Gear

Audi R10 TDI Breaks Track Record at Sebring

Tomorrow’s 12 Hours of Sebring will be the first race for the 2007 Audi R10 TDI, but it’s broken one Sebring track record already. Yesterday, on the first official day of practice, Marco Werner put himself in the front row for Saturday’s race with a record-breaking time of 1:44.974. (Defending champion Dindo Capello’s R10 will […]

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Tomorrow's 12 Hours of Sebring will be the first race for the 2007 Audi R10 TDI, but it's broken one Sebring track record already. Yesterday, on the first official day of practice, Marco Werner put himself in the front row for Saturday's race with a record-breaking time of 1:44.974. (Defending champion Dindo Capello's R10 will be there too, with a qualifying time of 1:45.326.)

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Here's Audi Motorsport head Wolfgang Ullrich:

"Sebring is traditionally a very important race for Audi. On the one side it is a dress rehearsal for Le Mans, and on the other the opening race of the American Le Mans Series... We are well prepared, but are also well aware just how tough the race will be due to the new regulations. Our R10 TDI must start with a smaller fuel tank for the first time, and the LM P2 will be on a par from the performance aspect. After seven Sebring wins in a row our target is nevertheless to fight for another victory."

The diesel-powered R10's nine-liter fuel tank was downsized from 90 to 81 liters to conform to tighter Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) regulations. Audi also optimized the powertrain electronics (with partner Bosch), improved the V12's power curve, and made small but significant aerodynamic tweaks.

First race for new Audi R10 TDI [DueMotori]