MediaInfo Magazine, Audi at Sebring 1999-2013

7/30/2019 MediaInfo Magazine, Audi at Sebring 1999-2013

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Audi @Sebring 3

Editorial Wolgang Drheimer

Sebring moments

Sebring 2013

Technical development

Facts & fgures

The circuit

Sebring wins

2000 Tom Kristensen

2001 Dindo Capello

2002 Johnny Herbert

2003 Ral Jttner

2004 Frank Biela

2005 Marco Werner

2006 Ulrich Baretzky

2007 Emanuele Pirro

2009 Allan McNish

2012 Dr. Wolgang Ullrich

Audi in U. S. motor racing

Contact details/Imprint

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Contents


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4 Audi @Sebring

Wolfgang DrheimerMotorsport is part of the Audi DNA and Sebring a unique

place for our company.

Dear motorsport friends:

Audi has been active in

motorsport for more

than 30 years. Whatever

we have tackled in motorsport has ultimately ended with

victories or championship titles. Theyve been frequently

associated with enormous pioneering spirit and techni-

cal innovations. Be it World Rally Championship, DTM or

Le Mans: Audi has written motorsport history over and

over again.

Editorial

Motorsport is part of the Audi DNA.

And for us not just an end in itself. In due course, our

customers benefit from the successes on the racetrack.

Because we attach the greatest value to technology

transfer between motorsport and production. Our

quattro drive, built until now into more than five million

road cars, is only one of many direct examples. The

wealth of experience gathered by our engineers in

motor racing and later incorporated into our road cars

grows every week.


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Audi @Sebring 5

This is especially true for the LMP1

categor y, which, as it currently appears, is eligible to startat this years 12-hour race at Sebring for the final time.

Sebring is a unique place for us: Audis remarkable success

story with sports prototypes began there in March 1999.

At the same venue a year later, we recorded our first vic-

tory in a sports car race. Subsequently, our team has stood

on the top step of the podium on ten occasions. And year

for year, the track at Sebring, which is extremely demand-

ing for both, men and material, was the perfect location

to prepare for the 24-hour race at Le Mans.

This is why we join the grid once again at

Sebring, even though the race is not a part of the FIA

World Endurance Championship (WEC). Through this

event, we wish to thank our motorsport fans in the U.S.

and hope that 2013 is not a final Sebring farewell for us

Wolfgang Drheimer

Member of the Board of Management of

AUDI AG, Technical Development

because we aim to increase our involvement in U. S.

racing over the medium-term. And Sebring cannot bemissed in a racing schedule because Audi has helped to

shape this classic race since 1999. On the following

pages, you can discover this for yourselves by taking a

brief journey in time through our Sebring history.


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6 Audi @Sebring

Sebringmoments


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Audi @Sebring 7


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8 Audi @Sebring

Sebring

moments


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Audi @Sebring 9


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10 Audi @Sebring

Sebring

moments


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Audi @Sebring 11


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12 Audi @Sebring

Sebring

moments


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Audi @Sebring 13


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14 Audi @Sebring

2005

2006

2007

2009

2000


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Audi @Sebring 15

2001

2002

2003

2004

Full

circleSebring 2013Sebring becomes the

home of quattro for the final appearance ofthe LMP1 sports prototypes. The Audi R18e-tron quattro should continue Audiswinning streak in the U.S. endurance classicwhen it contests its first race in the USA.Audi triumphed ten times up to now.

2012


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16 Audi @Sebring

It is both a debut and farewell:

the Audi R18 e-tron quattro

contests the 12-hour race at

Sebring in the USA for the first

time on March 16, 2013. At the same time, it is provision-

ally the final appearance of the fascinating LMP1 sports

cars in the North American endurance classic.

The 13th race at Sebring holds specialsignificance for Audi: due to the ALMS and GRAND-AM

championships merging in the U.S. and the new regula-

tions necessitated by this for 2014, Le Mans Prototypes

of the top LMP1 category are no longer allowed to start

at this traditional event. As a result, events have come

full circle for Audi: in 1999, the brands first sports pro-

totype celebrated its premiere at Sebring now two

LMP1 sports cars with the four rings provisionally con-

test a race here for the final time.

Up to now, Audi has claimed 22 podium

places at Sebring, including ten overall victories. Three

Audi drivers mounted the podium when the brand made

its sports car premiere with the Audi R8R on March 20,

1999. The debut of the Audi R8 at the same venue a year

later presented the brand with its first victory in a sports

car race. Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen is also

the most successful driver ever at Sebring with six victo-

ries. Marco Werner holds the lap record, the trio of Dindo

Capello/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish the distance

record.

The legendary racetrack on a former

military airfield becomes the home of quattro this year.For the first time since 1989, when drivers like Hans-

Joachim Stuck and Walter Rhrl raced from victory to vic-

tory with the Audi 90 quattro in the IMSA-GTO series,

Marco Werner setthe track record

at Sebring in 2007with the Audi R10

TDI a record thatstill stands today

The 12-hour race at Sebring has been held

since 1952 and becomes the home of

quattro in 2013 for the first time.


