They’re baaaack!

At LotPro.com where see where both Audi and Peugeot have gone toe-to-toe this year in the high-stakes game of endurance racing.

The opening salvo occurred in Florida in March as the two diesel-powered superpowers of endurance racing squared off with reigning champion Audi fielding a new car, the Audi R15 TDi against the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP.

At the end of 12 hours, less than 23 seconds separated the first Audi R15 TDi team of McNish/Capello/Kristensen and the second Peugeot 908 HDi FAP team of Montagny/Bourdais/Sarrazin. Third place also belonged to Audi with the Rockenfeller/Werner/Luhr team finishing 2 laps down, while the first Peugeot team was forced to retire with 25 minutes left in the race with a gearbox failure.

Round 2 – France

The Le Mans 24 hour race was quite another story. Peugeot was finally able to sort through the durability issues of the 908 HDi FAP that had plagued the team in the two previous years with a convincing 1-2 podium finish.

Audi, on the other hand, found that it had very little time in which to dial in the new R15. With only Wednesday evening’s free practice (in the rain), the Germans were forced to do much of their sorting out during qualifying on Thursday. At the end of 24 hours, Audi found itself 5 laps down from the second place No. 8 Peugeot and 6 laps down from the winning French car

Round 3 – back in the USA

The third round will take place this weekend at Road Atlanta and much more is at stake than just the top step of the podium. Audi has not lost a Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta since the inception of the series in 2000. And to make things even more interesting, even Peugeot admits that the course could favor the Germans, citing the advantage the Audis have in downforce – a factor that wasn’t nearly as important at Le Mans.

According to Peugeot Sport Director Olivier Quesnel, the two Peugeot 908 HDi FAP entries (numbers 07 and 08) will be in the same aerodynamic configuration as that used in the Spa 1000 km, rather than the set-up used at the Le Mans 24 Hours. “We have chosen this aero configuration because the circuit layout calls for more downforce… which should suit our main competitors, and will make them very hard to beat. At certain points of the circuit, the difference between our cars may be significant, just as it was at the first corner at Sebring, for example, where they were 10 kph faster than us simply because their car produces more downforce.”

Audi Sport Team Joest Technical Director Ralf Jüttner had this to say about the upcoming weekend: “We’re happy to be able to contest a race again three months after Le Mans. We want to show that the R15 TDI is better than it looked at Le Mans. I think that the track at Road Atlanta should suit the car pretty well. Still, it won’t be an easy race for us. With twelve LMP1 cars on the grid, it’ll be a real battle that will probably be heavily shaped by tactics as well. Last year, there were ten caution periods. Getting everything just right will be crucial – and of course a little racing luck is necessary as well.”

Let the racing begin

Practice sessions begin at 8 a.m. tomorrow with the LMP1 and LMP2 testing to begin at 2:00 p.m. Qualifying for LMP1/LMP2 will begin at 2:55 p.m. on Friday with the race scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday (1,000 miles or 10 hours maximum).

Less than auspicious start for Rahal Letterman BMW M3

Saturday’s annual running of the 12 hours of Sebring ended up being a duel between the two diesel-equipped superpowers of endurance racing, Audi and Peugeot. But while less than 23 seconds separated the first Audi R15 TDi team of McNish/Capello/Kristensen and the second Peugeot 908 HDi FAP team of Montagny/Bourdais/Sarrazin, the third place Audi R15 TDi Team of Rockenfeller/Werner/Luhr was 2 laps down while the first Peugeot team was forced to retire with 25 minutes left in the race with a gearbox failure.

Leading up to Saturday’s race, of course, was the amazing run of Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon, as he put the number 66 Acura ARX-02 of de Ferren/Pagenaud/Dixon on the pole. Unfortunately, the car retired at the eight-hour mark due to a front suspension problem. The second ARX-02, driven by Brabham/Franchitti/Sharp was running in the top 5 overall after ten hours when it, too, had to return to the garage with a transmission malfunction.

Acura was more fortunate in the LMP 2 class as Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz took first place as well as fourth place overall in the Acura ARX-01b.

