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Get Truth in 24 for free on iTunes

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:27:00 EST

Click above to download Truth in 24 for free from iTunes

If you missed watching Truth in 24 last Friday on ESPN, you can now get and watch it as often as you want... for free! The documentary about Audi's 2008 run to victory at Le Mans is now available for free on Apple's iTunes store. The film was produced by NFL films and chronicles the preparation for the French round-the-clock race and the people who made victory happen. If you are a fan of racing at all, this movie is a must see. Check out the Autoblog review then head over to iTunes by clicking here and grab your copy for free. Thanks for the tip, Jason!

Gallery: Audi R15 TDI - studio images

[Source: iTunes]

Get Truth in 24 for free on iTunes originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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24 Hours of Le Mans invite list released

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Aston Martin, Audi, Chevrolet, Porsche, Peugeot

Plenty of teams have dropped out racing series around the world this year as economic problems have caused sponsors to pull back. So far, it looks like the 24 Hours of Le Mans has managed to remain relatively immune as the Automobile Club de l'Ouest received 82 entries for the 55 openings for this years race. The top LMP1 class is set to be another battle royal with 12 factory supported entries from Audi, Peugeot and Aston Martin. Peugeot will be trying to finally win Le Mans and has increased its squad to four by entrusting one of the 908s to the Pescarolo Sport team. Audi will have three of its new R15 TDIs and two of the old R10s which will be run by the Kolles team.

In the P2 field, a trio of Porsche RS Spyders with will be leading the way along with an assortment of Lolas, Zytek and Radical prototypes. In GT1, the factory Chevrolet Corvette C6R will make its final trip to Le Mans before being replaced by a new GT2 car. The GT1 field will be filled out with pairs of private Chevys, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis. Finally, the GT2 class is mostly Ferrari F430s with a few Porsches, and an Aston Martin and a Spyker. The festivities get under way on June 10. Check out the full entry list here.

[Source: LeMans.org]

24 Hours of Le Mans invite list released originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BREAKING: Audi withdraws from 2009 American Le Mans Series

Sam Abuelsamid — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Audi

Click the R10 above for a high res gallery from the Detroit race

The self proclaimed leader in "green racing", the American Le Mans Series, will be losing one of its premier teams for 2009. After winning nine consecutive LMP1 championships with the R8 and then the R10 TDI, Audi will no longer have a works team in the ALMS in 2009. The only official Audi appearance in North America will be the debut run of the new R15 TDI at Sebring in March. After that, the R15 will go to Le Mans and Audi will be represented by the new A4 in DTM and the R8 LMS in GT3 racing.

Audi hasn't indicated whether it will make the R10s available to Champion Racing or any other team. Champion has been operating the Audi Sport North America program for several years. The current economic conditions have been cited by Audi racing boss Dr. Wolfgang Ulrich as part of the reason for withdrawing from ALMS and also the European Le Mans Series.

Gallery: Detroit Sports Car Challenge 08

Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading BREAKING: Audi withdraws from 2009 American Le Mans Series

BREAKING: Audi withdraws from 2009 American Le Mans Series originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Preview: ALMS at Laguna Seca

Drew Phillips — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Click above for a high resolution gallery

As part of the final leg of the Audi Mileage Marathon, we made a stop today at Laguna Seca in Monterey for the final ALMS race of the season. Acura was the top story yesterday, taking the two overall top spots with David Brabham capturing pole followed by Luiz Diaz in the Lowe's Fernandez Racing entry. Audi was the fastest of the LMP1 cars, although qualifying a disappointing 9th overall. In GT2, Dirk Werner took the top spot in the Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3 RSR, making Porsche the favorite to win the overall manufacturers' championship for the season. The Ferraris will have to win the race and have Porsche finish no better than sixth to take the points lead. Finally, in GT1 it was only the two sister Corvettes battling for position, with Jan Magnussen claiming the faster time. The race is scheduled to run today from 2:45 to 6:45 PM PST, and you can watch the race tomorrow on NBC from 2:00 PM to 4 PM EST. In case you miss it, we'll have plenty of pics from the race, and in the mean time you can view our photos from the practice session today in the gallery below.