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Audi @Sebring 17

Audi Sport contests a factory event in the USA with a

racecar equipped with four-wheel drive. The Audi R18

e-tron quattro is the first hybrid sports car to win the

Le Mans 24 Hours. Its front wheels are powered electri-

cally and thus make the R18 a special type of quattro.

Audi traditionally uses its involvement

in sports prototypes to test new technologies for future

applications in production cars. The fans at Sebring candiscover this for themselves by visiting an exhibition and

embarking on a journey in time through the brands

sports car era. In addition to the factor y drivers like Tom

Kristensen and Allan McNish who are in action on track,

the former Audi drivers and Sebring winners Frank Biela,

Dindo Capello, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner are

also present. In this way, Audi thanks the passionate

sports car fans in the USA for their long-standing loyalty

to the brand. Without a shadow of doubt itll be an

emotional race weekend for us, because Sebring and its

fantastic fans enjoy a special status in both our motor-

sport and LMP history, says Head of Audi Motorsport

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

Drivers like Frank Biela have shaped Audi history at Sebring several of them will also attend in 2013

Audi driver TomKristensen is

the races mostsuccessful driver

with six wins to hisname


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18 Audi @Sebring

Vorsprungaccelerated

Audi R8, Sebring 2000


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Audi @Sebring 19

Technical developmentThe Audi R8, which won at Sebring

in 2000, was a technical quantum jump. Since then, Audihas shaped the development in sports prototypes with a raft ofinnovations like no other automobile manufacturer.

Audi R18 e-tron quattro,Sebring 2013


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20 Audi @Sebring

When Audi pre-

sented its Le

Mans project at

the Berlin Velo-

drom in December 1998, former Chairman of the Board

of Directors Franz-Josef Paefgen stuck his neck out a

long way: We compete at Le Mans to win!

The majority ridiculed Paefgen at that

time, as many automobile manufactures had not man-

aged themselves to win the worlds most famous endur-

ance race despite making several attempts. However,

after taking third place on its debut in 1999, Audi man-

aged it a year later and since then eleven times. No

other automobile manufacturer has made such an

impact on the Le Mans 24 Hours and the development of

the technically highly demanding sports prototypes in

the last two decades like Audi.

TFSI just one example of the

successful technology transfer

between motorsport and production.

The Sebring International Raceway

plays a major role in this. From the very beginning, Audi

Sport used the challenging and extremely tough track in

central Florida for testing and for its sports prototypes

to make their race debuts starting with the Audi R8R in

March 1999.

Audi had to raise the car by 15 millime-ters for its race debut, otherwise the front splitter would

not have lasted more than 15 laps around the bumpy cir-

cuit. Although the performance suffered massively as a

result, Audi claimed third and fifth places f irst time out

in the race and the team from Ingolstadt and Neckar-

sulm learnt quickly.

The R8 was unveiled as successor to the

R8R a year later. When Don Panoz, founder of the Ameri-

can Le Mans Series, first laid eyes on the car in Miami, he

was flabbergasted: The R8 is such a technical quantum

jump that Audi will dominate the prototype scene for

years to come! His prediction proved to be correct: at

Sebring, the R8 was over five seconds quicker than the

R8R had been just twelve months before. Audi celebrated

63 wins from 80 starts with it, including six wins at

Sebring. The face of endurance racing changed because

of Audi: despite its speed, the R8 was so reliable that

Le Mans was transformed into a 24-hour sprint and it

was no longer sufficient just to bring a car to the f inish.

Both the Audi R10 TDI and the R15 TDI

also recorded victorious debuts at Sebring. The Audi

R18 TDI only added its name to the winners list last

year however, it was tested like its predecessors at

1998 1998 1999Neustadt in summer 1998: Dindo Capellotests with the first prototype of the

Audi R8

Berlin, December 13, 1998: Audipresents its Le Mans project at the

Velodrom in the German capital

Sebring, March 20, 1999: the Audi R8Rclinches a podium result in the brands

first sports car race


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Audi @Sebring 21

Sebring. Audi Sport Team Joest remains at Sebring the

week after the race again this year to put the latest ver-

sion of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro through its paces.

The cumulative expertise gleaned from

14 years of sports prototypes was put into the first

hybrid racecar to win the Le Mans 24 Hours. Audi deliber-

ately selected this category in order to test new technol-ogies and develop existing ones in motorsport. The com-

bination of direct injection and turbo charging in the Audi

R8 was a prime example of this today it has become

indispensable in sporty Audi production models. Audi

revolutionized endurance racing in 2006 for a second

time with the introduction of TDI engines. VTG turbo-

chargers, downsizing, ultra lightweight design or cur-

rently hybrid and quattro drive: no other automobile

manufacturer can boast such an abundance of innova-

tions.

