Audi R18 photos courtesy Audi Sport
Though there were many stories to come out of the 2011 Le Mans testing day, all eyes were on the Audisport with their new R18 prototype and Peugeot with their new 908. This was the first time these two Le Mans juggernauts were on track at the same time with their two new protype racers. Audi’s R18 was consistantly faster in testing than the the new Peugeot 908 with Audi Sport North America’s Tom Kristensen setting the quickest overall lap of 3:27.687 in the #3 R18. Stephane Sarrazin ran the best time for Peugeot with a 3:27.876.
Due to the new regulations imposed by the ACO with more focus on aerodynamics and less on power, the best laptimes were almost 9 seconds off from the 2011 pole time of 3:18.711 set by Sebastien Bourdais in the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP.
The first race pitting the Audi R18 and Peugeot 908 head-to-head happens May 7th at the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamp, which is also the second round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Given that both teams were relatively close in Le Mans testing, the first race should be an exciting one.
RESULTS:
Session 1:
1: Audi R18 TDI no.1, 3’27’’900, 50 laps
2: Audi R18 TD1 no.2, 3’28’’503, 38 laps
3: Audi R18 TD1 no.3, 3’30’’382, 45 laps
4: Peugeot 908 no.8 (Sarrazin, Davidson), 3’30”516, 43 laps
5: Peugeot 908 no.7 (Minassian, Gene), 3’32”549, 59 laps
6: Peugeot 908 no.9 (Wurz, Bourdais), 3’32”578, 32 laps
Full Audi R18 Le Mans Test Day Photo Gallery After The Jump
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