Audi Sport Team Joest has announced that the Audi R15 TDI will return to America to take on Acura and Peugeot at Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta’s thousand-mile endurance classis, on September 26.

Audi will bring two diesel-powered R15 sports racing cars, all driven by Le Mans veterans. Dindo Capello and Allan McNish, who won Sebring in 2006 and Petit Le Mans in 2007 and 2008, will drive one car; Lucas Luhr, and Marco Werner, the other.

"The race at Road Atlanta already marks the first part of our preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010,” said Head of Audi Motorsport, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich in an official Audi press release. "We want to use it as an opportunity for our engineers to learn even more about the new Audi R15 TDI in direct competition with strong rivals. A lot of things can be simulated on test rigs and in track tests. But nothing can replace the experience gathered in actual racing events.”

Petit Le Mans will be only the third competition outing for the new Audis. Many people believe Audi’s 2009 Le Mans loss was the result of insufficient race experience.

The Audis have not raced in the U.S. since winning the Mobil 1 Sebring Twelve Hours in February. At Sebring, the more reliable Audis beat the faster Peugeots by only 22 seconds after twelve hours of racing. The lone LMP1 Acura entry of Patrón Highcroft dropped out with mechanical problems after qualifying fastest.

Audi faced off against Peugeot at Le Mans, losing the race for only the second time this decade. The usually perfect Audi operation missed the setup, leaving the Audis down on speed. One car was retired after an accident; another spent so much time in the pits it was never in the running. The lone surviving Audi finished third, six laps behind the leader.

"We’re convinced that we weren’t able to fully exploit the potential of the R15 TDI at Le Mans,” Dr. Ullrich said. "At Road Atlanta, we’ll have the opportunity to test on Sunday before the race so that we should be in a better position than we were at Le Mans. Despite the strong competition by Acura/Honda, Peugeot, Mazda, Oreca and other prototype teams. we figure on having good chances of fighting for victory, as we did over the past few years.”

The R15’s predecessor, the R10 TDI, was the first Audi—indeed, the first sports racing prototype—to use a turbocharged diesel engine. The R10 was incredibly successful, winning its debut at Sebring in 2006, and winning Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series championship three years’ running. The R10 won 18 races in the ALMS, including winning Petit Le Mans from 2006–2008.

Audi obviously hopes to achieve the same domination in 2010 with the R15.

Besides avenging its on-track defeat, Audi is returning to America to promote its turbo-diesel road cars. The Audi Q7 TDI 3.0 has been available in the USA since the beginning of the year, and the Audi A3 TDI 2.0 will arrive at U.S. dealerships in fall.

Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6 caps a four-day, twelve-race motorsports weekend at Road Atlanta. Please visit the Road Atlanta Web site for more information.

Ingolstadt -- The three driver teams with which Audi Sport Team Joest will tackle the 77th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 13/14 have been confirmed.

The Audi R15 TDI designated as car number "1" will be driven by last year's winners Dindo Capello (Italy), Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Allan McNish (Scotland), the same squad that already won the 12-hour race at Sebring (USA).

The Audi R15 TDI designated as car number "2" also features the same lineup that ran at Sebring: The three Germans Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and Marco Werner will take turns at the wheel of this car.

The (edited)pit of the Audi R15 TDI -- car number "3" -- will be shared by the German Timo Bernhard and the two Frenchmen Romain Dumas and Alexandre Premat.

"The 12-hour race at Sebring was a successful dress rehearsal for us," says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "That's why we didn't make any changes to the driver teams that competed at Sebring. The squad for the third car automatically resulted from this decision. I'm convinced that we've filled the (edited)pits of all three R15 TDI cars at Le Mans with outstanding racers -- also thanks to the two drivers Porsche is providing to us."

The new additions to the team, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, have meanwhile thoroughly familiarized themselves with the Audi R15 TDI in test runs. The first second-generation diesel-powered race sports car has undergone further development since its victorious debut at Sebring, with an aerodynamics package optimized for the Le Mans high-speed track. Because the organizer decided on short notice to increase the minimum weight for diesel vehicles by 30 kilograms, several components of the R15 TDI had to be adapted and evaluated by additional track testing.

For Audi Sport Team Joest, the 77th edition of the endurance classic will start at 2:30 pm on Monday, June 8, with scrutineering in downtown Le Mans. On Wednesday night, a 6-hour free practice session is on the agenda. Qualifying will be held on Thursday night from 7 pm to 9 pm and 10 pm to 12 pm, the race will start at 3 pm on Saturday.

