2011 Audi R18 TDI

Audi extends motorsport commitment

• New Audi R18 for the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours

• Dual project in the DTM

• Endurance races with the Audi R8 LMS

Audi aims to continue its string of victories at the Le Mans 24 Hours with a completely new LMP1 sports car development. Since its debut in 1999, the brand with the Four Rings has won the world's most important endurance race as many as nine times with the R8, R10 TDI and R15 TDI models. In doing so, Audi has equaled this feat in the race's roll of honor with Ferrari. With the new R18, which was presented at the Audi Sportpark in Ingolstadt on the evening of Friday, December 10, 2010, Audi is aiming for its tenth Le Mans success in 2011.

For the first time since 1999, Audi will contest Le Mans with a closed coupe again. 'In the future, aerodynamic efficiency will be even more important at Le Mans than it was in the past,' says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Úllrich. 'A closed car has clear advantages in this respect. Our computer simulations have been confirmed in the wind tunnel and during initial track tests.'

Significantly smaller engines than those used before will be prescribed at Le Mans in 2011 as the rule makers aim to achieve a substantial reduction of engine power. By opting for a 3.7-liter V6 TDI unit, Audi retains the diesel concept that saw its first victorious fielding in 2006. 'From our point of view, the TDI continues to be the most efficient technology,' says Úlrich Baretzky, Head of Engine Development at Audi Sport. 'There are good reasons why the share of TDI units among Audi's production models is as high as it is.'

Through the innovative V6 TDI engine for the Le Mans 24 Hours, motorsport is yet again performing pioneering work for the production arm at Audi where there is a growing trend towards smaller, more economical but yet powerful engines.

Another new development is the six-speed transmission in the R18 which has been specifically modified for use with the smaller engine.

Numerous detailed solutions

With regard to the chassis Audi Sport wants to live up to its promise, expressed in the brand's 'Vorsprung durch Technik' tagline. Únlike those of the closed Le Mans prototypes, the carbon fiber monocoque of the R18 does not consist of two halves but features a single-component design. This saves weight and increases stiffness.

For the development of the closed R18, engineers at Audi Sport were able to draw on the experiences gained in 1999 with the R8C and in 2003 with the LMP1 of the corporate 'sister brand' Bentley that was victorious at Le Mans. 'Also the Audi A4 DTM, which for example, features a heated windshield, allowed us to shorten the development cycle with respect to the ventilation of the cockpit, the doors and the heating of the windshield,' explains Dr. Martin Mühlmeier, Head of Engineering at Audi Sport.

The chassis and aerodynamics package contains a lot of know-how from the R8, the R10 TDI and the R15 TDI whereas the fitting of identically sized front and rear wheels is new to an Audi Le Mans sports car. This configuration allows a more balanced weight distribution.

The R18's headlights, which are the first to completely consist of LEDs with optimized amount of light, are a technical highlight. The new generation of headlights was developed in close cooperation between Audi Sport and the Technical Development (TE) division of AÚDI AG and by using at Le Mans, will be prepared for future use in production vehicles. Audi's light designers had the chance to make their mark on the development as well: The LEDs of the daytime light form the shape of a '1' which is intended to inspire associations with Audi's historic brand logo.

The Audi R18 has been designed for progressive electrification, which Audi Sport is planning to drive forward step by step. 'But efficiency is always the crucial factor for us,' says Dr. Wolfgang Úllrich. 'No matter which form of energy recovery we may choose the key aspect for Audi – in motorsport as well as on the production side of the house – is that it provides a true advantage.'

The development of the new Audi R18 started in mid 2009. The V6 TDI engine has been running on the dynamometers since the summer of 2010. The R18, with Allan McNish at the wheel, completed its first test on a racetrack at the end of November.

The racing debut of the Audi R18 is planned for the Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) 6 Hours on May 8. Prior to the event, the new prototype will be able to do its first laps on the race track at Le Mans during the official test day on April 24 and gather important data for the race on June 11 and 12.