Gallery: 2008 ALMS at Laguna Seca - Practice

Preview: ALMS at Laguna Seca originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi R10 driver Emanuele Pirro stepping down after 15 years

Sam Abuelsamid — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:57:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Audi

Pirro piloting the Audi R10 TDI at the Detroit Sportscar Challenge

After 15 years of hustling factory Audi race cars around tracks the world over, Emanuele Pirro will have his last run in the R10 TDI this weekend at the American Le Mans Series' final race at Laguna Seca. The Italian driver first hooked up with Audi in 1994 running in the Italian and German Touring Car Championships where he won titles three years in a row. Later he moved over into sports cars where he has spent the last decade driving the R8 and R10 TDI. Over that span, he and his teammates have conquered the 24 hours of Le Mans five times including the first victory by a diesel-powered car in the 2006 R10. Pirro's most recent victory came just two weeks ago at the Petit Le Mans where he teamed with Alan McNish and Dindo Capello to storm back from two laps down to defeat the Peugeot 908 HDi. Pirro is also an avid pilot, so he'll probably be getting more of his thrills in the air now.

It's not known if Pirro is retiring completely from competition or just leaving his team, but he will continue to be a brand ambassador for Audi, a task at which he should excel. Having met the man on several occasions, I can say first hand that he is very warm, friendly and personable and almost always has a big smile on his face.

Gallery: Detroit Sports Car Challenge 08

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Audi R10 driver Emanuele Pirro stepping down after 15 years

Audi R10 driver Emanuele Pirro stepping down after 15 years originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi wins everything... add European Le Mans Series to the list

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Audi

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Audi R10 in action

If Audi was a greater beneficiary of the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" adage, they would have trounced Mercedes and BMW in sales long ago. The house of the four rings took the 24 Hours of Le Mans, then they claimed the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), and now Audi extends its arms once again to grab the European Le Mans Series championship (LMS) trophy.

In fact, by finishing first and fourth at Silverstone with two Audi R10s, Audi takes the driver's title (Alex Prémat and Mike Rockenfeller), the manufacturer's title, and the team title. It's only real competition was Peugeot, which walks away empty handed even though it won four of the five LMS races, had two cars on the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and had pole position for every race. Next year's battle for Franco-German supremacy should be even better. Make the jump for Audi's press release.

Gallery: Audi at 2008 Le Mans

Continue reading Audi wins everything... add European Le Mans Series to the list

Audi wins everything... add European Le Mans Series to the list originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi's Luhr/Werner clinch ALMS LMP1 class championship

Sam Abuelsamid — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Audi

click the R10 for a high res gallery from the Detroit race

The only real question in the P1 class of the American Le Mans Series this year was which Audi driver pairing would capture the championship. Audi only faced one actual challenger all season long in the LMP1 class from the Intersport Racing team, and they weren't really in the same class, if you know what we mean. Going into this past weekend's Detroit Sports Car Challenge, the pairing of Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner were leading their teammates Marcel Fässler and Emanuele Pirro with an opportunity to clinch the drivers' championship. Some mishaps for the Luhr/Werner team early on, however, suggested the battle would go on until at least the Petit Le Mans next month. Luhr hit a tire wall hard on lap 13 and Fässler went on to cross the finish line third behind a pair of Acuras in the LMP2 class. But the Fässler/Pirro car was disqualified after the race for being underweight, leaving the LMP1 drivers' title to Luhr and Werner. Hopefully the entry of Acura and Corsa Motorsports' hybrid racer in the LMP1 class for 2009 will give Audi a real challenge. If only we could convince Peugeot to run the full ALMS schedule with its diesel-powered 908s, LMP1 would be as much fun as the P2 and GT classes.

