Mid-Ohio - July 21, 2007
Second win of the season for Emanuele Pirro/Marco Werner
The Audi R10 TDI remains undefeated in the American Le Mans Series.
In the seventh round at Mid-Ohio, Team Audi Sport North America
achieved a commanding 1-2 victory in the LM P1 class. Emanuele Pirro
(Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) finished third overall missing the
outright victory by just 15.073 seconds. Their team-mates Dindo Capello
(Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) came home in fifth position and
second in the LM P1 class.
Audi R10 TDI 67 of 134 laps in the lead
The Audi R10 TDI made life difficult for the 150-kilograms lighter LM P2
sports cars at Mid-Ohio. On the opening lap, Emanuele Pirro cannoned
himself from eighth on the grid to third position. It took the Audi driver just
seven laps to also pass the two "factory” Porsches with great manouvres
thus taking the overall lead. During the first hour, Pirro was able to open a
lead of more than 10 seconds.
Marco Werner showed a similar strong performance after taking over the
#2 Audi R10 TDI from Pirro. The German also needed only a few laps to
regain the lead which had been lost during the first pit-stop.
Longer stops for refuelling prevent overall victory
Despite being longer in the lead than every other car (67 of 134 laps) and
having the fastest car for much of the race Pirro/Werner, however, in the
end had to settle for third overall because the refuelling stops of the LM
P2 cars were much shorter than the ones of the R10 TDI – a
consequence of the regulations which this year forces diesel sports cars
to run with nine litre smaller fuel tanks.
Dindo Capello and Allan McNish lost all chance for victory as early as on
the opening lap when Capello was pushed off the track by a LM P2 car
into a tyre wall. The #1 Audi R10 TDI dropped to the back of the field. On
top of that the damaged front bodywork had to be changed during the first
pit stop. Consistent fast lap times allowed Allan McNish to get back onto
the lead lap.
Dindo Capello and McNish retained their lead in the Drivers’
Championship. For Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner it was the best
result since the St Petersburg race in April and the end of a long period of
bad luck.
Quotes after the race
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport)
"The R10 TDI was once again the dominating LM P1 car. However, the
much lighter LM P2 cars had a track-related advantage also at Mid-Ohio.
On such tracks the weight difference between the LM P1 and LM P2 cars
is simply too big. On top of that we have the disadvantage of a smaller
fuel tank which was race-decisive today.”
Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #2)
"This was a really great race. As we thought we had a good race set-up.
After the first stint I was hoping we could make it to the finish in first
position overall. But with the smaller fuel tank we are really penalized. The
Porsches beat us in the pits due to their bigger tanks and needing less
fuel. Apart from that I’m really pleased with our performance. All our stints
were really good. On such a race track this was the best result we could
hope for.”
Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #2)
"Generally this was a great race. At the beginning everything looked great
for us. Emanuele (Pirro) had a superb start, he really pushed and passed
many cars taking the lead. After the first stop I was able to bring the car
again to the front. However, at the second stop we simply lost too much
time during refuelling. That’s how the regulations are. Today we lost the
race in the pits because the car and the tyres were perfect.”
Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #1)
"What happened at the start of the race was very bad – our race was
immediately destroyed. We knew that we had a very competitive car for
the race, one that could have allowed us to fight for outright victory. That is
precisely why I wasn’t prepared to take any risks at the start. Stefan
Johansson was aggressive at the green light and I gave him sufficient
room. I was really surprised when he moved over on me and forced me
off the track – I thought someone must have pushed him in to me. My car
was then undriveable – it was a struggle due to the damaged nose
section. Especially in the slow corners I had no grip.”
Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #1)
"A new nose section was fitted on the car when I took over from Dindo
(Capello). I was really able to push hard and my lap times were quick,
fast in traffic, allowing me to unlap myself. This showed what we could
have been capable of had we not suffered at the start – we could have
won this race. It was obviously unsatisfactory that Dindo got taken out
unnecessarily – Stefan (Johansson) had enough room to make the
manoeuvre without compromising us. So while disappointed, I’m
encouraged that we seem to have got back some of our speed in race
trim in comparison to recent races which is good for future.”
Dave Maraj (Team Director Audi Sport North America)
"This was quite an exciting race. I’m a little bit disappointed we weren’t
able to get the overall victory. But it’s quite obvious that the smaller fuel
capacity is hurting us. Porsche was able to short fill and beat us twice out
of the pits.”
The results at Mid-Ohio
1 Dumas/Bernhard (Porsche) 134 laps in 2h 46m 01.062s
2 Maassen/Briscoe (Porsche) + 2.360s
3 Pirro/Werner (Audi R10 TDI) + 15.073s (1st in LM P1)
4 Fernandez/Diaz (Acura/Honda) + 39.352s
5 Capello/McNish (Audi R10 TDI) + 1m 04.633s (2nd in LM P1)
6 Wallace/Leitzinger (Porsche) - 1 lap
7 Dyson/Smith (Porsche) - 1 lap
8 Brabham/Johansson (Acura/Honda) - 2 laps
9 Pickett/Graf (Lola-AER) - 6 laps (3rd in LM P1)
10 Herta/Franchitti (Acura/Honda) - 8 laps
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