Since it's 2006 debut, the Audi R10 TDI has raced exclusively in the American Le Mans Series except for the annual June trek to France for the big all-day race. This past weekend a pair of R10s campaigned by the Joest team made their first run in the European Le Mans series with a second place finish in season opener at Barcelona. The Audis were again competing against the pair of Peugeot 908 HDi coupes which won the European championship last year. The Audi of Dindo Capello and Allan McNish finished second to the Peugeot of Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gené. The second Audi and Peugeot finished 5th and 6th respectively. The Barcelona race, like most of the European races, was more of an endurance run with a length of 1,000km compared to the 2-3 hour sprints that make up most of the American series. Audi is planning to run both the full European and American seasons this year with Joest handling the duties overseas while Champion Racing campaigns the cars in the ALMS. Unfortunately, it appears that we won't be seeing the Peugeots stateside again this year. Hopefully they will at least come over to participate in the Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta in the fall.
Peugeot may well be the first team to run a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans and it looks like it will be a diesel, too. New Peugeot CEO recently told the French paper L'Equipe that a diesel-hybrid prototype is currently under development and that it may make some trial runs as soon as this June at Le Mans. Collin also said the car would begin racing in 2009. Peugeot Sport team manager Serge Saulnier, however, is being a little more cautious, acknowledging that a diesel hybrid is in the works. However, Saulnier would not confirm when the car would appear in public. Peugeot has already shown several diesel hybrid concepts based on production 307s and 308s and has acknowledged that they are planning to introduce such a powertrain in the next few years. Toyota may also be making a return to Le Mans as soon as 2010 possibly with a gas-electric hybrid. Let's just hope they bring some of these cars over to the American Le Mans Series and really spice things up.
According to AFP, the Japanese newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun is reporting Toyota plans to bring a hybrid to the Le Mans 24 hour race in France. An unnamed Toyota official told Yomiuri Shimbun, "Audi proved the superiority of the next generation diesel engine at Le Mans. Toyota wants to do the same with the hybrid." Yomiuri Shimbun also says that to make a hybrid race car, "Toyota has to significantly reduce the vehicle's weight and increase its efficiency." Toyota last raced in Le Mans in 1999 and placed second but now hopes a hybrid race car will take them to victory.
Update: The original article which also mentions Toyota will use a "special capacitor."
After some earlier speculation that Audi might scale back their 2008 race program for the R10 TDI, the Ingolstadt brand has just announced their plans for next year. The R10 has been lacking in competition in the LMP1 category although the LMP2 Porsches and Acuras have given them a serious run this year including multiple overall victories in the ALMS. The fans' worries were all for naught. The R10s will be back for a third full season in the American Le Mans Series and will also contest the Le Mans Series in Europe. In addition, three of the R10s will show up at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. This will give the Audis the opportunity to run the full European racing series against the Peugeot 908 HDis.
For the past two seasons, diesel-powered racers from Audi and Peugeot have been the dominant force in sports car racing at Le Mans. For 2008, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, which sanctions the twenty-four hours of Le Mans, has made adjustments to try and even up the competition. All the top category LMP1 cars like the Audi R10 and Peugeot 908 have their minimum weights set at 900 kg. The cars all use air restrictors to limit their power capability, but the gas-engined cars will get three percent increase compared to 2007. So far, there is no change to the fuel capacity that would negate the diesels fuel economy advantage.
