Tribute video to the legendary Audi R8 Le Mans winner

By Johan Laubscher

For many Audi fans, myself included, when you think of Le Mans you think of one car, and only one car. The car that took Audi’s first Le Mans win and went on to collecting four more triumphs at Le Mans. The car that remained the car to beat for six years, six years is a lifetime in a race car’s lifespan and this car remained the car to beat until new rules finally retired it from its dominance. This can only be one car: the legendary Audi R8.

This video by DTMEnthusiast on youtube is a few years old now but it still successfully captures the Audi R8’s spirit at Le Mans, it remains one of my favourite videos and one that Audi fans will really enjoy. It is a tribute to the car I call the “good old girl” which to this day is one of my favourite all time race cars. Enjoy the video:

Audi R8 Le Mans Tribute

Audi 9 Overall Victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring

By Tarek Ramchani

Since the debut of the Audi sportscar program with Le Mans prototypes, the German brand has always competed at the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring

It all started back in 1999, with the all new Audi R8R. The car didn't win but took an honourable third overall. A year later, Audi's Sebring winning legacy started with the Audi R8. The car gave Audi six straight outright wins at Florida's classic from 2000 to 2005. In 2006 a brand new car and new technology debuted at Sebring, the Audi R10 TDI. The car was immediately victorious, winning the race in both 2006 and 2007. The last ever win for Audi at Sebring dates back to 2009 with the Audi R15 TDI. The Audi R18 will try this year to bring Audi its tenth overall victory in the prestigious endurance race, second only worldwide to Le Mans.

Here is a complete round up of the nine outright victories of the Audi brand at Sebring.

2000:
The race debut of the legendary Audi R8. Two cars entered the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2000. With strong competition coming from Panoz and mainly from the 1999 Le Mans winners BMW with their V12 LMR. Audi won the race with a fantastic 1-2 victory for Audi Sport Team Joest. The winning drivers were Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela and Tom Kristensen. Second and finishing on the lead lap, the #77 Audi R8 with Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Rinaldo Capello.

2001:
For 2001, no less than four Audi R8 cars entered the 12 Hours of Sebring. Two fielded by the factory Audi Sport Team Joest and the others were privately run cars from Champion Racing and Johansson Motorsport. A stunning 1-2-3-4 Audi win. Victory went to the #1 Audi R8 driven by Dindo Capello, Laurent Aiello and the late Michele Alboreto. Again the sister car finished on the lead lap, the #2 Audi of Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela and Tom Kristensen.

2002:
The 2002 race was the final one for Audi as a full factory team with the Audi R8. Three cars entered the race. Two fielded by Audi Sport Team Joest and the third a privateer car from the American team, Champion Racing. The Audis battled with each other, but also had to attend to the strong Panoz team and the growing competitors of Team Cadillac. After a much fought race, victory went to the #2 Audi in hands of Dindo Capello, Christian Pescatori and Johnny Herbert. The #38 Champion Racing car finished in a strong second place, a lap behind the winning car, with drivers Andy Wallace, Jan Lammers and Stefan Johansson.

2003:
The 2003 season and a new era for the Audi R8. With the full factory Audi Sport program being over, all the teams were privateers on both sides of the Atlantic. For the 12 Hours of Sebring three Audi R8 cars were entered. Team Joest. Champion Racing and Audi Sport UK each fielding a single car. The factory Team Bentley also entered the race with their new Speed 8 GTPs. After a titanic battle between Joest Racing and Champion Racing, the German team was victorious. The #1 Audi R8 took race win with drivers Frank Biela, Marko Werner and Philip Peter. The #38 Champion R8 finished in second on the lead lap with Emanuele Pirro, JJ Lehto and Stefan Johansson.