Audi is planning to field three Audi R18 cars at Le Mans, which will be entered by Audi Sport Team Joest, the most successful Le Mans team of all time. In addition, Audi Sport Team Joest will contest the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC), consisting of a total of seven endurance races on three continents (including the Le Mans 24 Hours) with two cars. At the opening race at Sebring on March 19, the team will use two 'R15 plus plus' cars. 'Sending the R18 into a race at such an early point in time would be difficult in terms of logistics and interfere with our development program,' explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Úllrich.

Dual project in the DTM


As before, Audi Sport is again planning to field a total of nine vehicles entered by the proven Audi Sport teams Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg. The driver line-up will only be decided in January of next year.

But not only the twelve DTM events (including one show race at the Olympic Stadium in Munich) have to be tackled in 2011. In addition, Audi Sport is working on the successor model of the current Audi A4 DTM, internally designated as the 'R17,' for the new Technical Regulations that will come into effect in 2012. The first tests are planned for next summer.

Customer sport to be expanded and restructured


AÚDI AG's customer sport program that was launched in 2009 will be expanded and restructured. The responsibility for the further development of the Audi R8 LMS, sales of the vehicles and technical support for the worldwide customer and importers teams has been delegated to quattro GmbH.

Whereas the main focus was previously on Europe, the Asian market will be served as well in 2011.

The participation in the 24 Hour races at the Nürburgring (June 25/26) and at Spa-Francorchamps (July 30/31) spearheads the customer sport commitment with the Audi R8 LMS. Audi will also support entries at other endurance races such as the 12 Hours at Bathurst (Australia) as part of its customer sport commitment.

In addition, Audi is planning a modular customer sport concept that will include an endurance version of the TT RS and a GT4 version of the Audi TT. The TT RS has already successfully completed first runs on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife and will continue to be developed during the winter. A concept of the TT GT4 was presented at the DTM race meeting in Shanghai. Delivery of the first customer vehicles is planned for 2012.

Source - Audi

Successful test for the Audi R18

* Two new Audi R18 cars used in tests at Sebring (ÚSA)
* Preparation for the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours
* All nine 'factory' drivers shared the test tasks

Four and a half months before the Le Mans 24 Hours, preparations for the endurance classic are in full swing at Audi. Two new Audi R18 cars and one Audi R15 TDI were used in tests at Sebring (Ú.S. state of Florida).



During the tests, which ended on Saturday, the nine Audi 'factory' drivers took turns at the wheel so that all of them had the opportunity to drive each of the three sports cars.

'We're very pleased with the performance of the Audi R18 at our first outing at Sebring,' said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Úllrich. 'We opted for this race track because it makes high demands on the mechanical systems of our vehicles. The temperatures are better than in Europe right now, plus the dry weather provides us with assurance that we're able to conduct the endurance runs as planned. On a wet track the loads would be lower and the test results therefore less conclusive.'

Source - Audi

Climatic wind tunnel helps Audi at Le Mans

- Only three weeks before the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- New Audi R18 TDI tested extensively in climatic wind tunnel
- Valuable findings for cockpit, windscreen and windscreen wiper
Premiere for Audi Sport: the Audi R18 TDI, with which Audi Sport Team Joest contests the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11/12, is the first Audi race car to be developed with the aid of the new climatic wind tunnel.

Since the beginning of 2008 the climatic wind tunnel completes the Audi Wind Tunnel Center in Ingolstadt. It creates temperatures between minus 25 and plus 55 degrees Celsius and allows engineers to generate freezing cold and blisteringly hot wind speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. The simulation of sunlight and rain are also possible.

Especially for the Audi R18 TDI, the opportunity to use the climatic wind tunnel operated by their production colleagues was extremely valuable for the Audi Sport technicians. The new LMP1 is Audi's first closed Le Mans sports car since the R8C in 1999. 'The climatic wind tunnel is an example of the extensive cooperation with Technical Development (TE),' explains Dr. Martin Mühlmeier, Head of Technology at Audi Sport. 'The TE develops constantly and as part of TE Audi Sport is allowed to use these resources. Conversely, our colleagues from production development benefit from our findings from motorsport.'

