"For Audi, Perhaps it is Not Sport"

  • Thread starter Thread starter dougiemeats
  • 18 comments
  • 983 views
dougiemeats

dougiemeats

Racing in the Rain
Premium
Messages
1,681
"A withdrawal would say clearly that for Audi this is not sport, but business only"

I must say I agree with this article. Many sports car racing fans probably already know that Audi has threatened to leave the American Le Mans Series after Sebring. I'm sure many of you think that this could be a huge loss for the ALMS, while others believe that this is for the good of the series. I don't want to see Audi leave the series, but after watching a Ferrari and Porsche conclude a 12-hour battle with an incredible fight to the end, I realized what I really wanted to see: Racing.

Sure, it was great to witness history when a diesel-powered prototype crossed the finish line first at Sebring, and later, at Le Mans. And it's amazing that the R10 has yet to be defeated, despite the frequent "competitive balancing" that IMSA and the ACO throw at its way. And I can appreciate the engineering that when into this car. However, none of this excites me, and I can simply read about these things the next day. I want to watch racing.

So go ahead, Audi. Leave the series. We still have the Spyders taking on the newcomers and their Acuras. And there are still eleven more exciting GT2 finishes to look forward to. By the way, congratulations, on all your successes in the American Le Mans Series and in sports car racing. I look forward to your next project; perhaps a solar-powered, remote-controlled prototype? I'm sure I'll read about it on some motorsport website. It will surely be interesting. But for now, I'm going to watch Guy Smith cross the finish line - with a Penske Porsche right behind him. We like to call it "racing", and it's f:censored: awesome.
 
If Audi leaves it'll just be one step further to solidifying the American Le Mans series as a two class championship. I'm not sure if I subscribe to the whole "If Audi and Corvette left the series we'd be better off" thing. Why is there still a Dysonized Lola EX 256 tuttling around the P1 class? If Americans or whoever wanted to run P1's or GT1's in the American Le Mans Series they would be there. Unfortunately, for whatever reason we don't. Is it a lack of interest? Is it a lack of money? Is it the threat that Audi or Corvette will steamroll you? Well, I haven't seen much steam rolling by Corvette or Audi lately. Whenever competition enters the series (unless its a completely useless Lola B06/10 that was in need of SERIOUS development) they seem to be just a step behind those Audi's and 'Vettes. The aged Saleens were developing well until, for whatever reason they decided to stop and sell the cars to someone who wants to run them in Europe (where I believe they will have at least one American driver!!) I'm leaning on the side that there just isn't enough sponsorship to go around. Division in all American Motorsports and the marketing giant that is NASCAR are hurting first class motorsport. I think it is great that Audi made their diesel prototype as it is important to show the American market that diesels aren't just those smoking trucks and loud unpractical cheap sedans. Audi have proven to the American market that the deisel can be sexy, fast, and elegant and that is hugely important in a world where we rely on foreign oil. Audi essentially kicked off the alternative fuels in motorsport rage currently (if you overlook the CAT sponsored Lola B2K's from Le Mans a while back which was smokey and ugly - and other deisels from the past.) I think it is important to have manufacturers pushing the technology in motorsports. If it is Audi Sport North America or whoever treat ALMS like a business I don't really see what's wrong with that. I'm of the mind that it is important to have manufacturers involved in motorsports and why would they be here if they couldn't justify it as a way to advertise or make money in any way?

m.piedgros
 
I think Audi should either leave ALMS or be penalized heavily on every race with weight ballast. They've ruined the sport. I'm tired of seeing their R8/R10 win every race. I want to see someone else win races. I would be incredibly happy if someone other than Audi would win the Le Mans as well.
 
It's like Hendrick Motorsports this season, The Patriots, Ferrari and Renault, and the Yankees. They win every time.

Time to move on to something else, Audi. How about a TT WRC car? A Formula 1 Car?
 
I want to reitterate, Audi seem to pull a lot of wins out by the skin of their teeth. In no way am I saying that this dominance is good by any means. I just think until Audi or Peugeot start contracting their engine shops to build deisels for the common man, like Audi have done with their FSI power, I think the P1 class is essentially moot. Factory deisels will win, Le Mans may be a five car barn burner, but LMS and ALMS will not see the great competition in P1 that they will see in P2, and GT2 especially, and in Europe GT1 as well.

m.piedgros
 
Come on guys, lets give credit here. I LOVE watching ALMS competitions (it's my favorite racing series, and I watch about 5 of them), and yes, Audi beats the crap out of the competition almost every time, but is it bad for the sport to have a team build a car, WITHIN THE RULES, that consistently trounces the competition? You bet it is. Anyone remember Ferrari a few years back? Unbeatable...and it wasn't JUST the driver. This forced teams to develop. And look at the sport. Yeah, there's about 3 teams that are real contenders, but there are now THREE TEAMS, not just one.

Last year's battle between Corvette and Aston Martin was one of the most compelling stories in racing in YEARS...and where's Aston Martin now? licking their wounds overseas and running scared of Corvette? There is a huge vacuum in GT1 and in P1, but I agree w/ m.piedgros here saying there just isn't enough sponsorship around. Grand Am, and i hate to badmouth racing, shouldn't have come about. Watch TV coverage, there's DP class and alsoran, oops, i mean GT class. Grand Am treats GT as the black sheep. why doesn't those teams...and some of the sponsors...jump to ALMS?
 
Its certainly not Audis fault that the R10 is that quick. In fact, Audi is pretty much begging for LMP1 competition in the ALMS - sadly there isnt any.
 
