Aw Snap! Audi R10s lose outright victory at Road America
click above image for gallery of Audi's battle with Porsche at Road America
Speaking of calling your shots, Audi said prior to Round Eight of the American Le Mans Series at Road America this past weekend that its LMP1 R10 diesel racers were poised to steal an outright victory from the LMP2 cars. The R10s, they surmised, were better suited to the 4.0-mile track with its long straights than the LMP2 cars. Though performing well in qualifying and leading most of the race, the Audis ultimately lost to a Penske Porsche RS Spyder in the LMP2 class, the nearest one 1.783 seconds back. Both Audis picked up fuel and tires in their final pit stops, while driver Timo Bernhard opted for only fuel in his Porsche. Ironically, what really did the Audis in was their lack of cooperation during the final laps. Rather than allowing one of the cars to charge ahead and overtake Bernhard in the LMP2 Porsche, the Audis passed each other multiple times, as if they were competing against each other for the LMP1 win. The R10 driven by Dindo Capello and Allan McNish ultimately finished first in LMP1, just 0.706 seconds ahead of the R10 driven by Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner. Lot of good it did them, especially considering Road America was their best change this season at an overall victory, which they haven't enjoyed since March in St. Petersburg. Check out a gallery of the Audi and Porsche battle below, complete with descriptive captions from Getty.
[Source: ALMS, Audi]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
foo 3:55PM (8/13/2007)
it's time to pass the torch onto the partial owner of VAG if Audi wants to take to Porshce they should build an LMP2 car and go head to head.
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Mike 4:20PM (8/13/2007)
They lost overall but blew away everything in their class as usual, not news worthy...Audi R10 still whoops the llama's ass...
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mad scientist 4:47PM (8/13/2007)
In ALMS, the overall win only counts for bragging rights at the pub between the drivers. There aren't any more points awarded for it. And since this is a 4 hour race, it awards more points than the majority of races this season.
It makes perfect sense for the Audi's to go head to head on the last laps. Both driving pairs need the points for the drivers championship in LMP1.
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Evan Brom 6:38PM (8/13/2007)
If the ALMS did not change the rules mid season to decrease the Audi fuel tanks size to 85L vs the 92L in the Porsche they created this issue.
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rob 6:41PM (8/13/2007)
john, nobody uses the phrase "aw, snap!" anymore. please stop embarrassing yourself by repeatedly using this phrase on your posts.
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why not the LS2/LS7? 7:01PM (8/13/2007)
Overall isn't worth bragging rights? The overall winner gets more airtime. And that's why it's worth something, end of story.
Evan Brom:
It's 81L versus 90L. It wasn't midseason, it was at the beginning of the season.
Given Diesel contains about 15% more energy per gallon, they're still safely ahead.
The Audis has some minor issues with flat tires and such. So IMHO, they deserved to lose the overall. If they had run a perfect race they might have run.
I believe there was a mid-season adjustment to the LMP2 cars at this race to slow them down.
It's great to see more good racing, and not blowouts. With Enge gone, GT2 looks good again too. Too bad GT1 is still a disaster.
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why not the LS2/LS7? 9:15PM (8/13/2007)
aww, snap!
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Bob-o 1:30AM (8/14/2007)
"If the ALMS did not change the rules mid season to decrease the Audi fuel tanks size to 85L vs the 92L in the Porsche they created this issue."
Created this issue? God forbid they tighten up the field to have something called RACING... Nono, parade laps are much more fun.
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ZoomZoomin' 10:32PM (8/17/2007)
"rob @ Aug 13th 2007 6:41PM
john, nobody uses the phrase "aw, snap!" anymore. please stop embarrassing yourself by repeatedly using this phrase on your posts"
...ummm, I'm guessing this case is a reference to the VW "Unpimp the Auto" ads, which were hilarious...particularly the German doctor/technician going "aw snap!" Considering this story contains Audi (VW), I'm guessing that's the reason for the reference...it hasn't been THAT long since this ad campaign. See ytmnd to help catch up with current pop culture...particularly the renewed love of VW's "Aw, snap!" A few months dated, but not that bad.
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