Work on the R18 TDI in the climatic wind tunnel focused on three areas: optimized airflow through the cockpit, the windscreen and testing the windscreen wiper. 'In this case we can rely on the findings from the climatic wind tunnel – it's a great benefit to have such an extremely high quality tool available,' says Christopher Reinke, Technical Project Leader for the R18 TDI. 'The results of everything which we have tested in the climatic wind tunnel up to now have been confirmed during testing on the race track.'

In the climatic wind tunnel ventilation of the closed cockpit was optimized to such an extent that the R18 TDI will manage without air-conditioning at Le Mans. As this costs both weight and power the engineers were happy to exclude the use of such a system. The deposit of rain water or solid materials such as sand, rubber pick-up and stones was also simulated. 'We made many valuable discoveries in this area on the full scale car in the climatic wind tunnel and modified several things and especially in the airflow area,' says Dr. Martin Mühlmeier. 'The reflective film on the roof was also validated with findings from the climatic wind tunnel. These are all important details to guarantee a good climate around the driver in the cockpit.'

The silver film helps to prevent the cockpit heating up too much due to the solar radiation. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) regulations stipulate that the cockpit temperature must not exceed 32 degrees Celsius when driving if the maximum ambient temperature is 25 degrees. If it is warmer the cockpit temperature may climb by a maximum of seven degrees. The R18 TDI complies with these strict requirements thanks to extensive work in the climatic wind tunnel.

The new Le Mans sports car's single-arm windscreen wiper was also developed in the Audi Wind Tunnel Center. 'This subject is not as trivial as it would perhaps appear,' says Dr. Martin Mühlmeier. 'We do indeed have experience from the DTM. However, the windscreen wiper is hardly ever used here. Also, a DTM car reaches 250 km/h and not 330. The demands on the windscreen wiper are considerably higher at Le Mans.'

Fogging and soiling of the complexly formed windscreen which, in contrast to a production car, is curved in not just one direction but two, is manufactured from plastic and was also tested in the climatic wind tunnel. The screen is heated to prevent fogging. For possible soiling a three-stage plan was developed which, subject to the level of soiling, allows for simple wiping, wiping with detergent or the removal of one of several layers of rip-off films.

Windscreen soiling is one of the concept specific disadvantages which a closed Le Mans sports car brings. However, as a result of work in the Audi climatic wind tunnel the disadvantages were minimized as much as possible.

Source - Audi

Audi wins with ultra-lightweight technology at Le Mans

- Audi clinches tenth triumph at the Le Mans 24 Hours
- Impressive performance by the new Audi R18 TDI
- Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer show strong nerves on the run toward victory
At one of the most thrilling and dramatic 24-hour races in Le Mans history Audi-ultra-lightweight technology has prevailed. At the fascinating thriller which kept 250,000 spectators at the race track and millions in front of their TV sets watching in awe Marcel Fässler (Switzerland), André Lotterer (Germany) and Benoît Tréluyer (France) in the innovative Audi R18 TDI clinched the tenth Le Mans victory in total for the brand with the four rings.

The drama at the 79th edition of the world's most famous endurance could hardly be surpassed. After Audi had lost two of its Audi R18 TDI cars as early as in the first third of the race due to accidents all hopes were pinned on car number '2' that had secured the pole position in qualifying for Audi. For 16 hours Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer were on their own in the battle against three factory-fielded Peugeot cars that left no stone unturned to keep Audi from taking victory.

On Sunday morning the four quickest vehicles were still within just a few seconds of each other at the front of the field. The lead kept changing, also on account of the different strategies. And Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer continually brought the performance advantage of their diesel sports car to bear which in the first year of the engine downsizing was clearly the fastest car in the field at Le Mans. At 3m 25.289s André Lotterer on the 229th race lap even managed to beat the fastest time set in qualifying.