I really wish they just leave the sport. I am sick and tired of seeing Audi win every ALMS race and Le Mans 24hr for that matter. Go away Audi. Nobody wants to watch your factory backing effort rape everyone. Either that, or they just should be penalized with more and more ballast for every race they win. I also really wish that someone would just make the Audi's DNF for like ONE single race so that they don't win every single race. It's just boring to watch them win race after race. Reminds me of '04 season where Schumacher won like every race except Monaco cause he crashed and Spa cause I don't remember why.
 
So long as the Audi is legal I have absolutely no problem with them being here. And none of you should either. The problem isn't Audi, its that nobody in America has come close to Audi since 2005 because there isn't $$ around to develop a car. Aside from being a factory team with $$ Audi has absolutely no advantages. They do however take advantage (as they should) of their status as a factory team. Audi are challenging Creation, Zytek, Lola, and whoever is out there to "come get some" and so far in the R10 era no one has brought very much stiff competition. However there is this little French make in Europe who apparently have built themselves a diesel (of course in the event of Audi beating them at Le Mans they'll remind us that they are not a factory team... french *rolls eyes*) so perhaps a Titanic battle awaits us at Le Mans and don't discount the European P1's or the Intersport and Autocon Creations as those cars proved to be quick in the past and these teams have talked a lot about their development.

m.piedgros
 
If Audi and Corvette are actually running off competition (I'm not 100% sure of that yet) then they will eventually drop out because they are proving nothing. I mean, Corvette is already admitting that they are basically practicing for LeMans. Corvette is proving nothing in America about their name because you have to beat someone to say, "Look, we're better." I believe they are just making a sport.

But if they are running everyone off then eventually the sponsors will have no reason to hang with them and they will leave. If that happens and then suddenly there are many others interested we will know it was for the best that they left.

But I do have to ask everyone, if Audi left and P1 filled up again would you think of them as highly as if they had kept trying until they beat Audi? Would you want to see someone finally say, " I can beat them" or see someone show up in an average car? Does no one else want to design a P1 car? Is there no manufacturer that can build a solid quality vehicle that can put out great performance.

Honestly, the fact that it is quite possible they are either cowering away, refusing to prove themselves, or unable to succeed against Audi makes me question why I would buy any other brand (aside from price).


And why can't any of the companies in NASCAR come up with something? I mean, no one is actually watching NASCAR going, look how well that Ford runs, I think I will buy one of those. Anyone who cares and halfway pays attention knows that the car on the track has as much to do with a Fusion as my Rabbit. If they want to prove themselves they need to step up and beat the best, not two other struggling companies and Toyota.

I am holding out hope that the few P1s left are using older chassis and other's aren't doing anything because they are waiting for the closed cockpits. Why build something now just to have to redesign in a couple of years? I think that if we see no one joining in a couple of years after that then we can complain about Audi all day, but to beat Audi now will require lots of R&D money that would be wasted after a couple of years.

So, it may or may not be Audi. We will have our answer in a couple of years, or if Audi leaves first. But wouldn't we all feel foolish if they left and then no one else came in?
 
We already have one Creation, at Miller we'll have two, we are also gaining a couple Lola's so clearly Audi is not the problem. It is the ACO, and sponsorship that is the problem. We have teams daring to say "I can beat them."

m.piedgros
 
I agree with Foolkiller. Why haven't some of the other ca companies stepped up to plate. For a while Panoz was competitive with the Audi's but since then they haven't really had any competition. Maybe Audi could become an engine suppiler with would great to see what the R10 would do in a different chasis.
 
kjb
I agree with Foolkiller. Why haven't some of the other ca companies stepped up to plate. For a while Panoz was competitive with the Audi's but since then they haven't really had any competition. Maybe Audi could become an engine suppiler with would great to see what the R10 would do in a different chasis.
Click to expand...

Well Audi starts to supply their R8 V8-BiTurbo engine to the Swiss Spirit team in europe. However, they have allready stated that Swiss Spirit will be the only team utilising this engine in the next two years.

But its a start at least...
 
At first glance I saw R8 in your post and the first thing I thought was that the new R8 sports car was going to be in GT2. I am horrible at keeping up with all the regulations, so I am unsure if it would even be allowed, but is this a possibility and could we see a whole new battle in GT2?

What if Audi did dominate two classes? Would they quickly become the hated champion, even more than they seem to be with some fans?
 
Porsche911GT1
I think its partly due to the ACO's fault for giving diesels an advantage. Why can't turbo diesels be limited to 4L, like other turbo engines?
Click to expand...
They already get 9 liters less fuel than gasoline-based cars. There may be a limit to how much they are willing to appear to handicap someone so as not to risk running off a fan and media draw.

Diesels are allowed 5.5L, right? Wouldn't a 4L engine get better economy than the current 5.5L limit, making the fuel tank size an even bigger issue?
 
They only imposed an 81 litre limit after last season but engine capacity rule for turbo diesels being over 5L has there since the start ( i think).

Who knows if lowering it would give better fuel economy. It would lower the Audi's torque. Maybe if they want to get the similar amount of power, they'll have to increase the boost on the turbos. That will negate the fuel economy issue (to some extent)?


In answer to the thread, i think the loss of Audi isn't good for the ALMS. Sure, i don't like to see them win all the time and often get annoyed at them but Porsche and Acura should be in P1.
 
Porsche911GT1
In answer to the thread, i think the loss of Audi isn't good for the ALMS. Sure, i don't like to see them win all the time and often get annoyed at them but Porsche and Acura should be in P1.
Click to expand...
Audi has decided to stay. You don't have to worry about them leaving, at least not yet.
 
MustangSVT
I think Audi should either leave ALMS or be penalized heavily on every race with weight ballast. They've ruined the sport. I'm tired of seeing their R8/R10 win every race. I want to see someone else win races. I would be incredibly happy if someone other than Audi would win the Le Mans as well.
Click to expand...

Yeah...
 

Latest Posts

Back