Audi crying like babies, may quit

After having rules that gave a performance advantage to the diesel powered LeMans cars of Audi and Peugeot, now that the ACO has made the rules fair again for gasoline powered cars Audi are crying like babies. And as they have done in the past, if they are not guaranteed a win they might quit.

The revised regulations, released last week, calls for a significant reduction in power and fuel capacity for diesel-powered cars.

Both Audi’s R18 TDI and the Peugeot 908, which have combined to win each round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup this year, will see a 7 percent smaller air restrictor, a 200 millibar reduction in turbo boost pressure and a 5 liter fuel capacity cut for next year.

According to Audi Sport technical director Dr. Martin Muhlmeier, the measures, aimed at bringing gasoline-powered prototypes back in contention for overall victories, take away too much of their advantage.

“As far as we are concerned, these changes don’t make sense," Muhlmeier said. “Gasoline and diesel engines were already rated fairly, as demonstrated by various measurements.

“It is all too easy for the general public to overlook the fact that the teams that currently use vehicles run on gasoline are nowhere near reaching the full potential of gasoline engines and vehicles as laid down in the regulations.

“Until now, the ACO had a good idea of what this potential was. But now a different point of view has taken precedence."