ˆ Game On! Audi headed to Petit Le Mans to challenge Peugeot

tags : alms , american le mans , american le mans ser... , american le mans series , american le mans series green challenge , american lemans series , americanlemans , americanlemansser... , americanlemansseries , americanlemansseriesgreenchallenge , audi , audi r15 , audi r15 tdi , audir15 , audir15tdi , petit le mans , petitlemans , peugeot

The Audi vs. Peugeot endurance racing battle will continue next month at Road Atlanta as the German team finally confirmed it will bring the R15 TDI back to America. Peugeot announced several weeks ago that it would run its Le Mans-winning 908 HDI at both the Petit Le Mans and Laguna Seca. So far Audi has only committed to the 10-hour race in Georgia. Audi Sport Team Joest will be running the two R15s for the German automaker.

The diesel-powered racers opened up the season battling at the 12 hours of Sebring with the R15 grabbing a debut victory. From there, the Franco-Prussian war moved on to the 24 Hours of Le Mans where Peugeot finally came through with a win after three years of trying.

Audi motorsports boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich blamed a lack of testing for the team's failure in France this year and plans to have the team test at Road Atlanta the week prior to the race next month. Hopefully, Audi will stick around for the California race, as well. Full press release after the jump, and thanks to all for the tips!
 

posted : 8/27/2009 @10:16:44 AM

ˆ BREAKING: First appearance of Acura LMP1 car at ALMS winter test

tags : acura arx-02a , acura lmp1 , acuraarx-02a , acuralmp1 , alms , american le mans , american le mans ser... , american le mans series , american le mans series green challenge , american lemans series , americanlemans , americanlemansser... , americanlemansseries , americanlemansseriesgreenchallenge

Acura's new ARX-02a race car made its first public appearance this morning at the American Le Mans series winter test at Sebring in Florida. Acura announced its move up to the LMP1 class in the American Le Mans Series at last year's Detroit Grand Prix, but hasn't yet provided any details on the car. More information, including hopefully some news on the powerplant, will be announced later today. Unfortunately, Acura will be entering the LMP1 class just as Audi and its indomitable R10 are leaving. Though Audi has announced it will replace the aging R10 with a new car called the R15, it has pulled out of the both the ALMS and the European Le Mans Seres for 2009 and will only race the new car at the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

posted : 3/28/2009 @9:25:28 PM

ˆ 2009 ALMS season will see a new manufacturer join, new fuel maybe coming

tags : american le mans , american le mans ser... , american le mans series , american le mans series green challenge , american lemans series , americanlemans , americanlemansser... , americanlemansseries , americanlemansseriesgreenchallenge , scott atherton , scottatherton

American Le Mans Series CEO Scott Atherton visited the Detroit Auto Show last week and talked about the successes and challenges the series faces in 2009. Racing series' around the world are losing teams this year as a result of the worldwide economic slump, and the American Le Mans Series is no exception. In spite of both Audi and Porsche withdrawing as full-time participants in the prototype classes, Atherton is optimistic. Audi won't be racing full-time, but its new R15 TDI will make its world debut at the season opener in Sebring. Also coming at Sebring will be the announcement of a new manufacturer joining the series, possibly as soon as the race at Long Beach. Mazda is also expanding its involvement its involvement through a tie up with Dyson Racing. Hoping to take advantage of the Green Challenge that will be a full season aspect of ALMS this year, an energy company has approached Atherton about introducing a fourth fuel to the current mix of E10, cellulosic E85 and diesel. Yet another manufacturer is hoping to introduce a new type of hybrid technology as well.

posted : 3/28/2009 @7:00:21 PM

ˆ Honda commits to remaining motorsport programs after F1 pull out

tags : acura racing , acuraracing , american le mans , american le mans ser... , american le mans series , american le mans series green challenge , american lemans series , americanlemans , americanlemansser... , americanlemansseries , americanlemansseriesgreenchallenge , honda racing , hondaracing , indy , indy racing league , indycar , indyracingleague , irl

The current economic climate has only just started to wreak havoc in the motorsports world, with last week's announcements that Honda is pulling out of F1 and Audi is leaving the American LeMans Series. Things are likely to get worse before they get better as other automakers, including those based in Detroit, will almost certainly cut racing programs and budgets. What won't be affected – at least for now – are Honda's non-F1 endeavors, including its motorcycle programs, the Indy Racing League and the American Le Mans Series. The ALMS and IRL programs are both operated by Honda Performance Development out of Torrance, CA. Unlike the F1 program, the IRL engine program generates revenue from the teams that lease these engines. The Acura ALMS program will definitely continue in 2009 as the team moves up from the LMP2 to the LMP1 class. The big bummer is that Acura won't have any competition from the Audi R10, which is leaving the ALMS next year.