2004:
For 2004, Joest Racing stopped their sportscar efforts after four straight victories at Sebring. Three Audi R8 cars entered the 12 hour race. Two from Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx, and a single car from Champion Racing. The three cars gave Audi a clean 1-2-3 win. Victory in the end for the #28 Audi R8 of Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx with drivers Allan McNish, Pierre Kaffer and Frank Biela. Champion Racing with Emanuele Pirro, JJ Lehto and Marco Werner finished in second, but five laps down from the winning car.

2005:
The final race of the Audi R8 at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Only two cars entered the 2005 race. The two Audi R8s from team Champion Racing, the reigning ALMS champions. While facing a very small field of LMP1 competitors, the two Champion R8s battled with each other during the whole race. In the end a 1-2 victory with the #1 machine taking the overall win with drivers Tom Kristensen, JJ Lehto and Marco Werner. The #2 Audi was driven by Allan McNish, Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela. A few months later, the Audi R8 won its final ever race at Le Mans 24 Hours.

2006:
A new car and a new technology. Audi made history by debuting in and winning a major international race with a Diesel powered race car. Audi Sport Team Joest was back to Sebring as a full factory team, the only American race for them, as they were preparing Le Mans 24 Hours. The brand new Audi R10 TDI stormed Florida's race taking victory with the #2 car of Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen. The #1 Audi failed to finish, the car was driven by Emanuel Pirro, Frank Biela and Marco Werner.

2007:
The Audi R10 TDI was back to defend its 2006 crown. Two cars entered by Audi Sport Team Joest (under Audi Sport North America name). Once again the competition wasn't that strong in LMP1. The challenger this time came from the lower LMP2 cars, with factory teams from Porsche and Acura. The Joest team won the race in the end with the #2 Audi R10 TDI of Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela and Marco Werner. The sister #1 car driven by Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen faced some problems and finished fourth overall, 11 laps behind the winning car. This is the last victory for the Audi R10 TDI at Sebring.

2009:
In 2008 Audi failed to win Sebring for the first time since 2000. The victory went to Penske Racing and their Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 machine. For 2009 Audi Sport replaced the three year old Audi R10 TDI with the new LMP1 challenger, the Audi R15 TDI. Yet again the race debut for the new car was at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Peugeot and new comers from Acura in the top LMP1 class were the rivals to beat. The race against the Peugeots proved to be one of the most fought for Audi in Florida. In the end the #2 Audi R15 TDI won the race overall with drivers Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen, just ahead of the second placed #08 Peugeot 908. The sister #1 Audi of Lucas Luhr, Marco Werner and Mike Rockenfeller finished in third, 2 laps down.

The Audi R8 legend lives on

By Johan Laubscher

The Audi R8 was one of the highlights in Audi's long and prestigious motorsport history. The car that dominated the first half of the decade of the new millennium with 63 wins in 80 races. The car graced the race tracks of the world from 2000 to 2006 and went on to win its final race at Lime Rock in 2006 in the ALMS.

The old girl was retired in 2006 being replaced by the then new Audi R10 TDI race car. This was however not the end to the legend that was the Audi R8. Since it was retired the first Audi sportscar for the road, the mid engined Audi R8 was launched in 2006 and quickly became a force to be reckoned with on the market. Baring the name “R8” it paid tribute to the legendary race car. A racing version of the road car, the R8 LMS (R16) debuted in 2009 and quickly became the most successful GT3 specification race car, notching up over a hundred race wins and many championship titles.

