The front of the grid at the 24 Hours of Le Mans will have a strong American Le Mans Series flavor. A pair of diesel-powered Audi R10 TDIs took the top two spots in qualifying for the historic French endurance classic.
Dindo Capello, co-leader in the American Le Mans Series’ LMP1 class, turned in the quickest lap during the two-day qualifying session at Le Mans with a 3:30.466 lap Thursday night. Capello, a two-time winner at the 24 Hours and a teammate of Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen this weekend, made his return to La Sarthe one he won’t forget soon.
Marco Werner qualified the other diesel-powered Audi prototype second with a lap of 3:30.584. Werner is a two-time LMP1 champion in the American Le Mans Series and will drive at Le Mans with Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela, who shared the Series’ LMP1 crown last season.
“I got a perfectly clean flying lap, so I was lucky,” Capello said. “Marco wasn’t so lucky, so he lost a couple of tenths of a second. He could very well have taken pole from us. We are not using qualifying tires, as they don’t even last us a full lap because of the tremendous torque on this car. We are using the softest possible race tires we have.”
The two Audis were two seconds clear of the two Pescarolos, which figure to be the closest challengers to the diesel-powered entries. Already this year, the R10 TDI has won at Sebring, considered the best test for Le Mans.
American Le Mans Series :: World Class
Technorati Tags: Audi, R10, 24 Hours of Le Mans, ALMS, oneighturbo
Whatever you do, don’t call it “The Great Experiment.” Audi is at Le Mans with its new diesel-powered R10 TDI to win the 24 Hours, not merely to try.
Since the Sebring win, McNish and Capello have been competing in the American Le Mans Series with the Audi R8. Meanwhile, Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela – Audi’s other trio of Le Mans drivers – have been aiding in the testing and further development of the R10 TDI in Europe.
The united front at Audi is readily apparent. The teams and drivers aren’t overly concerned with which car has the best chance of winning, as long as one of the R10 TDIs gets the checkered flag first.
Produced by quattro GmbH, Audi’s performance and tuning subsidiary, the RS 4 is the first RS model based on the Audi A4 to be sold in the United States. Germany-based quattro GmbH has a goal to build the best performance vehicle in each segment, and the RS 4 can certainly be called one of the best sport sedans that the subsidiary has ever offered.
On paper the RS 4 seems to have every angle covered: a 420-horsepower 4.2-liter V8, a 6-speed manual transmission, 14.4-inch front discs with 8-piston calipers, quattro all-wheel drive with a new Torsen center differential, 19-inch alloy wheels with 255/35ZR19 Pirelli P Zero or Michelin Pilot Sport tires, and Audi’s next-generation Dynamic Ride Control (RDC).
Although some cars don’t translate well from paper to pavement, the RS 4 does not suffer this indignity. Out in the real world, which for us included the Angeles Crest Highway and Willow Springs racetrack (Is that the real world? –Ed.), the RS 4 doesn’t disappoint.
Tom Kristensen is trying for his eighth overall win at Le Mans and seventh in a row.
If you’re looking to purchase a new car, you probably want one that won’t lose too much of its value to depreciation. Well, potential buyers, take note: With resale value in mind, we’ve compiled this list of the 10 cars likely to depreciate the least during ownership. Included is the percentage of its original value that each vehicle is likely to retain after five years, with an annual mileage of 15,000. Our residual value percentages are based on each car’s national True Market ValueSM (TMV) price, plus typical options and destination charge.
