Audi Adds New Race for Updated R15 TDI Diesel Le Mans Car

Audi Motorsport says it has added an additional campaign to the season's schedule of test runs for the updated Audi R15 TDI Le Mans Prototype race car, entering it in the 8-hour Le Mans Series opener at Le Castellet in France. We write about this because not only because it gives us a chance to spash a neat race car photo on the site but because Audi's work with diesel engines in racing has helped the automaker improve the clean diesel engines in its passenger cars and SUVs (as well as those of parent company Volkswagen). The new schedule means the 600-horsepower R15 TDI, with a revised front-end configuration, will make its debut April 11 in France rather than in May at the 1,000-kilometer (620 miles) Spa-Francorchamps endurance race in Belgium. Those races, designated as test runs, will be tuneups for the R15's competition June 12 and 13 at the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's premier automotive endurance race. The R15 TDI was introduced by Audi during the 2009 season, the replacement for the three-times Le Mans champion R10 TDI that was introduced in 2006. It failed to overcome the challenge from Peugeot's hybrid diesel racer, the 908 HDi, which was equipped with a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS). The two cars will face off again this June.

Tagged as: 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi, Audi Desel, Audi Diesel Race Car, Audi R15 TDI, diesel, Le Mans Series