The R8 name is in good shape, being represented by both the road cars and the R8 LMS, but there is another side to this story. There are indeed still Audi R8 LMP cars racing today. Historic racing is a very popular formula which allows different cars from yesteryear to once again compete. The historic racing scene is very healthy in North America and there are some gems from Audi taking part. Various old Audi R8 LMP cars are still taking part in these historic races in a category for modern sports prototypes. It is interesting to note that the R8 LMP actually started racing in these historic series in 2003, hard to imagine these cars competing in histories while the R8 was still actively competing in race series around the world. There were clients/owners of R8s that wanted to compete in histories. Special waivers were allowed in the rules to allow for modern LMP prototypes to compete and #405 and #403 started competing.  At present there are three Audi R8 LMPs competing in America. GMT Racing competes with Audi R8 #606 owned and driven by Travis Engen. Rogers Motorsport has two Audi R8s #405 and #607 which are driven by Andy Wallace, Doug Smith and Bill Adam. The two 2005 specification R8s, #606 and #607 actually have an interesting story. They are affectionately referred to as the “clones.” The last versions of the Audi R8 were all based on the R8 developed in 2002, the 600 chassis series. Officially only five chassis were built of this version #601 - #605. #606 was built from Audi R8 parts in 2005 and used for testing in America while #607 was built in 2009 using parts left over from the retired R8 program. The cars were not officially assembled by Audi in Germany, but they were given homologation papers and thus #606 and #607 were born.

In recent years a few other Audi R8 LMP cars also competed in America. #403 competed in the historic racing being driven by owner Aaron Hsu with #501 and the 2001 Bentley #002-3 also being added to his collection. He raced with all three cars. #403 was eventually sold to a British collector who restored the car back to Gulf racing colours and the car is now part of the ROFGO Gulf collection by Duncan Hamilton. #501 and the Bentley were sold to George Stauffer who competes with #501 at events based at Road America.

The ongoing racing legacy of the R8 LMP is thanks to the people and teams that maintain these cars and prepare them for races. Rogers Motorsport and GMT Racing do a great job in preparing their cars and special mention must be given to Kettler Motor Werks. Brad Kettler has been instrumental in keeping these cars alive and on the track. His company specialises in Audi R8s, among other things. They ensure the R8s still competing are well looked after. Kettler Motor Werks organised a special test day for all the R8s in America in 2008 at Sebring, to document and service the cars. Five cars were present at the test (As seen in the cover photo). The Bentley (which has a 3.6 V8 R8 engine) was joined by Audi R8 #605, #403, #405 and #501 at the test. Further test like this may be planned in future.

It is thanks to this kind of hard work which ensures that the Audi R8 still graces race tracks with its presence, and without any surprise the old girl is still winning races today.

More information:

Kettler Motor Werks

GMT Racing

SVRA

Historic Sportscar Racing

Legends of Motorsports

SascoSports

Photos by Kettler Moter Werks (cover photo) and Robyn Pass Handy of SascoSports (photos bellow)

The Rogers Motorsports Audi R8 (#607) at Sebring in 2012

The GMT Racing Audi R8 (#606) at Sebring in 2012

The Audi R8 LMP 63 Outright Victories in Photos

By Tarek Ramchani :

5 Le Mans 24 Hours outright victories, 6 straight American Le Mans Series championship titles, 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series title. Great wins and trophies for the Audi R8 LMP. Here is the full 63 overall wins for the legendary Le Mans racer :

March 18th 2000, 12 Hours of Sebring : Frank Biela - Tom Kristensen - Emanuele Pirro

June 18th 2000, 24 Heures du Mans : Frank Biela - Tom Kristensen - Emanuele Pirro

July 23rd 2000, Grand Prix of Sonoma : Allan McNish - Dindo Capello

August 6th 2000, Grand Prix of Mosport : Allan McNish - Dindo Capello

September 2nd 2000, Grand Prix of Texas : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

September 10th 2000, Grand Prix of Portland : Allan McNish - Dindo Capello

September 30th 2000, Petit Le Mans : Allan McNish - Dindo Capello - Michele Alboreto

October 15th 2000, Monterey Sports Car Championships : Allan McNish - Dindo Capello

October 29th 2000, Grand Prix of Las Vegas : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

December 31st 2000, Race of a Thousand Years : Allan McNish - Dindo Capello

March 4th 2001, Grand Prix of Texas : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

March 17th 2001, 12 Hours of Sebring : Dindo Capello - Michele Alboreto - Laurent Aiello

