Audi LMP1 Discussion

[broadrun96]

Definitely something the ACO should be pushing, or at least trying to convince, other teams to do. That ad was almost as much an ad for Le Mans than it was an ad for Audi, didn't feel like he mentioned anything Audi did to be better than everyone else. Just reminded us fans why Le Mans is so great, and maybe could reach people who have never heard of it before.

[Simmi]

Saw it a couple of days ago and it is superb. If they have forked out enough money they could buy a long slot during the CL final. That would be superb to see. Either way well done Audi.

[Mal]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Saw it a couple of days ago and it is superb. If they have forked out enough money they could buy a long slot during the CL final. That would be superb to see. Either way well done Audi.

The prospect of that might even make me watch a football match

[Lola T70]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Saw it a couple of days ago and it is superb. If they have forked out enough money they could buy a long slot during the CL final. That would be superb to see. Either way well done Audi.

Seems like you work for Audi or they listen to you

"Part of a new multi-million-pound campaign created for Audi UK by advertising agency BBH, the two and half minute film will be shown in traditional 2D and 3D formats, the latter marking a first for the Audi brand in the UK. It is intriguingly entitled “A Day in the Life of an Audi Driver”, and will premiere on Saturday 28 May immediately before the kick-off of ITV’s live coverage of the Champions League Final between the Audi-sponsored clubs Manchester United and Barcelona at Wembley as well as in 3D on Sky’s live coverage. It will subsequently feature in cinemas nationwide alongside the final “Harry Potter” film. Collective audiences will amount to at least 20 million viewers."

[Tim the Grey]

Marvellous news. I may catch it on TV and cinema!

[Adam43]

Good advertisement.

And it justifies me

[fiend540]

There are pictures of the final liverys for the 3 r18s on Audi Sports facebook. I think they will look damn good in the flesh.

[The Badger]

I just wish they didnt highlight that bloody vertical fin . Outta all the cars that have it , Audi have somehow made it look more awful than the rest of'em .

[WolfsburgRS]

From around 11:30 Eastern time (20 minutes from now) until 5pm or so, Allan McNish will be actively participating in the Audi Sport forums over at Fourtitude.com - answering questions, etc.

http://forums.fourtitude.com/forumdi...874-Audi-Sport

[chernaudi]

Allan actually answered a question I had about the R18 as far as engine noise for the closed car vs the open R15/R10. He says that the R18 is much louder from the cockpit because of the roof and the fact that wind noise doesn't drown out the engine noise.

That probably explains why the R18 doesn't have the wheelspin lights that the R10 and R15 had, and why neither version of the 908 had them.

He also said that forward visibility is better than the R15 because of the lower nose.

Also, McNish will be back on 4T tomorrow from 1:30-11:30 UK time to carry on his conversations.

[rich07]

Originally Posted by WolfsburgRS

From around 11:30 Eastern time (20 minutes from now) until 5pm or so, Allan McNish will be actively participating in the Audi Sport forums over at Fourtitude.com - answering questions, etc.

http://forums.fourtitude.com/forumdi...874-Audi-Sport

Thanks for posting that up, very interesting to read Alan's answers.

[chernaudi]

On Mike's page in his article on the AMR-One test at Monza, the person who Mike quoted said that the AMR-One ran 1:36-1:37 lap times.

For comparison, the Peugeot 908 ran 1:31s from what the source could recall, while the Audi R18s in LM trim ran at worst 1:30s. That seems to back up reports that the R18 was running 1:28s.

If that's the case, then Peugeot at best was within a second of Audi, and at worst is about 3 seconds off. I don't want to start a bleepin' contest, but that means that either Peugeot is sandbagging in testing, Audi was sandbagging at Spa and wrote it off as a test race, or that when their cars are in identical aero trim, the Pug's a bit off on sheer pace, especially over the course of one lap.

The issue that Audi needs to conquer is getting that pace to be at hand on a lap to lap basis, which it might be, but it wasn't always the case at Spa.

[TF110]

I doubt Audi was sandbagging at Spa. That'd be unwise, they 'balance of performance' is happening anyway. Regardless if they showed all their hand or not.

[Mal]

Originally Posted by TF110

I doubt Audi was sandbagging at Spa. That'd be unwise, they 'balance of performance' is happening anyway. Regardless if they showed all their hand or not.

They may not have been sandbagging -but they may not have been running the optimum set up for spa. We will probably never know for sure.