Through the development of innovative

LMP1 sports cars, Audi accelerates its technical advan-

tage with the aid of motorsport. This will also not dimin-

ish in the future on the contrary: the new regulations,

which come into force in 2014, give the engineers even

more creative latitude, and focus on the subject of

energy efficiency. Audi will do everything in its power to

maintain its leading role and certainly continue testingat Sebring.

2000 2006

2012

2009

The Audi R18 e-tron quattro is the firsthybrid racecar to win the Le Mans 24 Hours

it was also tested at S ebring

Miami, March 11, 2000: Allan McNishdrives the new Audi R8 along Ocean Drive

in South Beach to the Hotel Tides thena week later at Sebring Audi clinches itsfirst victory in a sports car race

Sebring, March 18, 2006: Audi claimsa historic victory in the 12-hour race at

Sebring with the first win for a dieselsports car

Sebring, March 21, 2009: the R15 TDIfollows in the tire tracks of the R8 and

R10 TDI by winning on its debut atSebring


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22 Audi @Sebring

Sebring at high-speed

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Vehicle R8R R8

Engine V8 3.6 T V8 3.6 TFSI

Motor power (approx) 550 hp 610 hp 610 hp 610 hp 550 hp 550 hp

Particularities First sports

car race for

Audi

Debut of Audi

R8 and first

victory for

Audi in a

sports car race

First Sebring

win with TFSI

technology

Fastest Audi driver in

qualifying

Emanuele

Pirro

Frank Biela Emanuele

Pirro

Frank Biela Frank Biela JJ Lehto

Grid position 11 1 1 1 1 1

Time (minutes)

Restrictions imposed by the

regulations

Smaller

diameter air

restrictor for

the engine

Smaller

diameter air

restrictor for

the engine

Narrower rear

wing

Best Audi in the race 3. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1.

Chassis number of race

winning Audi

R8-402 R8-502 R8-602 R8-604 R8-603

Start number of race

winning Audi

78 1 2 1 28

Winners BielaKristensen

Pirro

AielloAlboreto

Capello

CapelloHerbert

Pescatori

BielaPeter

Werner

BielaKaffer

McNish

1.55

1.54

1.53

1.52

1.51

1.50

1.49

1.48

1.47

1.46

1.45

1.44


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Audi @Sebring 23

Facts & figuresR8R, R8, R10, R15, R18 Audi fielded five different

prototypes at Sebring. Technical innovations reduced lap times, the rule makerscontinually dampened performance.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

R10 R15 R18

V12 5.5 TDI V10 5.5 TDI V6 3.7 TDI

520 hp 650 hp 650 hp 650 hp 600 hp 500 hp 510 hp

First race for

the R10 TDI

and first

victory for a

diesel

powered

sports car

Current

qualifying lap

record

Qualifying

cancelled

grid formed

from the best

times set in

free practice

Debut of Audi

R15 TDI,

distance

record

No Audi entry

at Sebring,

only testing

VTG turbo-

charger

First Sebring

race with a

closed car,

mono-turbo-

charger, 10th

Sebring win

for Audi

JJ Lehto Allan McNish Marco Werner Dindo Capello Tom Kristensen Romain

Dumas

Andr Lotterer

1 1 1 2 2 2 1

Smaller

diameter air

restrictor for

the engine,higher weight

Reduced fuel

tank capacity

Reduced boost

pressure,

smaller

diameter airrestrictor for

the engine,

narrower rear

wing, more

ground

clearance

Reduced boost

pressure,

smaller


the engine

Reduced boost

pressure,

smaller


the engine,

reduced fuel

tank capacity

Reduced boost

pressure,

smaller


the engine,

reduced fuel

tank capacity

1. 1. 1. 3. (1. LMP1) 1. 4. 1.

R8-605 R10-101 R10-202 R15-102 R18-102

1 2 2 2 2

KristensenLehto

Werner

CapelloKristensen

McNish

BielaPirro

Werner

CapelloKristensen

McNish

CapelloKristensen

McNish

* not classified


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24 Audi @Sebring

AcidThe circuit

The track built on a former military airfield incentral Florida is regarded as the ultimate test of endurance for manand machine. Audi has used the circuit since 1999 to test its sportsprototypes. The fans and parties at Sebring are also legendary.

test ...


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Audi @Sebring 25

Typical featuresof every Sebring

winning car: dirt,tire debris andthe remains of

countless insects


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26 Audi @Sebring

The legendary

Zoo at Sebring isan absolute must

see it also lures

the drivers.

Far more than 100,000fans visit Sebring

every year and areunrivalled when it

comes to creativity

Turn 1 at Sebring: a

corner that sets thepulses racing of bothfans and drivers alike

... and big party


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Audi @Sebring 27

If you take a trip, then youll

experience something this

sentence is especially perti-

nent for Sebring: what drivers

and team members of the Audi sports car squad have

witnessed at Sebring since 1999 would fill several

volumes.

Sebring is one of the worlds most fasci-nating car races held on a brutal circuit, which with its

bumps, concrete slabs and generally excessive heat

makes demands of man and machine like hardly any

other. However, Sebring is in keeping with Spring

Break in Florida also a gigantic party.

