi decides that four is better than three

If Audi enters 4 (still unconfirmed rumor at this point as far as I can tell), I wonder if Peugeot may enter 4 as well. They've had 4 entries the past few years now through Pescarolo and Oreca. In which case, how many at-large entries will be left? Not too many and there could still be some WEC surprises. This could be concerning at some point and I wonder if that could lead the ACO to reject some WEC entries.

[Articus]

Hi, I also noticed that the rear wing endplate tail lights are gone.
Are they trying to reduce weight and save on electricity drain even though LED's are the pinnacle of power saving bulbs

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Articus

Hi, I also noticed that the rear wing endplate tail lights are gone.
Are they trying to reduce weight and save on electricity drain even though LED's are the pinnacle of power saving bulbs

It is a test car for a reason. The car does not have a window screen wiper either.

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

......rumors:[list][*]Audi plans to enter 4 cars in the 24 hours of Le Mans: 2 R18s and 2 R18Hs

I remember DAILY SPORTSCAR saying something along the lines of 'expect changes at Audi in 2012' suggesting a team other than Joest could run the cars. At the time, we thought Joest would make themselves available to Porsche from 2012 onwards, with another team stepping in. I'm now wondering if we might see Abt (or one of the other DTM teams) with a pair of non-hybrids and Joest running the hybrids.

[gwyllion]

More Audi news: Audi recruits ex-Formula 1 man Dieter Gass to oversee WEC and DTM programmes

[Acid09]

Even though they hardly did anything wrong, I wouldn't be surprised to see Audi drop Joest. Outside of Le Mans the results have been poor and they have to try something new I guess.

[gwyllion]

More Audi gossip. According to http://murphythebear.com/blog/index....timore-buh-by/ Romain Dumas is heading back to Porsche "soon" and Audi and Porsche are fighting over Timo Bernhard.

[gwyllion]

http://www.86400.fr/articles/195-laudi-r18-evolue- has some good pictures that highlight the R18 updates.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

http://forums.fourtitude.com/entry.p...est-at-Sebring has some very interesting rumors:

• Audi plans to enter 4 cars in the 24 hours of Le Mans: 2 R18s and 2 R18Hs
• With 4 cars they will need 3 additional drivers. Loic Duval might be one of them and Marco Bonanomi will probably get a go as well.

Four cars would be a great step forward for P1 as it would more than likely require a second team to supplement the factory, i.e Peugeot Sport and ORECA.

Abt has been rumoured for some time, I also note Penske were in talks to run an R18 at Le Mans last year, whoever it is will more than likely have to enter at least a partial season in the WEC/ALMS to get upto speed with the car.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by JAG

Four cars would be a great step forward for P1 as it would more than likely require a second team to supplement the factory, i.e Peugeot Sport and ORECA.

Abt has been rumoured for some time, I also note Penske were in talks to run an R18 at Le Mans last year, whoever it is will more than likely have to enter at least a partial season in the WEC/ALMS to get upto speed with the car.

Expect nothing more than 3 cars from both Audi and Peugeot at Spa (like last year) and then maybe/probably* 4 cars each at Le Mans. Before or after that most probably just 2 cars each. Remember, a third car can not score points (with the exception of LM - limited to first 2 cars at the finish, not first 2 entered) towards the championship. A possible second Audi team could be run like the Peugeot-Oreca operation at LM we´ve seen over the last 2 years. It´s also possible for that team to be fully integrated into Audi´s factory team. I´m not an expert on team logistics so we´ll see. Btw, I´m not a fan of 4 cars per factory team at LM, it takes away spots from more privately run efforts preferring to non WEC running (almost entirely ELMS with probable exception of Flying Lizards).

*No public hints so far. Also 4th Pug is rumored, could be Pescarolo.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

A possible second Audi team could be run like the Peugeot-Oreca operation at LM we´ve seen over the last 2 years. It´s also possible for that team to be fully integrated into Audi´s factory team.

*No public hints so far. Also 4th Pug is rumored, could be Pescarolo.

It's this situation I think is most likely, hence needing to gain experience running the car outside Le Mans.

It's been seen in the recent past in GT1 with Porsche AG and Zakspeed, AMG Mercedes and Pearson, while teams ran R8's under the banners Audi UK, NA, Japan and France.

The big factor this time around is hybrid technology, these factory cars are super reliable, but it would take a brave man to go into this race without the back-up of a couple of conventional cars.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by JAG

It's this situation I think is most likely, hence needing to gain experience running the car outside Le Mans.