Audi has the chance of clinching its ninth overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, then equaling Ferrari as the runner-up on the perpetual list of the best contenders.

Every light on the new Audi R8 V10 uses LEDs from interior lighting to the headlights

When Audi first introduced its R8 sports car, it turned some heads with its swoopy design and relatively low price tag for the world of exotic cars. The V8 engine that it had at launch was down on power compared to other exotics on the market making it less appealing to the well-heeled buyers the vehicle was meant to attract.

When we think of green automobiles, the first thing that comes to mind is fuel economy. However, there are other aspects to a vehicle that can be green and reduce carbon emissions that have nothing to do with fuel economy. One of those areas is the vehicles lighting according to Audi.

The new Audi R8 sports a much more powerful V10 engine that can push the vehicle to close to 200 MPH. Not only is the vehicle one of the fastest Audi's ever produced, it is the one of the first cars to bear the Audi marquee that will exclusively use power efficient LED lighting everywhere.

LEDs are used for the turn indicators, headlights, running lights and all interior lighting. The headlights used in the new R8 are the first in a completely new generation of LED only headlamps. Head of the Light and Visibility Department at Audi, Dr. Wolfgang Huhn said, "A lot of people initially viewed this development (LED lighting) as a mere marketing gimmick. Yet everyone who has seen these lights in action is not only astonished by the excellent output but also thrilled with the homogenous distribution of light and the agreeable, daylight-esque colour of the light.”

Many high-end cars today use xenon headlights for their brightness and energy-efficient design. A typical xenon headlight puts out about 80 lumens of light per watt. Early LED headlamps that Audi used on vehicles and concepts put out a mere 18 lumens per watt. The new LEDs used in the R8 are able to put out 100 lumens per watt, making them more efficient than xenon headlights for the first time ever.

One of the most interesting aspects of the new LED lighting system used on the R8 is that the light beam from the headlamps can be digitally controlled and changed as the environment changes. The lights can not only offer an indefinite lifespan, but the beam can be brighter when needed and then self-dim by changing the light beam when the vehicle gets close to other vehicles on the road. This helps prevent the possibility of blinding oncoming drivers.

Huhn also said, "We’re striving to create intelligent headlights and taillights which think and anticipate in the interest of enhancing a driver’s safety and comfort. For example, there are already high-beam headlights in pre-series development, which will allow drivers to navigate roads at night without temporarily blinding oncoming drivers. This is made possible by a variable distribution of light: An electronic system continuously calculates the distance to any approaching vehicles to ensure that the road ahead is ideally illuminated at all times – without irritating oncoming drivers."

FRANKFURT, Germany – Audi is pulling out of the American Le Mans Series, ending a dominating nine-year run in which its cars won the LMP1 class championship every season.

Audi motor sports chief Wolfgang Ullrich said Friday the German car maker wanted to concentrate on Europe "in these difficult economic times."

The announcement came on the same day that Honda said it was pulling out of Formula One, as car makers around the world have been hit by massive declines in sales amid the global financial downturn.

Ullrich said the decision to drop out was "a difficult one" since Audi helped establish what he called a "fascinating motor sports series."

"Our brand dominated the last season with seven wins in 11 races," he said.

The racing cars in the series used so-called TDI technology — or Turbocharged Direct Injection for diesel engines — which "perfectly supported" the launch of the technology in the United States, Ullrich said.

Audi will continue to race in the 24-hour race in Le Mans, France, and will also keep its cars in the German touring cars (DTM) series, as well in the 12-hour race in Sebring, Florida.

The 520hp attention getter set for debut



Car and Driver has confirmed Audi plans to introduce the new 2010 Audi R8 V10 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month. Although economic times have lead to Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, and others to drop out of the NAIAS, Audi is looking to score the most attention at the big show.

A new release of this kind will also be a welcomed distraction for journalists and bloggers covering American automakers talking about a return to profitability.

The new 5.2 liter V10 producing 520 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque will not hurt Audi's intent to turn heads. Audi's new engine will make their sports car more competitve with the likes of Lamborghini, as many Audi R8 coupes with a V8 engine are idling on dealer lots in the states. Quad-exhaust will be gone, with larger exhaust tips coming instead. New, larger wheels, and the brakes to match the power upgrade, are expected.

Their new engine is expected to also be available in the convertible, in addition to the current 420 hp V8. The 2010 Audi R8 V10 coupe is expected upon introduction, while the ragtop is planned for a bow in Europe next fall, and a 2010 debut stateside.