Audi at Le Mans, a racing history #blogpost by McLaren 570GT

Hi there, for this blogpost I will be explaining the Audi endurance cars in endurance racing, specifically Le Mans 24 hours. Because Audi is pulling out of endurance racing, I figured it would be a fitting send off to write about a one of the most successful racing teams I’ve ever seen.

Audi sport joined Le Mans 24 hours in the late 1990s with the Audi R8R and R8C

While they raced at 24 hours, Audi’s first of 13 wins came with the R8 in the year 2000. It won from 2000-2002, then in 2004 and 2005. So already Audi R8 has won 30% of the team’s total victories at 24 hours. It had a 3.6L twin turbo V8 and a 6 speed sequential manual sending power to the rear wheels. It was replaced in 2006 by the Audi R10 TDI

The Audi R10 TDI cane along in 2006 to replace the R8 and had a 5.5L V12 Turbodiesel engine!! It made 650 horsepower and 1100 NM of torque (811 LB-FT). It won Le Mans from 2006-2008. It had a 5 speed sequential manual as opposed to the 6 speed used before.

The successor to the R10 TDI was the R15 TDI. This had a 5.5L Mid mounted twin turbo V10 diesel. It had a 5 speed sequential going to the rear wheels. It won once during its endurance racing career, in 2010. It lost in 2009 to its rival, the Peugeot 908 HDI.

The most recent Audi R car is the R18. It debuted in 2011 to replace the R15. It had a 3.7L V6 which was later upgraded to 4.0L. It was the first Audi since the R8C to feature a closed cockpit and the first Audi to feature a hybrid system. The R18 has won 4 times at 24 hours of Le Mans since 2011. Then came 2015 season came and Audi lost to Porsche at their hunting grounds after a difficult season for Audi they revolutionized their R18 to a very different looking LMP1 car again it lost to Porsche and by the end of the season Audi announced their retirement ending the 2016 season with a 1-2 finish at Bahrain