[Tim the Grey]

My understanding is there are Draconian Punishments for those who sandbag, in order to acquire a better hand in BOP dealing.
After all, it would be very strange if suddenly all the petrol LMP1s could live with the diesels at LM. I know this WON'T happen, but that is what BOP is supposed to achieve...

[92scotland]

Holy moly, talk about F1 motorhomes being large but this is taking the biscuit

http://www.pitlane-vision.com/images...01.06/1/17.jpg

[The Badger]

WOW ..... I havent seen that before . Normally , the last few years they had a DTM one , with Red Bull logos plastered all over it .

Bet the grub in there is fantastic !!!

[chernaudi]

I was just stating an observation that in general, when the two cars were in similar aero trim, the R18 has often been faster. At Spa, Peugeot went to the taller sprint wing on their 908s before the race.

There were a few reasons for this:

1--they were starting well back in the field and needed to get through traffic.

2--they had to do something to fix their speed issues, as getting beat by the R18's by sometimes over a second a lap wasn't going to cut it, and

3--they blew qualifying, and had nothing to lose on that gamble of going for a higher downforce setting, as the Pugs' problems were grip/handling related.

If Audi had gambled on a similar aero package, the results at Spa may've been different, as well as if they kept up with the changing track conditions.

I know that there are variables in play (like slightly different weather conditions), but at Sebring, Audi ran the same lap times in March that they did in January.

The guy who talked to Mike about the AMR test at Monza said that the fastest laptime he recorded for the 908 was about a 1:31, and he said that the R18s ran at least a 1:30, and other reports said that the LM spec Audi ran 1:28s/1:29s on a consistant basis.

Is it down to the different track conditions, as the tests happened a couple of months apart, set up differences, or one car just being a little better than the other? We probably won't find out until about this time next week at earliest.

But Peugeot can't get too cocky about Spa, as they had to graft the sprint race tail on their cars to cure their handling issues enough to take the fight to Audi, and Peugeot can't afford to make such a drastic change at LM, because what it'll gain them in the corners, they'll lose that much down the straights, and Audi showed us with the R10 and R15 that a better cornering car won't get you much at LM if you're not competitive in terms of brute speed.

[henk4]

you forgot one little thing, the Pugs ran the same laptimes during the race as during all the practice sessions, while the Audi was unable to do the laptimes in the race that they did during the practice sessions, let alone qualifying. That cannot be explained by the allegation that the Pugs put on more wing.

But indeed, next weekend will be all telling. I'll be leaving on Sunday for LM.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by 92scotland

Holy moly, talk about F1 motorhomes being large but this is taking the biscuit

http://www.pitlane-vision.com/images...01.06/1/17.jpg

Are we sure this isn't the new La Sarthe dealership?

[92scotland]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Are we sure this isn't the new La Sarthe dealership?

Ah, well, didn't think of that . Buuut there are table and chairs on the 1st floor and it does look slightly temporary...

[chernaudi]

On the Mulsanne's Corner facebook page, there's a graph showing the shift/gear change times between the Aston, Pug and Audi at the Monza tests, with the Aston having the longest gaps between gear changes, and the Audi the shortest.

[Gingers4Justice]

Originally Posted by henk4

you forgot one little thing, the Pugs ran the same laptimes during the race as during all the practice sessions, while the Audi was unable to do the laptimes in the race that they did during the practice sessions, let alone qualifying. That cannot be explained by the allegation that the Pugs put on more wing.

But indeed, next weekend will be all telling. I'll be leaving on Sunday for LM.

I think it can explain it actually.

Race pace is slower than practice time, and if increase in wing increases lap time by the difference between a practice lap time and a race lap time, then that would explain it perfectly.

[nobster]

Originally Posted by 92scotland

Holy moly, talk about F1 motorhomes being large but this is taking the biscuit

http://www.pitlane-vision.com/images...01.06/1/17.jpg

Have they left any space for the other teams, man this is big and that for one race ( 1,5 weeks ) only.
But then again, they are the best team from the last decade so why not show that to everyone.

[Tim the Grey]

Is it like the Hostility setup Audi have before the Pit Entry? That is HUGE...
This looks more like a small audi dealership, to me.

The AMR hospitality unit is just a masterpiece. 2 transporters, and a curved glass roof, and suddenly it's a Potted Palm Paradise!