Wednesday 11th March 2009

Audi R15

More details on 2009 Le Mans car

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Audi’s 2009 Le Mans challenger will turn its wheels in anger for the first time at the Sebring 12-hours on March 21^st, and Audi has revealed a few more details about its new R15 in advance of the race.

Power comes from a newly developed V10 TDI engine making over 600bhp with more than 775 lb ft of torque. The engine is unsurprisingly more compact and lighter than the diesel V12 used in last year’s R10, and Audi says innovations to the turbo and fuel injection systems have simultaneously improved engine response while improving economy – and emissions.

The new car has a longer wheelbase and is lighter, so should be significantly more agile, says the company, a fact that star British driver Allan McNish will be putting to the test in Florida.

Allan McNish will drive R15 at Sebring

Aerodynamic advances are said to most obviously include the raised nose, and a rear wing suspended from the top. The racer’s electrical system also features a couple of innovations, including a lithium-ion battery similar to that found in many hybrid vehicles. Benefits include lighter weight and the ability to supply higher voltage, says Audi. The R15 is also the first racer with low-beam headlamps comprised entirely of LEDs, an increasingly recognised Audi ‘trademark’.

Nishy will pilot one of two R15s competing at Sebring, before returning to Le Mans with the three car Audi Sport Team Joest in June.

[FWDRacer]

Aston... LMP Winners...? Pppfft.

What odds on this cleaning up again?

[Dr Imran T]

sounds interesting. I personally think the older R10 looked prettier..

[NotNormal]

"Mounting the rear wing from the top" - jeeez i'd be interested to know how much that changes things but i'm more baffled as to who sat at their desk and even thought of the idea in the first place.

Should be good this year but i'll be rooting for an upset by the Astons

[Nickellarse]

Very nice car. Let's hope McNish doesn't stuff it.

[Red Firecracker]

Nickellarse said:

Very nice car. Let's hope McNish doesn't stuff it.

I think he atoned for stuffing it in the warm up in that very same race. Inspirational drive.

[tt280]

"making over 600bhp with more than 775 lb ft of torque"

....er so that will be more like 750bhp then rather than the measly 630bhp that all the gasoline power cars are allowed to suck through their tiny little restrictors! Still it is slightly better odds than the 800bhp+ they had last year.

[Vette_1978]

I notice that they've not mentioned anything about making it sound like a proper car. They could have added some innovative MP3 audio storage which plays through a 'lighter than air' speaker moulded into the engine cover.

[Ahonen]

NotNormal said:

"Mounting the rear wing from the top" - jeeez i'd be interested to know how much that changes things but i'm more baffled as to who sat at their desk and even thought of the idea in the first place.

Well...

Wing widths have been reduced this year, so teams have been looking at ways of increasing the effective wing width. The underside of a wing is more important that the top side, so Acura and Audi have both chosen this route to free up a little more wing area from the clutter of wing mounts and bolts etc.

Pretty clever, really.

[mattiselvis]

This diesel racing malarkey seems a bit unfair, since they're able to put a socking great turbo on a 6l engine and hence clean up! I'm presuming petrol engines have to be normally aspirated?

[E21_Ross]

mattiselvis said:

This diesel racing malarkey seems a bit unfair, since they're able to put a socking great turbo on a 6l engine and hence clean up! I'm presuming petrol engines have to be normally aspirated?

not too sure about LMP1, i think though that you are correct, they are N/A; i know LMP2 can be turbo.

prefer the R10 styling, but this R15 promises to be pretty good me thinks!

[dandarez]

Probable (only probable this year) that Audi will clean up again if the Pugs don't BUT me (like a good bunch of other Brits) will be cheering not for the Astons but for the 'real' Brit, GINETTA!

This should be the main news (typical press ignorance) as it is the first time ever for the marque at Le Mans - and not 1, not 2 but 3 of 'em will be lining up!
Two LMP 1 and a LMP 2.

And don't laugh - last year at Petit Le Mans, the first LMP1 Ginetta was entered to see how it would run and guess what?
It was leading for the first 14 laps!

You know what they say about a dark horse - this is it!

[dpbird90]

If looks won races, this would have been stuffed into the barriers on the first lap, and the Astons would walk away with it.

[Ahonen]

dpbird90 said:

If looks won races, this would have been stuffed into the barriers on the first lap, and the Astons would walk away with it.