Gallery: Detroit Sports Car Challenge 08

Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Audi's Luhr/Werner clinch ALMS LMP1 class championship

Audi's Luhr/Werner clinch ALMS LMP1 class championship originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi R10 TDI using biofuel for the first time

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Sat, 31 May 2008 15:17:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hybrid, Green, Supercars, Audi

In the world of alternative power, not all fuels are created equal. This fact is true with ethanol, where the alcohol can be made using fairly inefficient processes, some of which involve corn, or using more advanced cellulosic methods which do not use a foodstock. Diesel too can come from either petroleum or from non-dino sources. You're probably aware that Audi has been assaulting various race tracks using its advanced diesel powered race cars, specifically its two-time Le Mans-winning R10 TDI, which has so far been running on what is known as gas-to-liquid (GTL) diesel fuel. With the 24 Hours of Le Mans just around the corner, Audi and Shell, the fuel provider for Audi's race team, have announced that the team will be blending a small amount of biomass-to-liquid (BTL) fuel into its secret mixture. Shell's BTL fuel is made from materials such as wood chips and will make its on-track debut on Sunday, June 1, as Audi's R10 TDI begins its official Le Mans testing.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Audi R10 TDI using biofuel for the first time

Audi R10 TDI using biofuel for the first time originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 May 2008 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi decides to field third R10 at LeMans

John Neff — Tue, 22 May 2007 12:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Audi

It's no secret that Audi hasn't had as successful a season so far in the American LeMans Series with its diesel-powered R10 racers compared to last year. As it had begun doing last season, the ALMS has instituted regulations designed to slow down the dominant R10s in their LMP1 class, effectively making even the cars in the more contested LMP2 class faster. For instance, Audi's fastest car placed second overall in last week's Utah Grand Prix and third overall in the prior week's Grand Prix of Houston, both times behind cars in the LMP2 class. Last year, an Audi R10 driver was highest on the podium at every race of the season.

This is why Audi is so amped up for the 2007 24 Hours of LeMans where the LMP1 class is supreme and unhindered by these stifling regulations. This year, however, Audi will be up against a formidable opponent in Peugeot's 908 HDi FAP racer, which is also powered by a diesel motor, though fitted with two more cylinders than the R10.

Recognizing that LeMans remains as the sole race to demonstrate its dominance, Audi has decided to field a third car in addition to the two that are being shipped over from the ALMS series. The third car will be obviously badged "car number 3" and driven by three donated drivers from Audi's DTM team: Alexandre Préma, Mike Rockenfeller, and Lucas Luhr (shown above left to right). A third set of wheels will obviously give team Audi a better shot at overall victory, especially considering that, over the course of 24 hours of racing, it's likely one of the cars will suffer a race-ending fate.

[Source: Audi]

Gallery: Audi R10 TDI at Sebring

Gallery: Peugeot 908 HDi

Continue reading Audi decides to field third R10 at LeMans

Audi decides to field third R10 at LeMans originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 May 2007 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi clinches ALMS title

Alex Nunez — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 10:35:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Audi

With their victory at Mosport on Sunday in the #2 Audi R10 TDI, factory drivers Allan McNish and Dindo Capello locked up the LMP1 title for Audi with two races still to go on the schedule. For McNish, this is his second ALMS title and for Capello, his first. The pair guided the #2 car to a hard-fought win over Dyson Racing's pair of Lola-AERs, which finished second and third and were just seconds behind the Audi.

The 2006 ALMS season for Audi saw them open at Sebring with their new R10 TDI racers. After securing the opening round win, the V12 diesel prototypes were spirited away to prepare for the 24 Hours of LeMans. With the R10s out until after LeMans, Audi called upon the legendary R8, which won overall at Houston, finished first in class at Mid-Ohio, and then ended its racing career in style with an overall win at Lime Rock. The R10s returned after Lime Rock, fresh off a win at LeMans, and haven't lost since. Next up on the to-do list is locking up the manufacturer's championship in the final two weeks.

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Audi Motorsport]

Continue reading Audi clinches ALMS title

Audi clinches ALMS title originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Sep 2006 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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