Diesel Powered R10 wins again...vs petrol...is this new era?

[midinite]

From Manila Bulletin...

"Audi P10 TDI remains unbeaten

After its fourth race, the Audi R10 TDI remains unbeaten. The prototype which became the first diesel-powered sportscar to win the Le Mans 24 Hour race, added another victory in the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series in Portland, Oregon.

In the third race for the Audi R10 TDI in the US, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish triumphed ahead of their teammates Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro to score the first double victory of the Audi R10 TDI.

The two Audi sportscars started the race from the second and third rows. After a late change of regulations in which the organizers allowed the strongest competitor in the Le Mans P1 class, the Dyson-Lola team, to reduce the weight of the car by 40 kilograms to 860kg, the Audi drivers Dindo Capello and Emanuele Pirro had to be content in qualifying with positions three and five respectively..."

Key to remember here is that it competes directly against petrol driven race cars and has now done it more than once...while it has problems...it still has won. Key isnt whether it is the first but that rather it seems like it is repeating the feat consistently...

It isn't a question of marque but rather that could diesel be a contender in traditional road racing?

[theveed]

But BMW won with a Diesel engine at 24 Hours Nürburgring more than half a decade before Audi entered the diesel foray...

[midinite]

But BMW won with a Diesel engine at 24 Hours Nürburgring more than half a decade before Audi entered the diesel foray...

I understand that...but i suggest you read the question...and understand the context of it

now the question is will this be a new era where diesel may be a legitimate contender if not a consistent victor in traditional road racing...notice how i didnt even put the car brand in the subject?

...please stick to the topic

(because from the sound of it you are comparing one marque vs another when the question was about diesel and its rediscovered role in racing)...I used "rediscovered" since you mentioned it was not the first time right?

[niky]

Ahem... skipping the usual Audi-BMW wars (by the way, a privateer run 1-series diesel just finished pretty high in the 24 hours at the Nurb)...

It's a good start. Of course, it has the advantage of being an Audi, and like I said, being the successor to the legendary R8, it's expected to win its class.

What's nice, though, is that despite the handicapping system in place in this series, they're still winning. I can see a lot of teams jumping on the diesel wagon after this.

[midinite]

Ahem... skipping the usual Audi-BMW wars (by the way, a privateer run 1-series diesel just finished pretty high in the 24 hours at the Nurb)...

It's a good start. Of course, it has the advantage of being an Audi, and like I said, being the successor to the legendary R8, it's expected to win its class.

What's nice, though, is that despite the handicapping system in place in this series, they're still winning. I can see a lot of teams jumping on the diesel wagon after this.

Ahem...glad to see you could see past the marques...even with the snide aside.

why would it be expected to win if it runs on a different engine? it would be expected to win if it were the same R8 improved (note how i failed to mention the marque again)

can you please elaborate on the handicapping system?

and thank you for staying on topic

[niky]

Snide aside? Actually, it's just an observation... I watched a replay of the 24 Hour Nurb race the other night... Awesome stuff. Too bad all the LMPs are racing elsewhere... would've made it perfect.

Yes, it should be expected to win. Audi's LeMans Prototypes have been the class of the field over the past decade, and the R8 will go down in history as one of the best LMP cars ever. It's like the Corvette in the 24 hours of Le Mans... you expect it to win (the Corvette's class dominance is something people fail to notice). Of course, nothing's forever, just look at McLaren now, or how Ferrari bungled up their previous car (there are some indications that tires were only part of that problem).

As with the engine, the direct injection gasoline engines have been very reliable for the R8, and the only surprise with the R10 diesel is how reliable it's been under race conditions. That was the real gamble, and now it's paid off.

RE: handicapping. I'm not familiar with the current series and exact rules, but usually, cars that win successive races get a weight penalty. In this case, they're giving a weight reduction bonus to cars behind the leader. It's interesting to note that the Audi is still the class of the field despite this... but that's often the case when you've got the best chassis and (in this case) the best engine.

Of note, re: the Corvette again... it's still doing spectacularly, despite the amount of bonuses they're giving the Aston Martins. Sad, really, I want to see those ***y Astons on top...

In closing: handicapping is done to ensure close and exciting racing, and to keep one manufacturer from running away with the championship, as you can so often see in F1 or the WRC. And it's better than NASCAR's version, wherein everyone is restricted to using the same engine, chassis, suspension, etcetera...as this invariably leads to technology being held over from the stone age (NASCAR uses huge OHV engines, beam axle suspensions and a crude chassis... a Dodge Viper is faster than a NASCAR car, for christ'sakes).

And despite this, the R10 still wins. When you have no power/weight ratio advantage anymore and still win, that's good chassis/aerodynamic work.

With the win at the first 24-hours and the 12-hours of Sebring, people were still holding their breath to see if the diesels were the new thing in endurance prototype racing (because, as has been said before, smaller diesels have proven themselves in endurance racing). Now with successive wins in the American series, there's no denying it, diesel is definitely here.

It will be interesting to see how many teams will be able to field a good diesel in the next 24 hours of LeMans.

But for the rest of motor racing? restrictions in F1 and the WRC still make diesels uncompetitive, but I'm hoping smaller series, like the DTM and BTCC, will bend the rules a little to let diesels in.

Now, if the Volkswagen Automotive Group (the parent group of Audi) really want to run with this, they'll produce a diesel supercar. Audi's upcoming version of the Gallardo would be perfect for this.