The reliability of the new Audi R18 TDI was impressive as well. Across the entire race distance the vehicle designated as number '2' did not have to come in for a single unscheduled pit stop. Only a problem with the fuel tank caused a bit of a headache for Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Úllrich and the Technical Director of Audi Sport Team Joest, Ralf Jüttner. The full 65-liter capacity could not be used. Consequently, André Lotterer had to achieve a sufficient lead for an additional refueling stop in the final phase – in extremely difficult conditions in drizzling rain at times which made the track extremely slippery.

Lotterer mastered this hurdle as well. After the final stop the German started his last stint with a seven-second advantage over the second-placed Peugeot. In the end he crossed the finish line after 24 hours being frenetically cheered by his team colleagues Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer and the entire Audi squad in first place with a lead of 13.420 seconds. For the three Audi drivers who had finished as the runners-up last year this marked the first Le Mans exploit – and the tenth for Audi.

'It was a fantastic triumph of Audi ultra-lightweight technology in extreme conditions,' commented Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Management Board of AÚDI AG, who had watched the captivating race himself in the pits. 'After we celebrated a record victory last year primarily thanks to reliability and efficiency, we not only had the most reliable but also the quickest car this year.' Management Board Member for Development Michael Dick said, 'The team as well as the entire Audi squad did a first-class job that deserves great respect. This tenth Le Mans success of our brand was no doubt the one that required the toughest battle – which perhaps also made it the most valuable one. At the same time, albeit involuntarily, we proved that our engineers design very safe cars.'

Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller sustained no injuries in extremely severe accidents in the first third of the race. McNish in the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number '3' had taken the lead shortly before the end of the first hour when a GT car hit his left rear wheel in the 'La Chappelle' section. The R18 TDI spun off the track, hit the track barrier in a heavy impact and rolled over. The Audi R18 TDI's one-piece carbon fiber monocoque withstood the crash. McNish was able to climb out of the wreckage uninjured and returned to the race track after a precautionary medical check at the hospital.

Mike Rockenfeller had an even greater guardian angel when shortly before 11 p.m. while running on position two he was also touched by a GT vehicle on the left rear wheel while running at a speed of about 300 km/h. The Audi R18 TDI turned left and at 270 km/h hit the guard rails on the entrance to the 'Indianapolis' turn. The carbon fiber monocoque developed and produced by Audi using a new type of technology withstood the impact. The front crash absorber and all other passive safety devices of the car fulfilled their purpose as well. Mike Rockenfeller was able to climb out of the wreckage. As a precautionary measure, last year's winner spent the night in the hospital but was released again on Sunday morning.

'The safety standards at Audi are simply incredible and have saved my life,' said Mike Rockenfeller. 'I've never had such an accident before in my career and hope I'll never have such an experience again.' Allan McNish commented in a similar vain: 'I want to thank the Audi designers for having developed a car that you can climb out of unharmed after such severe accidents.'

On clinching its tenth victory in 13 years Audi has added another impressive chapter to its success story at the Le Mans 24 Hours. After the first success of a TFSI engine in 2001, the first triumph of a diesel-powered car in 2006 and the first exploits with variable turbine geometry, VTG, last year Audi again triumphed with innovative technology. 'Audi ultra technology has passed an extreme acid test this weekend,' said Head of Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Úllrich after the car had crossed the finish line. 'If you pursue new paths this always involves a risk. But this risk has absolutely paid off. The Audi R18 TDI was in a class of its own at Le Mans 2011. Particularly due to the two extremely serious accidents this has been the most difficult Le Mans race for us in an emotional sense so far. That our team managed to keep the strong competition at bay for 16 hours with just one car is almost unbelievable. Everyone at Audi can be proud of this triumph. However, the news that Allan (McNish) and Mike (Rockenfeller) came out of these extremely heavy accidents so well is at least as important as that of the tenth Audi victory.'