My team-mates warned me before-

hand that the circuit is very bumpy and physically

extremely strenuous, remembers Audi factory driver

Oliver Jarvis. Even so, my first laps in the Audi R18 were

just incredible beforehand, Id never needed so much

time on a racetrack to get up to speed.

Sebring has ballsy corners like Turn 1

with its near blind entr y or the final corner Turn 17, which

five-time Sebring winner Dindo Capello simply describes

as Hammer: You approach at 275 km/h. The tarmac is

somewhat strange and despite the width, there is only

one fast line. Thats typical of Sebring. Timo Bernhard

had a major accident here while testing last year. Others

like Alexandre Prmat somersaulted over the guardrails.

Audi has tested the safety of its new sports prototypes

on more than one occasion while testing at Sebring by

involuntarily subjecting the cars to crash tests. The wear

and tear on parts during the race at Sebring is also unusu-

ally high.

Whoever visits Sebring always has

something to say: from crocodiles in the lake behind the

teams hotel Inn on the Lake. From the giant alligators

run over on the highway. From the Sebring winner who

was stopped by the Sheriff for exceeding the speed limit

on the way back to the hotel, but escaped his ransom by

signing an autograph. From the asphalt breaking up due

to the heat, and which had to be patched up during the

race. From violent thunderstorms and flooding in the

team awning. From innumerable nightshifts to make

newly developed sports prototypes fit for 12 hours and

more specifically Sebring resistant. From two Le Mans

winners, who tired on the rather monotonous journey to

Sebring and slept in the car. From spare parts in the hand

luggage. Or from the PR man who was arrested on the

way to the Zoo for staging a race in a golf buggy with

Miss Sebring.

The Zoo in the circuits infield is

shrouded in legend. It is Sebrings notorious social dis-

trict, in which the creativity of the fans knows no bounds.

I expect that every team member and every driver was

there at least once, believes Head of Audi Motorsport

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Its absolutely incredible whathappens there, confirms Allan McNish. Fans run a club

at Turn 10, which you can only enter with a special Club

Card. They have their own restaurant, a bar and build

their own grandstand with scaffolding on which they put

chairs its these fans that make Sebring so special. And

they return ever y year.

It is exactly these spectators that Audi

wishes to give something back to by racing at Sebring in

2013. Secretly everybody probably hopes that it is not a

last farewell.

Also a part ofSebring: prettywomen with lotsof naked skin

Party zone: thefans in the Zoobetween turns 3

and 13 are unique

Typical USA:the fans areeven allowedon the grid


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28 Audi @Sebring

2000

2007

2003

2001

2004

Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro, Tom Kristensen

Frank Biela, Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro

Philipp Peter, Frank Biela, Marco Werner

Laurent Aiello, Dindo Capello, Michele Alboreto

Allan McNish, Pierre Kaffer, Frank Biela

2002Christian Pescatori, Johnny Herbert, Dindo Capello

2005Tom Kristensen, JJ Lehto, Marco Werner

2006Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello


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Audi @Sebring 29

2009Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello

x 1

= Audi

2012Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello, Allan McNish

Sebring winsAudi has won

the 12-hour race at Sebring no lessthan ten times between 1999 and2012. For each of the ten victoriesthere are interesting stories,anecdotes and facts.

10


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30 Audi @Sebring

After my victorious debut the year

before, 2000 was my first race for Audi and the first for

the Audi R8, which went on to become a legendary and

mega successful sports car. I had tested an interim car

during the winter, half R8R and half R8. The new R8 was

presented to the worlds press on Ocean Drive in Miami

just a few days before testing started at Sebring. I still

remember the headline well, The fastest Cabrio in Miami

Beach.

I was fastest in free practice and wanted

to post a good time right at the beginning of first quali-

fying. But a slower car emerged from the pits; it hindered

me and disturbed my rhythm. I locked the front left

wheel under braking and landed in the tire barrier right

under the watchful eyes of my new boss Dr. Wolfgang

Ullrich ...

Frank (Biela) put the repaired car on

pole position the following day. I took over the car twice

from him in the race, and despite several problems with

the brakes we were able to win the race by a margin of

almost 40 seconds from our sister car. It was the first

victory in a sports car race for Audi and the start of an

incredibly successful chapter for the brand with the four

rings.

I have been lucky enough to win Sebring

six times so far. Another special win was that in 2005,

when I had a hard fight with Allan McNish all the way to

the checker. On this day, our fathers decided while having

a beer that Dr. Ullrich should better put us in the same

car. And this is what happened.

2000Tom Kristensen

The debut of the Audi R8 at Sebring ended with a one-twofinish. Remarkably, it was only Audis third sports car race. The Le Mans recordwinner and six-time Sebring victor reminisces.


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Audi @Sebring 31

Bad hair day: in first qualifying Tom Kristensen landed in thetire barrier with the winning car

A tire failure coststart number 77

crucial time.

