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That’s why the Audi R8 must now, in the intervening period, manage with less power (approximately 550 instead of the original 610 hp) and a narrower rear wing. Nonetheless, the Audi R8 is still in a class of its own particularly over the race distance. The importance of the model designation “R8” was puzzled over for a long time. The explanation is simple: Since the legendary original quattro, Audi has numbered all internal vehicle projects consecutively. With the R8, the project name also became the official vehicle name and is now synonymous for the world’s most successful Le Mans prototype.

The race winning Audi R8 at Lime Rock spotted a sticker saying “My other car is a diesel”. Quotes after the race at Lime Rock Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “This is a big achievement to stop a great career with a victory and especially with the 50th victory in the American Le Mans Series which for sure is again something that comes into the history books. It’s great to finish a big story of a great car. Thanks to the drivers, thanks to the team – this was an excellent performance.” Dindo Capello (Audi R8 #2): “I was surprised just how good and fast we were after the opening three laps, just like at Houston. Our pit strategy was absolutely perfect and the team did a great job. Allan was very fast throughout and despite the misunderstanding by the pit lane marshal on our final stop, nothing was going to stop us with the R8 this good today. Apart from this race, other highlights with the R8 for me include claiming pole-position at the Nurburgring in 2000 – the first time the Audi R8 had raced in Germany – and of course my 2004 Le Mans victory.” Allan McNish (Audi R8 #2): “It’s a very proud day for the team, Dindo and I – to personally give the R8 a final win here is unbelievable. We all had to pull out 110% to score this victory – the car, drivers and team – but the R8 stood up to it as she always does. I’ve had so many other highs with the R8. My first R8 win – with Dindo – at Sears Point in 2000, Adelaide that year where we clinched Audi’s first ALMS title, my victory for Audi UK at Sebring in 2004 and last year’s Silverstone 1,000km victory in atrocious weather conditions. If I enjoy the same kind of success with the R10 TDI that I have enjoyed with this car, I’ll personally be highly delighted.” Dave Maraj (Team Director, Team Audi Sport North America): “It was an amazing race. Great driving and great team work.

I don’t think that anyone would have thought it possible for the two cars to end up in the top ten after those heavy crashes.“ Le Mans results 1 Ara/Capello/Kristensen (Audi R8) 379 laps 2 Davies/Herbert/Smith (Audi R8) + 41.354s 3 Lehto/Werner/Pirro (Audi R8) - 11 laps 4 Ayari/Comas/Treluyer (Pescarolo-Judd) - 17 laps 5 Biela/Kaffer/McNish (Audi R8) - 29 laps 6 Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen (Chevrolet) - 34 laps 7 Lammers/Dyson/Kaneishi (Dome-Judd) - 38 laps 8 Fellows/O’Connell/Papis (Chevrolet) - 45 laps 9 McRae/Rydell/Turner (Ferrari) - 50 laps 10 Maassen/Bergmeister/Long (Porsche) - 52 laps

Wolfgang Ullrich, under whose leadership the R8 LMS was developed. “I think we managed this exceptionally well.” The Audi R8 LMS cost 298,000 Euro (net). Audi Sport customer racing guarantees worldwide spare parts supply via the Audi groups logistic department and is on location at the most important European races with technicians and service trucks. Furthermore, the Audi race experience offers Audi customers the unique possibility of achieving a racing license and booking cost-effective races with the R8 LMS around the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife. The 100th win for the Audi R8 LMS was recorded by Hitotsuyama Racing in the GT3 Asia Series at Suzuka.

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 1 Capello/McNish (Audi R8) 143 laps 2 Gavin/Beretta (Chevrolet) – 5 laps 3 Fellows/O’Connell (Chevrolet) – 5 laps 4 Enge/Turner (Aston Martin) – 6 laps 5 Lamy/Sarrazin (Aston Martin) – 6 laps 6 Weaver/Leitzinger (Lola-AER) – 9 laps

Christopher Mies (Audi Top Service R8 LMS #1) “This victory is fantastic because my race wasn’t exactly easy. A Ferrari overtook us early on. Christer (Jöns) took over the car later and then I was driving in rain again. We were running far in front when my rear wheels locked when I was braking into the last turn. So I slipped into the gravel trap. We truly experienced some highs and lows. In the end, we won with a lead of a little over a minute. In rain we were five seconds faster some of the time than our sister car and the Mercedes that ultimately finished as the runner-up. We also made the quickest pit stops. At the end, I had tears in my eyes because this victory was the result of an ultra-tough battle in incredibly bad weather against strong rivals.” Darryl O’Young (Audi Top Service R8 LMS #1) “The team was tremendous. The cooperation between quattro GmbH and Phoenix Racing was fantastic. As well as for Phoenix, Australia was new territory for Christer Jöns, who did a first-class job of driving. For me, it’s been one of my toughest races due to the constantly changing conditions. There was a lot of hydroplaning and at times we had to drive on slicks in the rain. A fantastic showing by all. Many thanks from me to the whole squad.” Mark Eddy (Audi Finance R8 LMS #2) “Working with Phoenix Racing was great fun. We were competitive throughout the weekend and the team did a really good job. In the race both Audi cars were running at the front some of the time but as the race progressed conditions became more difficult due to rain and fog. Unfortunately, I then had the accident on the mountain and we retired. I let a warning message on the cockpit display briefly distract me. Now I’m hoping for better luck next weekend when the Australian GT Championship opens at which I’m competing with my own R8 LMS.” Craig Lowndes (Audi Finance R8 LMS #2) “It was great having contested a race again in the Audi R8 LMS. Phoenix Racing is top-notch and gave us a very warm welcome.

The racing car has won the 24 Hours on the Nürburgring five times since 2012 Edition model pays tribute to the legendary victories in the “Green Hell” Paint finish in Tioman green, interior with Alcantara and exclusive contrasting stitching V10 naturally aspirated engine with 620 PS, zero to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 3.1 seconds The Audi R8 LMS has notched up five overall victories since 2012 in the 24 Hours on the Nürburgring – the “Green Hell” –, which is regarded as one of the world’s toughest and most popular endurance races. As a tribute to the great success story, Audi Sport GmbH is presenting a limited special edition of the road sports car at this year’s race on the Nürburgring – the R8 green hell. “We are synonymous with high performance – in both series production and motorsport,” says Julius Seebach, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH. “The R8 road sports car and the R8 LMS racing car were designed and developed jointly; around half of their parts are identical. The R8 green hell edition model draws on the proximity to motorsport, while also paying tribute to our legendary victories on the Nürburgring.” The close connection between road sports car and racing car is also underscored at this year’s 24 Hours on the Nürburgring race. The GT3 racing car with number 1, which is used by the Audi Sport Team Phoenix, is visually adapted to the R8 green hell with its foil wrap in dark green. Nico Müller/Frank Stippler/Dries Vanthoor/Frédéric Vervisch (CH/D/B/B), all of whom have won the race at least once, are the four Audi drivers that will take turns behind the wheel of the R8 LMS. Two-time winner Frank Stippler in particular, who knows the “Green Hell” better than most, has close ties with the R8.

The Audi R8 LMS ultra is developed, built, sold and supported by the quattro GmbH. More than 50 per cent of the race car is based on the production line R8 model. In the meantime, 120 examples of the GT3 racecar were delivered worldwide to customers. – End –