Audi R10 handling in the wet

[Mosport Fan]

With the Mosport round looking like wet weather, and the R10's massive torque, does anyone think this might pose a risk to the outcome of the race? I don't think the Audi has ever faced wet weather yet (don't think it rained at LM, but I could be wrong). Anyone's thoughts?

[TheNewBob]

At LM it rained at some points during practice and qualifying, didn't it...?

[Adam43]

Audi's were 1-2 at Le Mans after the wet first practice session on Wednesday.

Still it should be fun.

[jhansen]

Ah yes. Massive amounts of torque and horsepower and no traction control. Sounds like the old days. Oversteer anyone?

[The Badger]

There was talk about traction control , but im not sure if its in the R10 yet . Without it , it might lead to a differant result . Porsche win , not Dyson imo .

[The Real DMN]

I saw plenty of LMP's spinning during the wet wednesday session at Le Mans this year - the R10's wern't one of them.

[The Badger]

But there was a spinning R10 at Sebring , and the drivers said that the lack of traction control was difficult to say the least .

Id prefer to see the R10 being beaten fair and square by Dyson .

[canam]

Originally Posted by The Real DMN

I saw plenty of LMP's spinning during the wet wednesday session at Le Mans this year - the R10's wern't one of them.

Didn't one of the R10 drivers 'bin' it in Arnage?

That corner is particularly bad in the wet.

[Audi R8R]

The R10s have traction control now, they had it at Le Mans.

Does anyone reallt think that Audi won't have thought these things through since Sebring..? I mean, really?

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Audi R8R

The R10s have traction control now, they had it at Le Mans.

I thought they didn't have it at Le Mans, because the traction control was too hard on the gearbox. See http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84692

I guess they can use TC for shorter races because then gearbox reliability is not such an issue.

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by Audi R8R

The R10s have traction control now, they had it at Le Mans.

Does anyone reallt think that Audi won't have thought these things through since Sebring..? I mean, really?

Thats the first I heard that they ran it at Le Mans . Where did you hear that ?

That all depends . They obviously had trouble with it before , otherwise the cars would have had it for Sebring . Even the best engineers have trouble sometimes , and thats not beyond Audi either .

[The Real DMN]

Originally Posted by canam

Didn't one of the R10 drivers 'bin' it in Arnage?

That corner is particularly bad in the wet.

Maybe, but I didn't see it. I saw loads of others spinning though.

[The Real DMN]

Originally Posted by Audi R8R

Does anyone reallt think that Audi won't have thought these things through since Sebring..? I mean, really?

Audi themselves admitted the R10 was rushed into action at Sebring before it was ready. So in answer to your question, yes I do.

[Audi R8R]

Originally Posted by The Real DMN

Audi themselves admitted the R10 was rushed into action at Sebring before it was ready. So in answer to your question, yes I do.

I could wellbe wrong on it having TC, I probably am, Its my usual way! lol

But I said 'since' sebring, not before it. Surely one of the things they will have worked on would have been that, seeing as how it was so easy to spin at Sebring and hasn't appeaered to have done since.

Like I said, I could be very wrong though, but I wouldn't have thought it would be that hard for the Audi technicians to find a fix, especially in the amount of time since the opening race of the season.

[The Real DMN]

Your right, I didn't read your post correctly.

It didn't have TCS before Sebring.

[The Badger]

According to alms tv coverage ..... Audi are still haveing trouble with their traction control , saying that it has huge stresses on the gearbox . Im not sure they are useing it at race meetings yet ..... anyone ?

[Adam43]

In their coverage Speed said the drivers were told they couldn't have it - even if it rained.

[flavorPacket]

Originally Posted by The Real DMN

Maybe, but I didn't see it. I saw loads of others spinning though.

McNish spun across the track and hit the wall about 10 meters from me coming through the kink before Tertre Rouge...

[Suze]

It did rain, and exactly what flavorPacket said! Think they also ran wide / through gravel (Dunlop chicane once or twice) in the rain too.

[ger80]

Ok, lets dance for rain for PLM and Laguna

[Suze]

No! It rained when I want to LM, I don't want it to rain at PLM too thanks! This counts as part of my holiday so hot and sunny please

[cmk]

Two items of interest for those who seem to think rain would be a great equalizer at the last two races of the season.

For one, Audi - despite the lack of traction control - seems to have the friendliest-driving car in the rain save for the PTG BMWs. This is based on the driver comments I heard on the Radio Web during Saturday and early Sunday at Mosport, and my observations of the field in the wet at Moss Corner both of those days. Most drivers said the conditions were horrendous, scary, treacherous, difficult to the extreme or all other sorts of negative things. Audi drivers said their car was not bad in the wet, though it was better in the dry. They all seemed pleased at how well she behaved, not a "beast" was how one (Pirro?) put it. Given their lack of wet testing, that's saying something. As an aside, I have to wonder if the track conditions were particularly bad, because I've seen rain far far worse than that at Mosport before...

Secondly, Dyson's TC system isn't exactly the bee's knees right now either. If I understood it correctly, they weren't planning to race with it at Mosport either. I believe #20 had a TC problem on Saturday, and on Sunday's warm-up Chris was pussyfooting the car out of Moss worse than any other in the field. James didn't seem too happy either, what with his spin in 3rd part-way up the backstraight. It appears right now that Audi has more dominance potential in the wet than in the dry, unless those pesky Penskes can give it a go.

[gwyllion]

During the Le Mans test day, Audi has the best TC according to Pruett.

With rain dominating the Official Test Day, watching and listening to how each team made use of their traction control was of great interest. If we were to award a ‘Best’ and ‘Worst’, the best TC appeared to be found within the Audi R10’s.

Allan McNish charged the final chicane leading onto the front straight over and over again, with barely a whisper of TC keeping the rear wheels under control. That’s not to say TC was being used, but its integration into the electronics was seamless, and caused ‘Nishy’ no disruptions.

source: http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...test-day-blog/

[deggis]

I wish TC could be banned. Unfortunately can't see that happening, as it very well eliminates chances of driver error aka increases the amount of cars finishing the race. Plus unlike in F1, standard ECU is totally out of the question.

TC in motorsport probably doesn't have that much use for road car development anymore and I don't think there's a single reason why world class drivers should need such a system that so much interferes one of the most important skill aspects in driving. And for people saying it doesn't make any difference: look at F1.

In motorsport there's nothing sexier than a car slowing down to Mulsanne corner, turning in and getting on throttle little bit too early and sliding a bit in the exit...

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by deggis

I wish TC could be banned. Unfortunately can't see that happening, as it very well eliminates chances of driver error aka increases the amount of cars finishing the race. Plus unlike in F1, standard ECU is totally out of the question.

Are you kidding? Gene's crash was huge with TC. You want more almost dead drivers by banning TC?