Excitementall the wayto the flag:

Sebring 2000was marked

by a thrillingduel with the

previous yearswinner BMW

Seat fitting:Sebring 2000

was the firstrace that Tom

Kristensencontested for

Audi


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32 Audi @Sebring

In the thick of the action: Alf,from the TV series with the samename was the Joest teams and itsTechnical Director (R)alf Jttnersmascot in the days of the R8

A special feature of the R8 was its gearbox, whichcould be changed complete with the entire rear

end in less than four minutes

The first customer teams competed

with the Audi R8 during the 2001season. They rounded out the top

four positions for Audi

A stop-and-go penalty justbefore the end of the raceprevented the red R8 fromwinning again

Sebring 2001 was the last race

and final win for the unforgotten

Michele Alboreto.


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Audi @Sebring 33

Ill never forget the 2001 Sebring race:it was Micheles (Alboreto) last race and his last win

before we so tragically lost him in a testing accident. I

will always treasure the picture of him with Laurent

Aiello and myself on the Podium at Sebring.

In 2001, I also took the first of my five

Sebring race wins, which was especially sweet after

having lost a possible victory within sight of the flag due

to brake problems the year before. At that time, I actu-

ally had to steer the car into the pit wall after the race to

stop the car!

I have loads of memories of Sebring. I

drove my first endurance race here in 1999 with Michele

and Stefan Johansson and in fact took Audis first ever

Dindo Capello

The Italian celebrated the first of his five Sebring victorieswith Audi in 2001. However, he also has fond memories of the previous two years.

2001

sports car podium. It was a strange feeling for me:

Michele and Stefan had both raced Formula 1 for Ferrari

and were my idols only a few years before. Suddenly I was

their team-mate.

Ill also remember Sebring for a com-

pletely different reason: it was the first time that I had

ever used a washing machine! Normally I had my overalls

washed at home between races. But after the race in2000 we stayed at Sebring to test and I had to wash my

overalls. Allan (McNish) showed me how to do it another

premiere

By the way, a reminder of Sebring now

stands in one of my Audi Centers in Italy: as a parting

gesture to mark my time as an Audi factory driver, Audi

Sport gave me the original Sebring race-winning car from

2012 on permanent loan nobody could have given me a

better present because Sebring means so much to me.


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34 Audi @Sebring

Customer teamChampion Racing

took second placein 2002

The winners of asizzling battle,

during which thetarmac had to be

repaired in finalthird of the race

2002


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Audi @Sebring 35

Id heard many rumors about Sebring,

about the track, the history and of course about the

notorious infield and its fans. Sebring is very crazy and

yet marvelous at the same time.

It was a fantastic experience to com-

pete for the Audi factory team in 2002 at Sebring and

Le Mans. I knew that I could be successful with this team.

However, I didnt know much about my t wo Italian team-

mates Dindo Capello and Christian Pescatori, and espe-

cially Christian. Both turned out to be lovely blokes who

were great fun to work with. We got on famously and

found a good compromise for the set-up of our Audi R8.

After qualifying, we were all a little

mystified by the big gap in time to the sister car driven

by Frank (Biela). However, the tide turned to our advan-

tage in the race and I could win Sebring on my Audi

debut. We lost time in the early on because the rear sus-

pension had to be repaired after a collision, but this was

the only setback.

Johnny HerbertOn his first outing for

the Audi factory team the ex-Formula 1 driverwon the sizzling battle of 2002 despite arather sleepless night before the race.

Both factory Audis were involved incollisions. While the steering rack had to

be changed on the red R8, the yellowR8 escaped relatively unscathed with just

repairs to the rear suspension

Audi won for

the first time

in 2002 with a

TFSI engine a technology

that also

established

itself in

production

cars.

Race day didnt get off to the best of

starts or bet ter said the night before. I shared my room

with a friend from England and he snored like crazy. The

noise was terrible. I woke him up repeatedly, but he fell

asleep immediately and started to snore again. So, I

grabbed the mattress and a couple of blankets and slept

in the bathroom with the door closed. At least I got some

sleep, but Im sure you can imagine it wasnt the best way

to prepare for an extremely hot 12-hour race, during

which the tarmac even broke up.


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36 Audi @Sebring

Our first Sebring race with Audi was in

1999. I can still clearly remember telling our electrician

before the race to make sure that the headlights in both

our Audi R8R were correctly adjusted. He laughed at me

and asked: Do you really think that well still be running

when its dark? In the end, I had the last laugh as we

finished third and fifth in Audis first sports car race at

Sebring.

Ralf Jttner

The Audi Sport TeamJoests Technical Director celebrated manyvictories at Sebring. He stood in another pithowever when his team won in 2003.

Joest Audi bests JoestBentley: Audi left itscustomer teams to race theR8 between 2003 and 2005

2003

Small and sweet:the victorious

Joest squad atSebring in 2003 without Ralf

Jttner


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Audi @Sebring 37

Perfect strategy:Team Boss Reinhold

Joest made his R8 runtriple stints withoutchanging tires thissaved crucial time in

the pits

Tumultuous

celebration: a thrillingbattle between the Audicustomer teams saw

Joest prevai l againstChampion Racing

An additional driver

change just before the

finish denied the

Champion R8 of any

chance of victory.

