gt3cup98

I was just told the R10 is at the ALMS test at Sebring yesterday and today and that you could not tell it was a deisel if it did not have TDI on the side.
Boyd

LuisGT3

I was there over the weekend and there were 3 large Audi trucks. They never opened them up but I knew there would be something nice inside.

techno99

I believe I also saw the Penske Porsche rig pulling in as I drove out late Sunday afternoon.

Kool

I read that one of the problems with the R10 for the drivers is that the wind drowns out the engine noise at speed so you have to rely on the shift lights instead of the ear.

That might take a little getting used to. I would be interested to hear how it idles. Whether or not it clatters.

Please excuse the stream of thought post.

LuisGT3

They were pulling in as I was leaving.

dmw44

Saw the Audi rigs parked on the main entrance road Saturday night. When I left late Sunday afternoon rigs were lined up all the way around the entrance bend before the ticket booths. Saw the Pirelli rig among many others.

LuisGT3

Which of your cars did you have there?

Kool

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/roadracing/21701/

We can only hope that is a sign of things to come.

dmw44

Hey Luis! I was driving my 81 SC track car--platinum/gold with #44 on the side (in my avatar)--did the Advanced DE Saturday and Sunday. Had a blast--man, a lot of cars/traffic in my run group. Felt really bad for the guy in the orange Lotus Elise (you probably saw it if you were doing the DE). I remember pointing by a couple of 993's and a Boxster--don't know if it was you...
Regards, Doug

LuisGT3

Hey Doug,
I did the advanced De as well. I was in the Polar Silver 993 with the blue tape over the lights (#319), the other silver 993 was a beautiful 993 TTs. I remember your car now. Yes, that was unfortunate for the gentleman in the orange Elise. There were a few other mishaps over the weekend and I was really surprised how quickly they had everything cleaned up and back to "racing".
I see you have a show car, are you planning on attending Cars For the Cure next week?
Later,
Luis

Rick964

From the SpeedTV link with regards to the Porsche outpacing the R10 today -
"We are going for the 24 Hours of Le Mans -- performance and reliability have to work together. That's why we're here," explained reigning ALMS co-champion Frank Biela.

Not that Audi won't do well but I think Porsche may still remember a thing or two about endurance racing.

mikew968

Tell us about the Lotus!!!

runnin' on empty

I was at the test day Monday, and all I can say is: the Audi is the most unique race car I have seen in 30+ years of following racing.

It is erriely quiet, the whistle from the turbos is the loudest sound, it is a super stable platform; even on Sebrings rough areas, negligable pitch or roll, and the shifts up or down are nearly silent.
I assume that is due to the dual clutch system, also no smoke, fumes from the exhaust and : no clatter either: I think that if reliable I may have witnessed the future direction of racing.

The cars are top notch in finish and seem to accelerate and decelerate effortlessly. The other spectators there all expressed a 'sense of wonder' at what they were seeing.

Penske ran one RS Spyder, until it demanded an engine change; they were using a previous test engine that according to another website weakened and had to be replaced; but they did set fastest lap of the day for what that matters. I had one of the R10s at 1:53 and change.

The RS Spyder is pretty loud and revs rapidly, much more 'drama' than the R10. Looks very well presented and if the number of personnel are any factor, Porsche/Penske are gunning for an overall.

LuisGT3

If you are familiar with Sebring this will be easy to understand. There was an Orange Elise that came in hot from the back straight (under the competition paddoc in the pic) and spun out in the middle of the turn before the "front" straight right underneath the bridge and hit the tire barrier. The driver was ok and walked away, the Lotus had extensive damage to the front of the car (windshield was even cracked).

dmw44

The Elise owner had just received the car and come down from Ohio to run it at Sebring. 1100 miles on the odometer. As Luis said, he came in too hot into turn 17 (very high speed approach), missed a gate and accidently downshifted into 2nd gear, which caused the car to snap-spin into the tire barrier with "ugly" results...at least the driver of the red Elise survived the weekend unscathed.

Luis, I'm leaving tomorrow to go to Daytona for the Rolex 24 (I am an SCCA corner-worker) and won't be back until Monday. Then back to Sebring for the 48 Hours, followed by the Suncoast DE on Feb 20th, then corner-worker for SCCA the next weekend at Sebring, followed by the 12 Hours in March (corner-worker), then the St. Pete Grand Prix (corner-worker), so my plate is really full until April. I probably won't be able to show my car, but I might be able to attend--tell me more details, please. Thanks.