Two eras collide for Peugeot and Audi at Sebring 12 Hours
Posted By Kurt on October 9, 2011
Peugeot and Audi will mark historic events with cars old and new when they do battle at the 12 Hours of Sebring this weekend.
The two teams line up at the US race for the first round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup – the series that is essentially a world championship for sportscar racing in all but name – where one car will race for the final time just as another makes its debut.
Audi has dominated sportscars for the past decade, last year winning Le Mans for the ninth time since 2000 – and the first there for the R15 TDI – as well as notching up nine victories at Sebring, most recently in 2009 with the diesel-powered R15 TDI. This weekend brings an end to the R15 story as the German manufacturer looks to the future with a completely new coupe model.
British driver Allan McNish spearheads the team’s ILMC campaign alongside regular co-drivers Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello, the trio looking to sign off the R15 TDI sportscar’s career on a winning note.
“We’ll be trying hard to give the old girl one last victory in its 10th and final scheduled race,” McNish said. “Tom, Dindo and I gave the R15 TDI a debut race win at Sebring in 2009, the first of three race wins this particular Audi model scored over the past two years.
“The last win for the R15 TDI was at Le Mans last year when Audi achieved a fabulous 1-2-3 result while Tom and I were very close to adding to that tally in my last race in China last November. So we know the R15 TDI’s reliability record and its performance envelope so believe we can take the chase to the competition.”
A field of more than 50 cars is expected to contest the 59th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring with the McNish car backed up by the sister R15 TDI of 2010 Le Mans 24 Hour-winners Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller while Peugeot brings two teams to compete at the 3.7 mile Sebring International Raceway as well as a brand new car.
It may have the same name as the previous version, but the Peugeot 908 is an all-new model that the French manufacturer hopes will bring success to last year’s Sebring-winning trio of Alexander Wurz, Marc Gen and Anthony Davidson. The second car will be driven by Franck Montagny, St phane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy.
Peugeot team boss Olivier Quesnel is targeting a win at Sebring but insists the ultimate aim is victory at the big one – Le Mans – in June.
“[Sebring] is an unusual event, where there is always a lot of incidents in the race”, Quesnel said. “It’s a typically American race with a lot of safety car periods and different rules to those at Le Mans, especially in terms of pit stops. It can all change in a flash! So it’s a great test.
“We need to be ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, whilst keeping a close eye on the championship,” he continued, stressing that, “first and foremost, our aim is to win the race in June”.
The ILMC has proved popular this year with eight manufacturers committing themselves to the series, including Aston Martin, which for the first time has built its own car, the AMR-ONE, although it won’t make its debut at Sebring. Instead Aston will compete with a Vantage in the LM GTE-Am category.
Other manufacturers confirmed for the series include BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche and Lotus while three more – Toyota, Honda and Nissan – are providing direct backing for private teams as engine suppliers.
You can watch the race live on Motors TV with coverage starting at 2pm on Saturday. Meanwhile, click on the video above to watch the opening minutes from 2010.
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