2003 was a strange year for me at

Sebring. We ran a privately entered customer Audi R8 for

Marco Werner, Frank Biela and Philipp Peter. But I wore

a green jacket just like Head of Audi Motorsport

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich because we supported Team Bent-

ley at the other end of the pit lane.

The Joest Audi went on to win narrowly

from the Champion Audi after an extremely exciting

race. I obviously had to stay in the Bentley pit, even when

it was clear that we had no chance of winning and were

four laps behind the two R8 prototypes. But, the closer

we got to the finish the more I cheered on our guys in the

Joest pit and thought about their strategy. It was tough

but funny at the same time.

Weve gone on to celebrate many more

victories at Sebring and at Audi we always viewed the race

as excellent preparation for Le Mans. But it is also a unique

sports car race on an unusual circuit and always with a

good atmosphere. It really is a great pity that we will race

for the last time here with the LMP1 sports cars.


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38 Audi @Sebring

Head of Audi MotorsportDr. Wolfgang Ullrich wasdelighted about a one-two-three finish for hiscustomer teams in 2004

Pierre Kaffercelebrated his firstvictory at Sebringat the wheel of theAudi R8

Never before had a racing car

celebrated five consecutive

victories at Sebring. The Audi

R8 achieved this and even

grabbed a sixth.

The Champion Audi lost nine laps and anychance of victory in the fourth hour after

colliding with a GT car


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Audi @Sebring 39

It was great to race for the British Audi

importers at Sebring in 2004. Id raced for Audi Sport UK

in the British Touring Car Championship in 1996 and1997. It was always very enjoyable working with the

British guys.

My team-mates at Sebring were Allan

McNish and Pierre Kaffer. I hadnt really driven much

with either of them before. I arrived at the circuit on

Thursday evening from a DTM test and jumped into the

cockpit for the first time for night practice. The two guys

had done a good job with the set-up. The car felt good.

In the end we won comfortably by five

laps if I remember correctly. It was a victorious debut

Frank Biela

The German competed with Pierre Kaffer andAllan McNish for the first time when Audi Sport UK Team Veloqxmade its debut. The trio held a five-lap lead at the finish.

with the R8 for the Audi UK sports car team, and my third

victory in Sebring after 2000 and 2003.

After Id swapped to the prototypes

with Audi, I learnt a lot of new tracks in North America.

They differed enormously and especially Sebring to

those that I knew from my touring car days in Europe. Itwas a great experience, and especially because of the

extremely easygoing atmosphere in the paddock.

The fans could go everywhere, could see

the cars up close and meet the drivers. It was completely

different to anything Id experienced before, and espe-

cially in Germany where everything is much more strict

and less accessible.

Ive always liked this type of motorsport

in the USA. Its nice to know that nothing has changed in

the meantime.

2004


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40 Audi @Sebring

Victory in 2005 was my second at

Sebring. It was a very hard race over the entire 12 hours,

which Tom Kristensen, JJ Lehto and I won by less than

seven seconds from our sister car in the Champion Rac-

ing team. The race was open until the last corner and the

pressure on us all was immense throughout the race.

Marco Werner

The German was oneof the three drivers who presented theAmerican team Champion Racing with itsfirst Sebring win. But he also has fondmemories of his first Sebring race.

Strong line-up: JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and TomKristensen formed the winning team in 2005

Tough business: the two Champion Audis foughtall the way to the final corner for victory in 2005

2005


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Audi @Sebring 41

Third Sebring win: Tom Kristensenwithstood the pressure from

Allan McNish in the closing stages

But I also have fond memories of my

first race at Sebring in 2003. At that time, I was quite

new to Team Joest and had only previously contested one

race in the Audi R8, namely Le Mans the year before. In

2003, Audi didnt race as a factory in the ALMS and in the

season opener at Sebring the center of attention was on

Bentley and Champion Audi. Our private Joest Audi was

certainly not the favorite for victory, but we still won.

I drove two three-hour stints in the

race. This helped us to save time at the pit stops and to

fight for victory. I had a 15 second lead in my final stint

before this was cancelled by another safety car. From

then on I had to drive every lap of my first ALMS race like

qualifying. My lap times were def initely a big surprise for

many people, especially as I was only a Porsche Super-

cup driver before.

I still hold the qualifying record at

Sebring that I set in 2007 with the Audi R10 TDI. That

was the year of my last victory here. One thing is certain

Ill never ever forget Sebring.

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Winterkorn,

at that time Chairman of the Board of

Management of AUDI AG, waved thegreen flag as honorary starter in 2005.

After 12 hours a mere 6.365 secondsseparated the two Champion Audis of

Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen


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42 Audi @Sebring

The first race for a

diesel was a pioneering

achievement, the first

victory a piece of

motorsport history.

