Audi dominated endurance racing for the better part of two decades. The firm won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans 13 times in 15 years. One of the dominant cars to compete for the works outfit was the Audi R18. Part of Audi’s success was its preparation. Not only did the team conduct an endless amount of testing, but they also prepared for all eventualities.
Follow Double Apex on Instagram and Facebook where we share more car content.
Order from our online store and take advantage of free delivery in South Africa on orders over R349.
Testing, Testing and more Testing
Key to testing was also to get high-speed aero efficiency perfect for the La Sarthe track. However, the straights at the 24 Hours of Le Man track form part of the public road network around the full-time Le Mans circuit. This means that teams have to find other circuits with straights that are long enough.
Click here to see a gallery of iconic Le Mans winners.
Monza Madness
A few years go, before Audi abandoned its endurance racing program, the team headed to Monza, just outside Milan in Italy. The front straight is quite long, but only once the track is reconfigured without the first chicane is it ideal for testing Le Mans aero set-ups.
We know that this footage is not new, but we return to it regularly as it conveys a sense of speed rarely seen in a video clip. Listen to the Audi R18 blasting down the front straight at Monza flat out. More incredible than that is how the car negotiates Turn One still at full throttle in top gear. Turn up your speakers for this…
I watched every race Audi took part in at Le Mans from 1999 ’til their sad departure in the aftermath of dieselgate. I also watched the brand compete in other endurance races as far afield as Road Atlanta where Alan McNish pulled off a sensational win in the Petit Le Mans event in 2008 having made a late start in the race after binning his Audi on the race warm-up lap. Aside from an unusually off-colour showing at Le Mans in 2009 (I think) when loose sand from the gravel traps blocked air vents, Audi was a sensationally consistent performer and brought unprecedented reliability to the tracks. It is a little known fact that never once since they arrived at Le Mans in 1999 did a single Audi ever suffer engine failure in any race. When you consider that they only competed in endurance events which were rarely less than 6 hours’ duration while a very high proportion were 12 or 24 hours, this achievement is unprecedented. It didn’t matter whether power was delivered by a 3.7 litre twin turbo petrol V8 or by V12, V10 or V6 turbo diesels, they simply did not break. Ullrich Baretsky was the engine chief and if anyone in motor racing deserves to be recognised as an all-time great automotive engineer, it is him. Who would ever have believed that a diesel-engined vehicle could become such a dominant force in motor racing of all things. Endurance racing is all the poorer without this extraordinary team and its charismatic team manager, Wolfgang Ullrich, who developed such a strong bond with his drivers and engineers and in so doing, brought new meaning to “team work.”
Thanks for that insightful comment Richard.