Astons score at Sebring
But diesel Audi R10 wins on its debut
Aston Martin DBR9 at Sebring
Interestingly though, Le Mans winner Audi kicked off its campaign with a diesel sportscar, the R10, which was the winning car yesterday. At the diesel's race debut, it was driven by Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen.
Meanwhile, the DBR9s ran faultlessly throughout the race. Between them, the classic green cars, numbered 007 and 009, completed 661 laps of the 3.7 mile Sebring international raceway, covering a total of 2,445 miles at speeds of up to 168mph. Team driver Tomas Enge set the fastest GT1 lap of the race (1min 56.573.sec) in car 007.
The driving team of Pedro Lamy, Stéphane Sarrazin and Jason Bright brought Aston Martin number 009 home in second place, with a total of 337 laps, after a long battle with the class winning number four Corvette. After 12 hours of racing, the gap between the pair was 1min 28sec. The team’s sister car, number 007, driven by Tomas Enge, Darren Turner and Nicolas Kiesa, was involved in another transatlantic tussle with the second American Corvette entry that culminated in a nail biting battle to the chequered flag. Tomas Enge drove a double stint to finish the race third and keep the hard chasing Corvette behind.
The opening round of the 2006 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) started at 1045hrs in dry and sunny conditions. By midday the temperature of the 17-turn concrete circuit had reached 36°C. The Aston Martin Racing cars had qualified in first and second place but the early hot and slippery conditions proved tricky for both cars. With limited experience of their new Pirelli tyres, the team had to work hard and learn fast to keep up with the competition.
Darren Turner drove the first stint in the 007 car and held the GT1 lead for the first 20 laps. “I was happy with the start, we got away well and kept a nice pace for the first ten laps but by about lap 14 we really started to suffer with the rear of the car over-steering and by lap 20 I was more concerned with keeping it on track than keeping the opposition behind me.”
At the half way point, car number 009 led the team’s charge. After making adjustments to the set up of their DBR9, the driving crew of Lamy, Sarrazin and Bright reported improved balance and less of the oversteer that had caused problems earlier. Having completed 165 laps of the 3.7mile circuit, the 009 Aston Martin held third place in GT1, but slipped one lap behind the leader after being caught behind the safety car. DBR9 number 007 was fourth in GT1, but thirteen laps behind the leader after an incident on lap 121 forced a 20 minute repair stop. The car returned to the garage when the bonnet and part of the front wings, previously damaged in a spin, flew off as it negotiated a high speed section of the circuit.
Nine hours in, with 250 laps completed and headlamps blazing in the darkness, the team was second and third in GT1. A reliable and consistent performance from the number 009 DBR9, together with some mechanical problems for the Corvette ahead, helped move the red-nosed Aston Martin of Lamy, Sarrazin and Bright to second in class. After gaining a position in their own Corvette battle, the number 007 car of Enge, Turner and Kiesa was third.
In the closing stages of the race, the drivers of Aston Martin number 009 consolidated their second place, while in the 007 car Tomas Enge was locked in the battle with the number three Corvette. For the last ten laps the pair was separated by less than a second.
john75 said:
Must have been scary when Darren lost his bonnet.
He said not really on the radio during the race. Said it happened that quickly it was over before he'd had time to think about it and just got on with it.
As for them being beaten by a diesel. You did know they were in a different category, right?
The news item is very bizarre. Did it come from Aston Martin? As it only skims over the fact that Audi have just become the first team/manufacturer to win an international motor race with a diesel powered car. Slightly more of a news story than Aston's finishing behind a Corvette after 12 hours.
runnersp said:
Its a sad day in motorsport when an Aston Martin gets beaten by a diesel Audi, endurance racing will never be the same again.
Silly comment. They're in different classes - Aston Martin was beaten by a Corvette, while Audi won overall.
It is not a sad day, it's the beginning of a new era.
runnersp said:
Its a sad day in motorsport when an Aston Martin gets beaten by a diesel Audi, endurance racing will never be the same again.
You are joking, right? You are aware that there is more than one class of sportscar racing and that the Aston and Audi weren't competing in the same class?
If not, I suggest some reading up would be a good idea.
were wonderful, especially with the in car footage at the end....didn't get much work done!
Well done also to Panoz, glad to see them winning again...even if that did have a certain driver who I personally can't stand.
Congrats also goes to LNT, a mighty fine 5th in class in their debut in the Panoz and 14th overall. I think the team will shake up the tree in British GT and LMES this season.
Final thought, has there ever been another driver who seemingly walks directly to the winners podium? Well done Tom Kristensen, please can I send you my lottery tickets to fill in?
runnersp said:
Its a sad day in motorsport when an Aston Martin gets beaten by a diesel Audi, endurance racing will never be the same again.
why is it a bad thing that a diesel can win. its not that astons have become crappy and were beaten by a rubish diesel. the astons were very good but it shows that diesel cars can be fast and fun in the future. it shows diesels have become good. drop the steriotype and have a look at what really happening
"The car "feels like an Audi," Capello says, except with way more torque."
Le Mans: place your bets.
>> Edited by runnersp on Tuesday 21st March 12:55
runnersp said:
. The R10 seems to be a marketing excersise, a very well-engineered, well developed marketing excersise, but no more. Sure it'll have the advantage with fuel consumption and so on, but i just don't see the point.
>> Edited by runnersp on Tuesday 21st March 12:44
And its got you talking about Audi diesels, which Im guessing was the point of the exercise, particularly IIRC, something like 50% of the smaller Audis sold are diesel variants. Job done for Audi methinks.
Has no one mentioned the diesel powered F1 powerboat/s? (Lambo?)
Diesel! Its been coming for a while Im afraid. Still, got to
Audi for the achievement 
The changes in chassis rules won't allow the conventional R8 to compete at Le Mans this year (though it can and will still run in ALMS), so Audi would either have to build a 'hybrid' with an old chassis and new bodywork or just build a new car, which is what they've done. Audi could have built a conventional petrol car like everyone else and walked away from the field, but they decided to set themselves a challenge instead - and the PR gained from that first diesel Le Mans victory in June will be well worth the investment.
While BMW spends a fortune in F1 and suffers a selection of very public engine failures, Audi will spend a fraction of the budget winning LM and proving genuine technology. A win-win scenario if every there was one...
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