A second straight GT1 victory was scored by Corvette Racing’s Johnny O’Connell in a Corvette C6.R, while Rizi Competizione won the GT2 class for the second time in three years in a Ferrari F430 GT. Meanwhile, the BMW M3 Rahal Letterman team suffered a number of teething problems with the No. 90 car retiring after 27 laps with an oil leak while the No. 92 car suffered a mechanical problem while leaving the pits at the five hour mark.

Here are the 2009 results:

1. (2) Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Audi R15 TDI (1st, P1), 383 laps.

2. (5) Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (2nd, P1), 383 laps.

3. (4) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Audi R15 TDI (3rd, P1), 381 laps.

4. (7) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (1st, P2), 360 laps.

5. (3) Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Christian Klien, Austria; Nicolas Minassian, England; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (4th, P1), 356 laps.

6. (12) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Antonio Garcia, Spain; Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (1st, GT1), 349 laps.

7. (11) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Marcel Faessler, Switzerland; Corvette C6.R (2nd, GT1), 348 laps.

8. (27) Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (1st, GT2), 332 laps.

9. (15) Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Mathias Russo, Argentina; Luis Companc, Argentina; Ferrari 430 GT (2nd, GT2), 330 laps.

10. (17) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Ian James, England; Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford (3rd, GT2), 329 laps.

11. (14) Joerg Bergmeister, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4th, GT2), 326 laps.

12. (24) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (5th, GT2), 326 laps.

13. (23) Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Eric van de Poele, Belgium; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Ferrari F430 GT (6th, GT2), 325 laps.

14. (16) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT MK 7 (7th, GT2), 303 laps.

DNF

15. (6) David Brabham, Australia; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Acura ARX-02a (5th, P1), 302 laps, Drive line.

16. (13) Dirk Werner, Germany; Richard Lietz, Austria; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (8th, GT2), 274 laps.

17. (19) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Ritchie Holt, Davie, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (9th, GT2), 251 laps, Clutch.

18. (1) Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Simon Pagenaud, France; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Acura ARX-02a (6th, P1), 246 laps, Mechanical.

19. (20) Robert Bell, UK; Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage GT2 (10th, GT2), 204 laps, Engine.

20. (9) Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Tony Burgess, Canada; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Lola B06/10 AER (7th, P1), 151 laps, Electrical.

21. (10) Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Ben Devlin, England; Lola B09 86 Mazda (2nd, P2), 149 laps, Mechanical.

22. (26) Dirk Mueller, Germany; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; BMW E92 M3 (11th, GT2), 140 laps.

23. (8) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Lola B09 86 Mazda (3rd, P2), 127 laps, Mechanical.

24. (22) Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX; Eric Curran, Easthampton, MA; Lucas Molo, Brazil; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (12th, GT2), 89 laps, Mechanical.

25. (25) Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06/10 AER (8th, P1), 77 laps.

26. (18) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; BMW E92 M3 (13th, GT2), 27 laps, Mechanical.

27. (21) Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Hans Stuck, Germany; Johannes Stuck, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14th, GT2), 0 laps, Withdrawn.

28. (28) Richard Westbrook, England; Marc Basseng, Germany; Lance David, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (15th, GT2), 0 laps

Originally established as Hendricks Field, an Army airfield during World War II, the racetrack at Sebring, Florida hosted its first race on December 31, 1950. Since that time, the track has seen the likes of Mario Andretti, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Jim Hall, Sir Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, John Surtees, Hurley Haywood, Peter Gregg and Geoff Brabham (just to name a few).

Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder

Manufacturers that have competed and claimed victory in the 12 hour endurance race include Cunningham, Jaguar, Ferrari, Maserati, Ford, BMW, Nissan, Audi and current overall defending champion, Porsche. Audi, in particular, has recently dominated the series, winning the LM1 class from 2000 until 2008, while Penske racing captured the overall top spot last year in the Porsche RS Spyder.

Classes

Entrants in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) are currently divided up into four classes consisting of two prototype classes (LMP1 and LMP2) as well as two Grand Touring (modified production sports car) classes (GT1 and GT2). The LMP1 class generally included manufacturers while the LMP2 class is intended for privateers. GT1 cars are production-based highly modified cars such as the Aston Martin DB9, Ferrari 550 and Saleen S7R with horsepower ratings in the 550-600 range while GT2 cars are production-based and only slightly modified such as Porsche and the Ferrari Modena 360. Horsepower capacities of these vehicles can exceed 450.