April 14th 2001, ELMS race at Donington Park : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

May 20th 2001, ELMS race at Jarama : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

June 17th 2001, 24 Heures du Mans : Frank Biela - Tom Kristensen - Emanuele Pirro

July 22nd 2001, Grand Prix of Sonoma : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

August 5th 2001, ELMS race at Most : Stefan Johansson - Patrick Lemarie

August 19th 2001, Grand Prix of Mosport : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

September 9th 2001, Monterey Sports Car Championships : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

October 6th 2001, Petit Le Mans : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

March 16th 2002, 12 Hours of Sebring : Dindo Capello - Johnny Herbert - Christian Pescatori

June 16th 2002, 24 Heures du Mans : Frank Biela - Tom Kristensen - Emanuele Pirro

June 30th 2002, American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

July 17th 2002, Road America 500 : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

August 3rd 2002, Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

August 18th 2002, Grand Prix of Mosport : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

September 22nd 2002, Monterey Sports Car Championships : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

October 5th 2002, American Le Mans Challenge at Miami : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

October 12th 2002, Petit Le Mans : Dindo Capello - Tom Kristensen

March 15th 2003, 12 Hours of Sebring : Frank Biela - Marco Werner - Philip Peter

June 29th 2003, Grand Prix of Atlanta : J.J. Lehto - Johnny Herbert

August 3rd 2003, Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres : Frank Biela - Marco Werner

August 17th 2003, Grand Prix of Mosport : Frank Biela - Marco Werner

August 24th 2003, Road America 500 : J.J. Lehto - Johnny Herbert

August 31st 2003, 1000Km of Spa-Francorchamps : Tom Kristensen - Seiji Ara

September 7th 2003, Monterey Sports Car Championships : Frank Biela - Marco Werner

September 27th 2003, Grand Prix Americas - Miami : J.J. Lehto - Johnny Herbert

October 18th 2003, Petit Le Mans : J.J. Lehto - Johnny Herbert

November 9th 2003, 1000Km du Mans : Tom Kristensen - Seiji Ara

March 20th 2004, 12 Hours of Sebring : Allan McNish - Pierre Kaffer - Frank Biela

May 9th 2004, 1000Km of Monza : Jamie Davies - Johnny Herbert

June 13th 2004, 24 Heures du Mans : Tom Kristensen - Dindo Capello - Seiji Ara

June 27th 2004, American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio : Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

July 4th 2004, 1000Km of the Nurburgring : Allan McNish - Pierre Kaffer

July 5th 2004, New England Grand Prix - Lime Rock : Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

July 18th 2004, Grand Prix of Sonoma : Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

July 25th 2004, Portland Grand Prix : Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

August 14th 2004, 1000Km of Silverstone : Allan McNish - Pierre Kaffer

August 22nd 2004, Road America 500 : Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

September 12th 2004, 1000Km of Spa-Francorchamps : Jamie Davies - Johnny Herbert

September 25th 2004, Petit Le Mans : Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

October 16th 2004, Monterey Sports Car Championships - Johnny Herbert - Pierre Kaffer

March 19th 2005, 12 Hours of Sebring : Tom Kristensen - Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

April 17th 2005, Grand Prix of Atlanta : Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

June 19th 2005, 24 Heures du Mans : Tom Kristensen - Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

July 4th 2005, New England Grand Prix - Lime Rock : Marco Werner - J.J. Lehto

July 17th 2005, Grand Prix of Sonoma : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

July 30th 2005, Portland Grand Prix : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

August 13th 2005, 1000Km of Silverstone : Allan McNish - Stephane Ortelli

August 21 2005, Road America 500 : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

October 1st 2005, Petit Le Mans : Frank Biela - Emanuele Pirro

May 12th 2006, Houston Grand Prix : Allan McNish - Dindo Capello

July 1st 2006, New England Grand Prix - Lime Rock : Allan McNish - Dindo Capello

Hope you enjoyed this photo review.