Drivers with Audi Sport Team Joest have dominated the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans over the past 12 years. This motorsports team has won the endurance event ten times during that period, showing the automaker’s prowess in auto racing. Audi is making waves by including two hybrid versions of the LMP1 racer in their four-team contingent at Le Mans. The racing team has shown a willingness to use new technology during competition including victorious runs with a TFSI engine in 2001 and the diesel R10 TDI in 2006.
Audi plans a full presentation of the hybrid drive system used in the LMP1 by the end of this month. The racing team will continue to race standard racers during the FIA World Endurance Championship in the upcoming year. Audi Sport Team Joest will start at the World Championship’s inaugural event in March with the traditional R18 TDI that won the series in 2011. The hybrid racers are slated for individual events including the 12-hour Sebring race as well as the six-hour Spa-Francorchamps race in Belgium. The Spa-Francorchamps race is traditionally viewed as a warm-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The racing team involved in Audi’s inaugural hybrid run includes Timo Bernhard, Oliver Jarvis, Allan McNish and Andre Lotterer. Each driver is assigned to a vehicle throughout the competition, which helps the team gain comfort with new technology. Audi Motorsport has tweaked the body designs as well as drive systems in their race cars to enhance performance in 2012. The LMP1, the R18 TDI and other racers produced by Audi feature lightweight composite bodies that reduce curb weight for reduced drag.
The sudden wave of hybrid vehicles hitting the auto racing world is encouraging for automakers committed to sustainability. Auto racing is incredibly popular in the Americas and Europe in particular, drawing considerable ad revenue and public attention. Racing fans expect their favorite drivers and teams to use vehicles that achieve peak performance on the track. Audi Sport Team Joest and their competitors are demonstrating the ability of hybrid vehicles to produce enough power to compete at the highest level. This demonstration should boost the prospects for green vehicle sales by consumers wowed by hybrid performance on race tracks.
