FULL SPEED AHEAD FOR AUDI, R10 TDI IN 2007 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES
Audi reconfirmed its plans today to contest the balance of the 2007 American Le Mans Series season beginning with this weekend's Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg. The German manufacturer is trying for its eighth consecutive LMP1 championship with a pair of diesel-powered R10 TDIs that are unbeaten in eight American Le Mans Series starts plus a win last season at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Audi will battle prototypes from Acura, Porsche, Lola, Creation and Mazda for the overall victory this weekend.
"The diesel racing commitment in the American Le Mans Series is important for promoting diesel engines in America," said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. "That's why we decided to continue competing in the American Le Mans Series."
Audi is coming off its eighth consecutive win at Sebring courtesy of Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela. Werner and Pirro will continue together for the full season in Audi's No. 2 entry with defending Series champions Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello in the No. 1 R10 TDI. All four drivers have recorded at least one street circuit victory in the American Le Mans Series.
"We know that street courses are not optimally suited for our Audi R10 TDI," said Capello, who won with McNish last year at Houston in an Audi R8. "It was developed for long straights and quick corners like the track at Le Mans. For me, the lighter LMP2 cars are the favorites in St. Petersburg. But we want to win the championship. This means that we also have to be competitive on circuits that are less suitable for our car."
The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg. The race will start at 5:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 31. SPEED will provide a same-day broadcast event from 8 to 11 p.m. MotorsTV in Europe, SPEED Latin America and 7TV in Russia will carry the race live. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.
Audi reconfirmed its plans today to contest the balance of the 2007 American Le Mans Series season beginning with this weekend's Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg. The German manufacturer is trying for its eighth consecutive LMP1 championship with a pair of diesel-powered R10 TDIs that are unbeaten in eight American Le Mans Series starts plus a win last season at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Audi will battle prototypes from Acura, Porsche, Lola, Creation and Mazda for the overall victory this weekend.
"The diesel racing commitment in the American Le Mans Series is important for promoting diesel engines in America," said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. "That's why we decided to continue competing in the American Le Mans Series."
Audi is coming off its eighth consecutive win at Sebring courtesy of Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela. Werner and Pirro will continue together for the full season in Audi's No. 2 entry with defending Series champions Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello in the No. 1 R10 TDI. All four drivers have recorded at least one street circuit victory in the American Le Mans Series.
"We know that street courses are not optimally suited for our Audi R10 TDI," said Capello, who won with McNish last year at Houston in an Audi R8. "It was developed for long straights and quick corners like the track at Le Mans. For me, the lighter LMP2 cars are the favorites in St. Petersburg. But we want to win the championship. This means that we also have to be competitive on circuits that are less suitable for our car."
The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg. The race will start at 5:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 31. SPEED will provide a same-day broadcast event from 8 to 11 p.m. MotorsTV in Europe, SPEED Latin America and 7TV in Russia will carry the race live. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.