It's been seen in the recent past in GT1 with Porsche AG and Zakspeed, AMG Mercedes and Pearson, while teams ran R8's under the banners Audi UK, NA, Japan and France.

The big factor this time around is hybrid technology, these factory cars are super reliable, but it would take a brave man to go into this race without the back-up of a couple of conventional cars.

We have often seen factory cars break, even conventional ones.

If Audi chooses 2 R18H and 2 R18's (which I'm a bit skeptical about), they would want the two R18's to be just as fast as the Peugeots and Toyotas. If Toyota and Peugeot chooses same strategy (running both hybrids and conventional), they will too want the conventional to be as fast as possible.
Pushing these cars to the extreme will result in more failures, so i'm expecting a Le Mans which could go any way. (much like Le Mans 2010)

[chernaudi]

More fire for the Audi 2012 driver lineup speculations: Loic Duval, himself rumored to be a part time Audi Sport driver, is rumored to also be headed to the #23 Nismo GT-R in Super GT, where it's expected he'll replace the rumored to be departing Beniot Treluyer. This info was found in the Super GT thread.

Treluyer, if we remember, has been believed to possibly be headed to the WEC, and Audi is a likely candidate. And it's also known that Andre Lotterer has asked Audi for a mulit-year WEC/LMP contract to be a full time driver, and both Ben and Andre were at the R18H test at Sebring this week. If both end up being full time Audi drivers, what are the chances that they may end up being paired up as a full time squad?

[gwyllion]

It is self-evident that McNish and Kristensen will team up for WEC. For the second car Audi has to choose between Bernhard, Fassler, Lotterer and Treluyer.

Lotterer and Treluyer will only give up their factory drives in Japan if they get a full time WEC seat and perhaps even a multi-year deal.

Murphy suggested that Audi wants to steal Bernhard away from Porsche, which is only possible if they give a full time WEC seat.

Fassler was the best Audi driver in WEC last year, so he might feel entitled to a WEC seat as well.

Dr. Ullrich has a tough choice to make.

[Acid09]

Would be a stupid decision on Bernhards part. He's been with Porsche for so long and now that it's time to go for the real reward he's leaving?

If I had the chance to contest Le Mans with either Porsche or Audi, that's a no-brainer, isn't it? Especially given that Audi has lost its invincibility at Le Mans and is in kind of a downward spiral performance-wise.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Would be a stupid decision on Bernhards part. He's been with Porsche for so long and now that it's time to go for the real reward he's leaving?

If I had the chance to contest Le Mans with either Porsche or Audi, that's a no-brainer, isn't it? Especially given that Audi has lost its invincibility at Le Mans and is in kind of a downward spiral performance-wise.

Sure, and that´s why Audi lost the last 2 edition, didn´t they? It´s as close as can be between the 2 giants, let´s hope it stays that way - or even better: one or two others can join the battle!

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Would be a stupid decision on Bernhards part. He's been with Porsche for so long and now that it's time to go for the real reward he's leaving?

You have to look at the alternative. If Bernhard chooses Porsche, he has to sit on the side line for the next two years while the WEC kicks off. He has to go back to GT racing until 2014. Of course he will be able to race the hybrid 911 at the Nurburgring (VLN, 24 hours) and perhaps elsewhere in an unclassified category without any opponents.

In 2012 he can probably still do a few races (Le Mans, Spa) with Audi. However, when Porsche starts testing with their LMP car in 2013, Audi might no longer ask for his services.

Originally Posted by Acid09

If I had the chance to contest Le Mans with either Porsche or Audi, that's a no-brainer, isn't it? Especially given that Audi has lost its invincibility at Le Mans and is in kind of a downward spiral performance-wise.

10 Le Mans victories in 13 participations (1999-2011) is still a decent statistic

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

It´s as close as can be between the 2 giants, let´s hope it stays that way - or even better: one or two others can join the battle!

Toyota has Perhaps not yet fully in 2012, but in 2013 for sure.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by ss_collins

New car is called R18H - it is a flywheel hybrid

R18H is probably an internal name, because according to http://www.sportauto-online.de/motor...t-4179774.html it will be called "Audi R18 TDI Plus e-tron".

In http://www.racecar-engineering.com/n...-to-the-track/ Sam suggests that Audi will use the mechanical solution from Flybrid sytems that is used by Hope Racing, and hence not the electromechanical solution from Willliams Hybrid Power that is used in the hybrid 911. This implies that the hybrid system will operate on the rear wheels and not the fronts.