Houston - May 13, 2006
Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) extended their
American Le Mans Series lead when they steered their "factory” Audi R8
home to victory in the inaugural Grand Prix in Houston (US state of Texas)
on Friday night. It was the 62nd victory for the most successful Le Mans
prototype from 78 races.
With the Audi R10 TDI currently being prepared in Europe for the 24
Hours of Le Mans (17/18 June), Capello and McNish successfully
reverted to the Audi R8 featuring FSI petrol direct injection technology first
pioneered in 2001. Having scored a historic win in the 12 Hours of
Sebring with the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI, the Anglo-Italian
combination reminded its rivals about the efficiency of the Audi FSI
technology.
Capello started the Audi Sport North America Audi R8 from fourth on the
23-car grid but quickly forced his way in to second place as dusk changed
to full darkness in the race that began at 2000hr.
Excellent pit-strategy enabled McNish, who had taken over from Capello
after 53mins, to "leapfrog” the LM P2 Porsche of Timo Bernhard and
Romain Dumas and in to the lead following the opening scheduled
pit-stops. McNish made a second and final pit-stop for fuel after 97mins,
re-taking the lead with 40mins to run.
The five-year-old Audi R8 proved to be not only reliable and efficient. The
Audi, which Capello had swept to a fastest race lap 0.234secs quicker
than in qualifying, had set a searing pace around the 1.7-mile, 10-corner
temporary "street” circuit constructed in Houston’s Reliant Park,
eventually claiming a comprehensive five-lap victory.
The third round of the American Le Mans Series is at Mid-Ohio (US state
Ohio) next weekend (19-21 May). McNish has never driven at this
2.25-mile road course while Capello knows the undulating course from
2001 and 2002.
Quotes after the race in Houston
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport)
"We are very happy that the R8 can still win races despite being further
handicapped by the regulations. Reliability and the FSI technology were
yet again key factors. Congratulations to the team which had the right
strategy and the drivers who did no mistakes on this difficult track.”
Dindo Capello (Audi R8 #2)
"Our race speed was good from the start which gave me confidence. The
R8 was amazing allowing me to even set a faster time than in qualifying! I
quickly closed the gap on Sascha Maassen and was faster than him. But
I was losing time behind him so our strategy to make a pit-stop early was
correct.”
Allan McNish (Audi R8 #2)
"Possibly one of the hardest races for the Audi R8 on a very demanding,
bumpy and slippery circuit – not ideal for a car originally designed for Le
Mans. Dindo was superb, the team very clever with its pit-stops in a very
tough race. I’m proud to have achieved another win for the Audi R8.”
Dave Maraj (Team Director, Team Audi Sport North America)
"It was a great all-round team performance. Dindo and Allan drove fast
but cleanly while our pit-stop strategy worked to perfection. We forced the
pace and our rivals ultimately broke. The Audi R8 remains a phenomenal
machine and I’m proud to have achieved this latest victory as a ‘factory’
team.”
The results in Houston
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