posted : 12/22/2008 @2:24:20 PM

ˆ Audi withdraws from 2009 American Le Mans Series

tags : american le mans , american le mans ser... , american le mans series , american le mans series green challenge , american league , american lemans series , americanleague , americanlemans , americanlemansser... , americanlemansseries , americanlemansseriesgreenchallenge , audi r10 , audi r10 le mans , audi r10 tdi , audi r10 tdi le mans , audi r15 tdi , audir10 , audir10lemans , audir10tdi , audir10tdilemans , audir15tdi , breaking

The self proclaimed leader in "green racing", the American Le Mans Series, will be losing one of its premier teams for 2009. After winning nine consecutive LMP1 championships with the R8 and then the R10 TDI, Audi will no longer have a works team in the ALMS in 2009. The only official Audi appearance in North America will be the debut run of the new R15 TDI at Sebring in March. After that, the R15 will go to Le Mans and Audi will be represented by the new A4 in DTM and the R8 LMS in GT3 racing.

Audi hasn't indicated whether it will make the R10s available to Champion Racing or any other team. Champion has been operating the Audi Sport North America program for several years. The current economic conditions have been cited by Audi racing boss Dr. Wolfgang Ulrich as part of the reason for withdrawing from ALMS and also the European Le Mans Series.

posted : 12/5/2008 @6:35:42 PM

ˆ Audi R10 driver Emanuele Pirro stepping down after 15 years

tags : alms , american le mans , american le mans ser... , american le mans series , american le mans series green challenge , american lemans series , americanlemans , americanlemansser... , americanlemansseries , americanlemansseriesgreenchallenge , audi r10 , audi r10 tdi , audir10 , audir10tdi , emanuele pirro , emanuelepirro

After 15 years of hustling factory Audi race cars around tracks the world over, Emanuele Pirro will have his last run in the R10 TDI this weekend at the American Le Mans Series' final race at Laguna Seca. The Italian driver first hooked up with Audi in 1994 running in the Italian and German Touring Car Championships where he won titles three years in a row. Later he moved over into sports cars where he has spent the last decade driving the R8 and R10 TDI. Over that span, he and his teammates have conquered the 24 hours of Le Mans five times including the first victory by a diesel-powered car in the 2006 R10. Pirro's most recent victory came just two weeks ago at the Petit Le Mans where he teamed with Alan McNish and Dindo Capello to storm back from two laps down to defeat the Peugeot 908 HDi. Pirro is also an avid pilot, so he'll probably be getting more of his thrills in the air now. It's not known if Pirro is retiring completely from competition or just leaving his team, but he will continue to be a brand ambassador for Audi, a task at which he should excel. Having met the man on several occasions, I can say first hand that he is very warm, friendly and personable and almost always has a big smile on his face.

posted : 10/18/2008 @7:28:37 PM

ˆ Corvettes back in ALMS in 2009 with GT1 and GT2 programs

tags : american le mans , american le mans ser... , american le mans series , american le mans series green challenge , americanlemans , americanlemansser... , americanlemansseries , americanlemansseriesgreenchallenge , corvette c6-r , corvette c6.r , corvette c6r , corvettec6-r , corvettec6.r , corvettec6r

As the 2008 American Le Mans Series season winds down with only two races left, teams are starting to make announcements about the 2009 season. One of the question marks over the last several years has been the future of the Corvette Racing program. With no really competition to speak of, one has to wonder why GM stays in the GT1 ranks. This year, they switched fuels and now run on cellulosic ethanol. Today, the team announced that 2009 will be a transition season as the GT1 C6Rs continue in limited competition. The GT1 cars will run at Sebring and Long Beach before going for a sixth class victory at Le Mans. After Le Mans, a new GT2 Corvette will debut running the rest of the season in preparation for 2010. New international GT class rules take effect in 2010 and are closer to current GT2 rules. The new C6R will be based on the body and chassis of the ZR1 and cars will be run by the factory team, as well as being available to independent teams. A 6.0-liter version of the LS7.R from the GT1 car will be used in GT2 competition next year, while the 2010 car gets a new 5.5-liter version of the production engine. Like the current GT1 car, the new GT will keep running on cellulosic E85.

posted : 9/22/2008 @11:41:32 PM