Acura ARX-02a

2009

This year’s race will begin on Saturday March 21st at 10:30 am. The LMP1 pole position was won on Thursday by Scott Dixon, who will drive alongside team owner Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud in the first race for the new Acura ARX-02a. Second place is occupied by the new Audi R15 TDI, set to make its racing debut (Kristensen/McNish/Capello) as well, while Peugeot was in third place with its 908 HDi (Klein/Minassian/Lamay).

Meanwhile, LMP2 qualifying saw Adrian Fernandez in the new Acura ARX-01b take the fastest time while Guy Smith, in a Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupe qualified just behind the Acura.

Rahal/Letterman BMW M3

GT1 saw a pair of Corvette C6’s in the top two spots, while in GT2, a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Patrick Long took the top spot. Meanwhile, newcomer BMW and the Rahal/Letterman Racing M3 placed in the top half of the GT2 class for the team’s debut race.

Information revealed in press release

Audi shared this information on its latest generation LMP 1 sports car:

INGOLSTADT, Germany, Mar 9, 2009 -  Audi AG is the world’s first automobile manufacturer to develop a “second” generation diesel racing sports car. Audi aims to underline its supremacy and consolidate its expertise in car technology once more at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans with the all-new Audi R15 TDI.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is particularly suited for this: Efficient and economical cars are especially required for the French endurance classic. Lightweight construction, environmentally friendly drive concepts and well-thought out aerodynamics are the focus of attention at Le Mans just as they are during the development of production cars. For this purpose the regulations intentionally give the engineers plenty of freedom.

Audi Sport fully exploited this creative freedom and put a new LMP1 race car on the track that differs significantly from all previous Le Mans sports cars. “The R15 TDI has many detailed technical solutions never seen before on a sports prototype,” explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “To a certain extent we followed entirely new routes.”

Highly efficient TDI engine

The heart of the R15 TDI is a newly developed V10 TDI engine producing more than 600 hp, with a maximum torque output in excess of 1,050 Newton meters and which reflects the latest version of the TDI Technology invented by Audi. The power unit is more compact and lighter than the twelve-cylinder engine used in the preceding R10 TDI model. The specific fuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions could also be reduced. Innovations in the turbo-charging and fuel injection areas simultaneously ensure improved engine response. The R15 TDI is also equipped with a new generation of even lighter diesel particle filters.

The new sports car’s aerodynamics, which play a particularly important role at Le Mans, are extremely refined. Like the DTM 2008 championship winning Audi A4, the airflow around and through the car was optimized with CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). Included among the many innovative detail solutions which can be spotted at first glance are a rear wing suspended from the top and a high nose.

Innovative vehicle electrical system concept

The Audi R15 TDI celebrates its race debut in the 12-hour race in Sebring, Florida in the USA on March 21. Audi Sport Team Joest plans to field three cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 13/14.

2009 Dodge Journey

Dodge has been conspicuously absent from the crossover segment (the Pacifica was a Chrysler-only vehicle). The Journey, based on the Avenger/Sebring platform with a stretched wheelbase, is only 2 inches longer than the Avenger, but seats up to 7 passengers. With a starting price of just under $20,000, standard safety features include, front, side and curtain airbags, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, ESP stability control and Electronic Roll Mitigation.

In addition to the usual cupholder/door storage bins, the Journey also features floor storage and front under-seat bins. A double glove box features an upper box for “chillin” (it’s refrigerated) and a lower box that contains an iPod connection.

2009 Hyundai Sonata

Introduced at the Chicago Auto Show back in February, the updated Sonata features new front and rear fascias incorporating new headlights, taillights and fog lights have changed the look in a very subtle way. On the inside, small changes have been made to the instrument panel and console, while USB and iPod ports are now standard and a navigation system has been added as an option.

The biggest changes have been to the engine and suspension with horsepower, torque and fuel economy improvements in both the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder and 3.3 liter 6 cylinder engines. Suspension dynamics have been re-tuned for enhanced handling in the GLS and Limited models, while the SE gets even firmer sport tuning.