Oh well, hard cheese Portia...

[Ravell]

I don't mind the look of it, but it's another boring Audi Diesel. I'll be cheering for the Aston!

[hirsty27]

tt280 said:

"making over 600bhp with more than 775 lb ft of torque"

....er so that will be more like 750bhp then rather than the measly 630bhp that all the gasoline power cars are allowed to suck through their tiny little restrictors! Still it is slightly better odds than the 800bhp+ they had last year.

I've never got this Diesel and Petrol in the same race,...I was watching a Top Gear repeat very recently when they drove a black BMW-(Diesel) in a 24 hour race at Silverstone, and they mentioned about the recent Audi Le Mans winner car being a Diesel,...um and the fact it would need to make less pit stops-(saving time),......and also are'nt diesel engines more robust then Petrol?

Does Petrol have any advantages over Diesel,.........it does'nt right somehow....??

Edited by hirsty27 on Wednesday 11th March 17:24

[XitUp]

tt280 said:

"making over 600bhp with more than 775 lb ft of torque"

....er so that will be more like 750bhp then rather than the measly 630bhp that all the gasoline power cars are allowed to suck through their tiny little restrictors! Still it is slightly better odds than the 800bhp+ they had last year.

Don't they have the same restrictors now?

[Red Firecracker]

XitUp said:

Don't they have the same restrictors now?

No. The ACO have implemented some new rules to attempt to equalise the performance so that all P1 cars can theoretically go for outright victory.

Here are the new rules

Planetlemans.com said:

For 2009:

LMP classes
-10.5% performance reduction in diesels
-Turbo pressure reduction (6.5%) and new rstrictors (2 x 37.9mm) will achieve this
-10% restrictor reduction on LMP2, restrictors will have 0.3mm increase for cars with airco
-The rear wing measures will be reduced (150mm vertical x 250mm horizontal x 1600mm transversal with 20mm minimum Gurney flap)

GT classes
-The rules are still being discussed with FIA and constructors (Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Corvette) for the final definition
-Minimum weight will be increased by 25kg in GT1 , 20kg in GT2
-Also a reduction of rear wings will be applied (25 mm min Gurney flap in GT1, 15mm in GT2)
-Restrictors will be reduced by 2% in GT1 , 5% in GT2
-32 degrees Celsius will be the maximum temperature allowed in the cockpit, no restrictor breaks whatsoever
-The cars will have to have 5mm extra ground clearance.

In general:
-The refuelling and tyre change will still be non-simultaneous procedures. The tyre changes will only be allowed to be performed by 2 mechanics using only 1 gun.
-No pre-heating of tyres will be allowed.
-1 engine must last 2 races in the LMS, ALMS and Asia series.
-A 112db noise limit will be implemented for 2009.
-The fuel for both diesel and petrol engines will have a 10% of bio-fuel.
-Rules will be created for hybrids in cooperation with constructors (e.g. the announced KERS system will be measured and controlled before defining rules)
-For 2010 homologated hybrids will be fully included in the rules.

So, the diesel cars restrictors have been reduced in size (amongst other things).

[//j17]

I do like the way people talk about supporting Aston over Audi... so supporting a team (Aston) over a manufacturer (Audi).

You DO know that the Aston team are racing a Lola don't you...?

[flemke]

article said:

The R15 is also the first racer with low-beam headlamps comprised entirely of LEDs, an increasingly recognised Audi ‘trademark’.

No doubt the R15 will be a cracking race car, but don't we see enough of those hideous Audi "trademark" LEDs already, on the public roads?
Ugh.

[Red Firecracker]

//j17 said:

I do like the way people talk about supporting Aston over Audi... so supporting a team (Aston) over a manufacturer (Audi).

You DO know that the Aston team are racing a Lola don't you...?

I think Aston and in particular David Richards have played this extremely well. Lola aren't being seen as the constructor by the vast majority of people as all the talk is Aston this and Aston that, especially seeing as DR and Aston are talking about assigning the car a 'DB' designation. Even Lola seem to have got a bit peeved at it if the statement on Daily Sports Car is anything to go by, with them stating just exactly what they've done to the chassis on Aston's behalf, the terms of the deal (2 cars) and also the agreement on the name (Lola-Aston Martin). It still amuses me it's got Skoda on the side as well. And as for that shade of blue.........

Oh, and 'Nishy'? Made up nicknames now?