Audi R10 TDI versus Harrier “Jump Jet”

[ZeTurbo]

Audi R10 TDI versus Harrier “Jump Jet”

Audi's history-making diesel-powered R10 TDI sports-prototype, which won the Le Mans 24 Hours last month, came close to beating a Harrier GR7 "Jump Jet" multi-role combat aircraft in a race at RAF Wittering in England yesterday (6 July).

The actual Le Mans race winning Audi R10 TDI with Scotsman Allan McNish at the wheel, sped down a taxi-way racing a Harrier aircraft on an adjacent runway from a standing start in a one-kilometre race.
Image
(c) Audi Motorsport

The contest, staged at the annual Family & Friends Day at the RAF base near Peterborough in front of a 5,000 crowd, ended in a close victory for the Harrier - by one-tenth of a second.

The Audi, the first diesel-engined sportscar to win the famous Le Mans race, was quicker off the line - despite the R10 TDI being designed to start races from a “rolling” as opposed a “standing” start and faster to 150mph than the aircraft.

But the Harrier, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Pete Keenlyside, the 2006 Harrier display pilot, ultimately just beat the Audi to the 1km by literally a “nose” before the jet took off in a spectacular vertical climb.

“I had a practice run against the Harrier moments before the race ‘proper’ and I came very close to beating it - it was a very close run contest, confirmed Dumfries-born McNish.

“It was essentially a ‘fun’ race but when a racing driver and a pilot get together it quickly becomes serious. For our diesel-powered Audi, which we didn’t modify or prepare specifically for this event in any way, to come so close to beating a Harrier jet-fighter I believe was a tremendous achievement once again for TDI power.”

Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro/Marco Werner scored Audi's sixth Le Mans 24 Hour race win last month (17-18 Jun) - the first with the turbo diesel-powered R10 TDI making its début in the annual French race. Allan McNish/Dindo Capello/Tom Kristensen finished third in their Audi R10 TDI. McNish demonstrates the Audi R10 TDI and a 1936 Auto Union C-Type at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex this weekend (7-9 Jul).

From www.planetlemans.com

impressive stuff!!

[The_Canuck]

Lol loads of torque!

[MrKipling]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Lol loads of torque!

Turn ya drive shaft to paste dagnammit.

[Coventrysucks]

They're quite smokey those R10s...

Damned impressive though.

[ZeTurbo]

Usually in these sort of races, the car is allways faster in the first few 100 meters. But the R10 was still in it after 1km... allthough the jest must have been passing it at some speed, it still took a whole kilometer to do it.

[Birdman002]

any car that keeps up with a Jet in general is very impressive damn Audi is kickin ass winnin Lemans and keepin up wit a harrier

[carsnut]

so that would mean a mclaren-mercedes mp4/20 should be able to beat the jet

[Lagonda]

Originally Posted by Coventrysucks

They're quite smokey those R10s...

Damned impressive though.

Well it IS an Audi diesel.. They all smoke like chimneys.

[hec16]

Originally Posted by carsnut

so that would mean a mclaren-mercedes mp4/20 should be able to beat the jet

well I think it does I don't really remember if schumacher beated the jet he raced against in the ferrari F1 car

[ZeTurbo]

Originally Posted by hec16

well I think it does I don't really remember if schumacher beated the jet he raced against in the ferrari F1 car

I remebe that race, and it seems to me that the jet overtakes the car rather quickly, surely not a kilometer if i recall correctly... which is quite odd since a F1 car SHOULD be quicker than the R10... Maybe the pilot was distracted looking at the R10

[QBridge]

This is history in the making here and nobody filmed it to post up on the web. What the ****? I don't want to read about it. I want to see it.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Lagonda

Well it IS an Audi diesel.. They all smoke like chimneys.

Eyewitnesses confirm that the Audi only smoked when starting. The rest of the time the particulate filter took care of the exhaust fumes.

[QBridge]

Originally Posted by henk4

Eyewitnesses confirm that the Audi only smoked when starting. The rest of the time the particulate filter took care of the exhaust fumes.

Even so it sucks to be racing behind that diesel because I drove behind modern diesels and the smoke will smother you.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by QBridge

Even so it sucks to be racing behind that diesel because I drove behind modern diesels and the smoke will smother you.

not all modern diesels have a filter. In particular the German industry was very late in adopting this technology, that was already introduced by Peugeot/Citroen in 2000. I would invite you to take ride behind my 2002 Citroen

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by QBridge

Even so it sucks to be racing behind that diesel because I drove behind modern diesels and the smoke will smother you.

So you drove in the Sebring 12 Hours or the 24 Hours of Le Mans?