False start: instead of starting from poleposition, the Audi R10 TDI with startnumber 2 started from the pit lane

Will it or wont it hold? Head of AudiMotorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich lookscritically at the V12 TDI engine


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Audi @Sebring 43

2006

Sebring 2006 was one of the most

stressful yet exciting races that I have ever experienced. It

was our first race with the diesel and Id broken my foot afew weeks before while skiing. I negotiated with the doc-

tors that then should operate on me as soon as possible.

After a day and a half they threw me out of the hospital

because my bed was covered in documents and my lap-

top they argued that it is a hospital and not an office ...

So, I travelled to Sebring with my

crutches, which was anything but pleasant at the race-

track. The entire week was quite stressful for us. We had

to change engines several times. It was only later that we

discovered that it was just sensors that were mounted

incorrectly. Our top manager Professor Martin

Ulrich BaretzkyThe Head of Engine Development will never

forget Sebring 2006: the first race for a diesel sports car was full ofperilous hurdles but still ended with a historical victory.

Winterkorn really tore a strip of me for this sloppiness,

even though this was not part of my responsibility.

After the warm-up, we had to change

the heat-exchanger on the car that should have started

the race from pole position. Normally, you need three

hours for this, but we had just one and a half hours and

managed it just in time. Dindo Capello chased after the

field from the pit lane and was already up to second

place behind the leading sister car after 30 minutes.

The telemetry hadnt worked on the

leading car since the beginning of the race. This is why we

couldnt see that the coolers were blocked and the engine

overheated. After about four hours we had to stop. The

drivers were devastated and completely down, but to

compensate they won at Le Mans.

In spite of all the problems, we still

managed to get the car that started from the pit lane to

the finish and win the race and, in doing so, write motor-

sport history with the first win for a diesel-powered

sportscar. Ill never forget this!


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44 Audi @Sebring

Sebring 2007 made amends for the bad

memories from the previous year. I dearly wanted to win

when our diesel sports car made its world premiere as I

had on the debut of the Audi R8 in 2000. Unfortunately,

we had a technical problem and retired, which made thevictory even sweeter in the 2007 season.

Marco Werner set a qualifying lap

record on the way to putting our car on pole position. A

record that still stands today. However, we didnt just

Emanuele Pirro

The Audi R10 TDI recordedits second consecutive Sebring victory despiteseveral performance concessions to the lighterLMP2 cars of the competition.

The final part of the race wasvery long for Marco Werner:the German was bursting togo to the bathroom ...

2007


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46 Audi @Sebring2009

The lead changed hands 22 times

between Audi and Peugeot during

the fastest Sebring race of all time.


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Audi @Sebring 47

The race at Sebring in 2009 was

incredibly intense. It was the R15 TDIs race debut. The

R8 and R10 TDI had both won their first races at Sebring.

To repeat this was hard, because everything was new

the car, the concept and the aerodynamics. We were up

against strong, aggressive competition and especially

our old friends from Peugeot.

It was nail biting from the first to last

lap. There was a lot of overtaking, the lead exchanged

hands many times Peugeot overtook us, we got past

Peugeot. We fought like crazy for t welve hours. We had

to make every pit stop count and every strategy call by

the team. The race was decided in the last two or three

hours. I have to say they were possibly the best couple of

hours Ive ever driven. I extracted the absolute maxi-

mum from the car, which was perfectly suited to this

track at the time.

The R15 TDI was the best car that Id

ever driven around Sebring, the balance, feel and con-

trol. I could make the car do exactly what I wanted, and

so this car also celebrated a debut win at Sebring.

The race fans at Sebring are like nowhere

else in the world. They have incredible enthusiasm. They

dont just come to watch a legendary race; they want to

be a part of it.

I remember in 2011 when an open-top

bus with the shape, design and colors of our Audi R10 TDI

from a few years previously appeared in the paddock.

Things like this only happen at Sebring.

Allan McNish

The Scotsman was akey to success in many an Audi victory atSebring and especially when the R15 TDIwon on its debut in 2009.

Command center: the smallest

strategic mistake would havemeant defeat in 2009

The Audi R15 TDI was Audis lastopen sports prototype

Allan McNish drove a great race in2009 at the start as well as in theclosing stages

The Audi R15 TDI with its innovativeaerodynamic concept was unveiled to thepublic at Sebring


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48 Audi @Sebring

Reinhold Joest, who had competed him-

self at Sebring, told us that the race in Florida is the best

preparation for Le Mans. It was good that we listened to

his advice. Sebring was always the perfect dress rehearsal

for the new season and for the 24-hour race at Le Mans.

Dr. Wolfgang UllrichThe Head of Audi

Motorsport has led the brand with the fourrings to all its ten Sebring wins so far and

these in just 13 races.

Turn 1 Club: customers and guests fromAudi of America could follow the 2012 race

from rather unique hospitality facilities atthe end of the start-finish straight

Downsizing: 2012 was thefirst Sebring race with thecompact V6 TDI engine

2012


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Audi @Sebring 49

Dindo Capello receivedthe original race-

winning car from 2012

on permanent loan tomark his retirement as

Audi factory driver

The Audi R18 TDI was in a class ofits own on its Sebring debut

Sebring 2012 was the beginning of

a new era: it was the opening race

of the new FIA World Endurance

Championship (WEC).