Source - Audi

Audi one-two victory at FIA World Endurance Championship opener

• Capello/Kristensen/McNish win with a four-lap lead
• Successful farewell performance of the Audi R18 TDI




On the R18 TDI's farewell performance Audi managed a brilliant start into the new FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). With victory by Dindo Capello/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish the brand celebrated its tenth overall success in total at the famous Sebring 12 Hours in the Ú.S. state of Florida. New signing Loïc Duval completed Audi's one-two victory together with his team-mates Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas.

Suspense through to the end: In a race that was interrupted by a total of eleven caution periods, Capello/Kristensen/McNish in the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number '2' had to work hard for their victory. Their rivals from their own team in car number '3' consistently remained within a striking distance with gaps of a few seconds in the first ten of the race's 12 hours. The safety car repeatedly reduced the gaps of the trio at the front but Bernhard/Dumas/Duval lost four laps shortly before the end of the race due to body contact with a competitor.



Yet not only the tenth Audi victory at the 60th anniversary run of the Sebring 12 Hours is a milestone in the history books. Tom Kristensen as the record holder celebrated as much as his sixth personal success at the classic race in Florida, Dindo Capello his fifth and Allan McNish his fourth. Three years before, the trio had clinched Audi's last victory to date.

The third Audi initially had perfect chances of finishing in a top position as well. André Lotterer, who had clinched the first pole position in qualifying for the new FIA World Endurance Championship for Audi, together with his team-mates Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler was the fiercest rival of the subsequent winners. Shortly before the race's midpoint, car number '1' lost 17 laps though. A defective electrical shifting unit on the transmission forced the team to make an unscheduled repair in the tent. In the end, the three Le Mans winners from last year finished in 16th place overall and fifth in the LMP1 category of the WEC classification.

While the Audi R18 TDI in the presence of Jean Todt, the President of the FIA, delivered its successful farewell performance at Sebring, media and guests of Audi of America had the chance to get a glimpse of the future. On the fringes of the event Audi presented to them the new R18 e-tron quattro which like the new R18 ultra will be fielded as of the second WEC round on May 5 at Spa (Belgium). A week before, the new Audi A5 DTM will also be making its eagerly awaited debut at the Hockenheimring.

Quotes after the race

Dr. Wolfgang Úllrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): 'Obviously, it's nice that after the tenth pole position for Audi at Sebring we managed to achieve the tenth victory as well. For us, it was a great start into the season and into the new FIA World Endurance Championship. We had three cars here that were running at absolutely equal speed. They allowed us to score this one-two victory. Únfortunately, there was a small problem with the third car which prevented us from having all three cars in front in the end. Still, everyone in the squad can be proud of this result.'

Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): 'That was a pretty strenuous race. And our rivals were really close on our heels. They were a tiny bit slower than we but in the caution period they wouldn't ease up on us. They only started having problems in the end. Those were eleven hours of hard work for us. Well done to Dindo (Capello), Tom (Kristensen) and Allan (McNish). It was a superb drive. Fortunately, we made believers out of all those who thought we'd forgotten how to drive cars. Congratulations, too, to the drivers of the other two cars. They were all at the same level. It's a shame that car number '1' had the shifting problem. One repair stop at the tent and your race is over. The other car was a bit unfortunate in the caution periods in which we also had to act strategically. On the other hand, it had benefited from the yellow flags in the beginning. In the end, after slight body contact, they finished as the runners-up. And I'm proud of our mechanics too, who practiced a lot during the winter. A nice WEC opening victory! That motivates the whole squad.'

Dindo Capello (Audi R18 TDI #2): 'Allan (McNish), Tom (Kristensen) and I have been waiting for this victory for three years. It was the right time to be back on the top of the podium. It's a sweet success, also because we drove the Audi R18 TDI for the first time here at Sebring. Bringing the car home without any scratches in a field of 63 vehicles is no easy feat. We learned a lot last year. Today we showed that we can get through traffic without body contact in a closed car as well.'

Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 TDI #2): 'Audi Sport Team Joest did a fantastic job. Our R18 TDI had a good set-up. Allan (McNish) and Dindo (Capello) did a perfect job of driving. We had a tremendous battle with our team-mates. But the HPD-Hondas and the Rebellion-Toyota cars chased us for a long time as well. We were always able to work out a small advantage but that could also have easily gone wrong with the many caution periods. The car was running well but traffic was a real challenge and the temperatures around noon, when I was sitting in the cockpit for a long time, were pretty high. It was tough clinching victory here. Everyone in the team and at home at Audi can be proud of this. It's great that we won the anniversary race and the WEC opener here. But we're already looking forward to the next race when we'll have something in our hands that production development will benefit from yet again as well: a hybrid vehicle.'

Allan McNish (Audi R18 TDI #2): 'I'm very proud of the team. We worked very hard for this victory. Together with the engineers and the mechanics Tom (Kristensen), Dindo (Capello) and I invested a lot of time in working out the optimal race setup. That paid off because I think we had the best race car today. It was consistently fast and made it possible for us to be in contention from the beginning to the end. The new world championship couldn't have started better for us than with a victory.'

Timo Bernhard (Audi R18 TDI #3): 'It was a great race and we finished as the runners-up after being in contention for victory for a long time. Únfortunately, there was a collision with a slower car on the straight toward the end of the race. That's why we had stop for a short repair in the pits. Afterwards, I drove to the car to a second-place finish. These are valuable championship points. The one-two victory is fantastic for Audi – well done to the team.'

Romain Dumas (Audi R18 TDI #3): 'That was a nice race with good battles. We gave our best and were in contention for victory for a long time. Únfortunately, there was an incident of slight body contact toward the end. But ultimately we scored a nice second place.'

Loïc Duval (Audi R18 TDI #3): 'Sebring yet again showed that it's a difficult race. As late as on the final laps we encountered a small problem but achieved the aim nonetheless: Audi won and also took second place. Finishing on the podium right on my first run for Audi was a nice experience for me – a good race!'

Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 TDI #1): 'We took off from pole, had a good start and were among the front runners in terms of speed. The car was running really well and I was very pleased. About halfway through the race we had a shifting problem which cost us a few laps. At least we scored a few points in the end. Obviously, we're a bit disappointed because we could have achieved a better result. But we were among the front runners today and that's why I'm looking ahead with a positive mindset.'

André Lotterer (Audi R18 TDI #1): 'Congratulations to Audi, to Tom (Kristensen), Dindo (Capello) and Allan (McNish). They did a perfect job. It's nice that Audi won again at Sebring. I'm a little disappointed with the result of our car. We had a technical problem and afterwards the race was unfortunately over for us. We've got to settle with the fastest time in qualifying and the fastest race lap. These things can happen in motorsport. But the potential was there. Next time we want to at the front of the field again.'

Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 TDI #1): 'For Audi, it's been a great day with a one-two victory. A nice team success! We would have liked to make our contribution to it. Our lap times were good but we had a difficult day. We were on the same lap as the leading car for a long time and took no risks. Únfortunately, a problem with the shifting unit came up about halfway through the race. That cost us a lot of time. Afterwards, the race was only about finishing without any mistakes.'

Race results

1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R18 TDI) 325 laps
2 Bernhard/Dumas/Duval (Audi R18 TDI) - 4 laps
3 Potolicchio/Dalziel/Sarrazin (HPD-Honda) - 6 laps
4 Tucker/Bouchut/Barbosa (HPD-Honda) - 6 laps
5 Nicolet/Lahaye/Pla (Morgan-Judd) - 7 laps
6 Collard/Boullion/Jousse (Pescarolo-Judd) - 7 laps
7 Perez Companc/Kaffer/Ayari (Oreca) - 8 laps
8 Dyson/Smith/Kane (Lola-Mazda) - 8 laps
9 Zugel/Gonzalez/Julian (Zytek) - 9 laps
10 Leventis/Watts/Kane (HPD-Honda) - 9 laps

Source - Audi