Audi R8 (LMP)
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Debut | 2000 12 Hours of Sebring | ||||||
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The Audi R8 is a Le Mans Prototype sports-prototype race car introduced in 2000 for sports car racing as a redevelopment of their Audi R8R (open-top LMP) and Audi R8C (closed-top LMGTP) used in 1999. In its class, it is one of the most successful racing sports cars having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005, five of the six years it competed in total. Its streak of Le Mans victories between 2000 and 2005 was broken only in 2003 by the Bentley Speed 8, another race car fielded that year by Volkswagen Group.[1]
The petrol-powered Audi R8 race car was in 2006 replaced by the new Audi R10 TDI Diesel; however, the need to further develop the R10 meant that the R8 saw action in a few races leading up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
History
1998: The challenge
In 1997, sports car racing and especially the Le Mans 24 Hours was popular among factories such as
With the upcoming American Le Mans Series also providing a stage for the US market, Audi announced plans in 1998 to compete in 1999, with the Audi R8R powered by a 550 hp (410 kW) V8 turbo. As it was considered the better choice for a whole race due to less weight and wider tires, Audi ordered an open-top roadster from Dallara to be developed and run by Joest Racing.
Yet, during the autumn of 1998, after the necessity of GT1 homologation was dropped in favour of LM-GTP prototypes, closed GT coupés like the
The ACO rules for closed-top prototypes allowed cars to run with larger air restrictors, resulting in more power (about 600 hp), which resulted in a higher top speed in combination with the lower drag. To compensate this advantage over the duration of a race, the LMGTPs were limited to smaller tyres and smaller fuel tanks.
1999: The R8R and R8C
Following a period of testing, two R8Rs debuted at the 1999 12 Hours of Sebring. The BMW V12 LMR won, which was a strong sign towards the race in France. The already tested open-top Audi R8R, entered by Joest Racing, was not fast enough to challenge for a win, finishing third.
After further tests and modifications, the Audis returned for Le Mans. The new debuting R8Cs lacked pace and unfortunately suffered mechanical gearbox woes. Lap times were 10 seconds down from the leading LMP and LMGTP competitors. Joest's R8Rs ran steady, yet still were too slow to run for pole position. After a race that had the spectacular flights of the Mercedes-Benz CLR and leading cars of Toyota and BMW crashing out, the Audi R8Rs took third and fourth behind the surviving #15 BMW V12 LMR and the Japanese-driven Toyota.
Based on the experiences, Audi decided to regroup for 2000, and built a new R8 spyder together with Joest and Dallara. The British-built R8C coupe was retired, but Audi-owned Bentley developed the concept of the R8C closed-cockpit LMGTP and entered the Bentley EXP Speed 8 in 2001, winning the race with the Bentley Speed 8 in 2003.
1999: Retiring competitors
After the 1999 Le Mans shame, Mercedes retired from GTs to focus on the return of the
This left only Porsche as a major possible challenger for 2000; however, the
2000: The R8
The Audi R8 is a sports-
The R8 won Le Mans five times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005) and the overall season championship in the American Le Mans Series six times in a row (from 2000 to 2005).[3]
The R8 won a hat trick at Le Mans in 2000–2002, campaigned by Audi Sport
The R8 is powered by a 3.6 L Audi V8 with
The power supplied by the R8, officially listed at about 610 hp (455 kW) in 2000, 2001, and 2002, 550 hp (410.1 kW) in 2003 and 2004, and 520 hp (388 kW) in 2005, is sent to the rear wheels via a
The R8's structure and body are both composed of carbon fibre, a strong, lightweight polymer material.
Performance from top speed to acceleration was, as in most race car cases, variable depending on the car's setup. The highest speed of the R8 at Le Mans was 338 km/h (210 mph) in the practice sessions of the 2002 Le Mans 24 Hours Race. A low downforce setup could reach about 350 km/h (217 mph).
Audi Sport's program saw tragedy in 2001 when on April 25, popular ex-F1 driver Michele Alboreto died in an accident after suffering a high-speed tyre failure during an R8 test session at the Lausitzring in eastern Germany.[4]
2003: Bentley breaks the streak
The Bentley Speed 8, which was somewhat based on the R8 ran at Le Mans from 2001 to 2003, winning in 2003, used a heavily modified 4.0-L version of the V8 engine from the Audi R8 .[citation needed] The Bentley racing effort was campaigned by Team Bentley (Apex Motorsport) with assistance from longtime R8 competitor Joest Racing and Audi Sport UK. After 2002, the Joest factory team dropped its R8 campaign and left it to the privateers. Restrictor changes brought the power down to 550 bhp for anyone still racing with the R8, but the maximum torque hardly changed.
2005: End of active competition
During the 2005 season, its time at the front of the pack evidently was drawing to a close. Audi had made the development of the
List of records
† - Season partially run by the
Legacy
2006: The R10 TDI
In response to the new level of competition, Audi developed a successor known as the
Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela, and Marco Werner made history by becoming the first drivers to win the Le Mans 24-hour race in a diesel-powered car. The Audi R10 TDI completed a record 380 laps of the La Sarthe circuit, with Pirro at the wheel for the finish. French trio Sébastien Loeb, Éric Hélary, and Franck Montagny took second in the Pescarolo Judd No 17, four laps back. Scotsman Allan McNish was third in the other Audi, which came in 13 laps down after suffering mechanical problems.
The R8 continued to campaign the American Le Mans Series through the first half of the 2006 season, and made its final US appearance on July 1, 2006, at
2007: R8 road car
The name Audi R8 also is used by the production road sports car Audi R8, which is based on the 2003 Audi Le Mans quattro concept car. Production started in 2007.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
- ^ "Les24Heures".
- ^ Michael J. Fuller. "Mulsanne's Corner: 1999-2000 Porsche LMP1". Mulsannescorner.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
- ^ a b Bornhop, Andrew (August 2012). "Ode to an R8". Road & Track. 63 (12): 61.
- ^ Alboreto Is Killed Testing Audi R8, The New York Times, April 26, 2001, Page D7.