Sebring is a unique racetrack. Hard and

demanding for both man and machine whoever sur-

vives this 12-hour race without problems is usually well

equipped for every other challenge. This is why Sebring

has been a fixed date on our sports car calendar every

since our sports car program started in 1999.

The first victory is always the sweetest.

I can still vividly remember the launch of the Audi R8 in

Miami Beach in March 2000, and how we won the race at

Sebring only a week later. It was just fantastic, particu-

larly as it was only our third sports car race after Sebring

and Le Mans in 1999. It was also the start of an incredi-

ble winning streak for the Audi R8, which ultimately took

63 wins in 80 races.

For me, the worst year was 2010 when

we decided during development of the R15 plus not to

race at Sebring for logistical reasons. I was theredespite this and must say it was hard to watch the race

without Audi participation. It was even harder than the

defeat in 2011 when we were fast, but unlucky with

both cars. In 2012, we succeeded in taking the brands

tenth victory when we raced a closed LMP at Sebring for

the first time.


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50 Audi @Sebring

Back inthe USA


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Audi @Sebring 51

Audi in U.S. motor racingRaces in North America have always

played an important role in Audis successful motorsporthistory. The brand returns to the racetracks in this importantmarket with the R8 GRAND-AM.


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52 Audi @Sebring

Back in the USA: Audi signals

the return to U.S. motor-

sport through greater com-

mitment from Audi Sport

customer racing North America in the GRAND-AM series.

The USA gains increasingly in impor-

tance for Audi. In the 2012 financial year, the brand with

the four rings increased its sales in this essential market

by 18.5 per cent to 139,310 automobiles. As a result,

Audi is growing significantly quicker than the entire mar-

ket in the United States. The comeback in U.S. motor-

sport should support this trend.

Win on Sunday, sell on Monday Audi

has mimicked this slogan originating from the USA

repeatedly in the past: during the rally era in the 1980s,

the brand triumphed three times in the famous PikesPeak hill climb in Colorado with the Audi quattro. Walter

Rhrls record run with the spectacular Audi Sport

quattro S1 remains unforgotten. He was the first driver

to storm up the summit in less than eleven minutes.

In 1988, U.S. racing legend Hurley Hay-

wood won on Audis closed circuit debut in the Trans-Am

Series with the Audi 200 quattro. Audi grabbed the head-

lines a year later as a newcomer claiming seven victories

in the IMSA-GTO Series. Audi made a lasting impression

with its sports prototypes in the American Le Mans

Series (ALMS) between 2000 and 2008: Audi won the

LMP1 championship title nine times in succession, just as

often as it has the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta

and the 12 hours of Sebring ten times so far.

The further developed Audi R8 GRAND-AMcelebrated a one-two finish in the GT class atthe 24-hour race at Daytona in January

Audi won the championshiptitle nine times in successionin the LMP1 category in theAmerican Le Mans Series

Based on the GT3version, the AudiR8 GRAND-AMwas developedspecifically for theU.S. market


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Audi @Sebring 53

Audi of America used the American

Le Mans Series and motorsport to inspire invited dealersand guests for the brand. The call from dealers in the

USA for a return to U.S. motorsport gains intensity ever

since Audi switched its factory program with sports pro-

totypes to the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

The first step now follows in the GT

class of the GRAND-AM series, which merges with the

American Le Mans Series in 2014 to form a new U.S.

sports car series and therefore gain increasingly in

importance.

Based on the successful Audi R8 LMS

GT3 customer racing racecar, quattro GmbH developed a

special U.S. version for the GRAND-AM series. Following

initial outings in the 2012 season, many details of the

The Audi brand is

growing particularly

strongly in the U.S.market the motorsport

activities should

strengthen this trend.

It must be love: the enthusiasm for thebrand with the four rings and its producesknows virtually no limits in the USA

near 500 hp mid-engine sports car were revised to great

effect. In January, the Audi customer teams Alex Job

Racing and APR Motorsport claimed a one-two finish in

the GT class with the Audi R8 GRAND-AM in the 24-hour

race at Daytona.

By racing at Daytona, we wanted to be

sure that anybody who contemplates racing in the GT

class in the GRAND-AM series thinks about the Audi R8,

says Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer rac-

ing. We achieved exactly this goal thanks to the strong

performance and fantastic result.

Audi Sport customer racing North

America will support customer teams that choose the

Audi R8 GRAND-AM for example, with competitive

drivers as was the case at Daytona. What the future

holds in the USA remains to be seen. I think that Audi

should not be satisfied with f ighting for class victories,

said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich at

Daytona. This was never our strategy.

Audis successful motorsport history in

the USA started with several wins at thefamous Pikes Peak hill climb


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Documents

MediaInfo Magazine, Audi at Sebring 1999-2013