Audi replacing R10 for 2009??? fact or fary tale?

[KFA-R]

There has been talk of Audi pulling the pin on the R10 and entering a brand new car for 2009 and beyond... anyone got any information about this or is it just media hype?

it seems like it could be true, on paper.. they would have learnt their lesson with entering the aging R8 for as long as they did and now with the 908's really turning up the pace and getting some reliablity over the 24 hours...

[The_Canuck]

Well they'll have to replace it by 2010 I believe, so theres a good chance they'll replace it next year to stay ahead of the Peugeots.

[KFA-R]

but if the new rules haven't been released yet, wouldn't it be best to sit and wait till that happens? just in case they end up having to modify a car like they did with the R8 about 36 million times

[The_Canuck]

They know they're going to have to go with a closed cockpit in the long run, so they may be starting on that project...

[KFA-R]

ok but why is there this push to go back to closed cars? also when do we plan to see these new rules and regs being released?

[togos452]

Both open and closed LMP cars will be allowed.

Motorsport.com: News channel

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Well they'll have to replace it by 2010 I believe, so theres a good chance they'll replace it next year to stay ahead of the Peugeots.

No they won't have to replace it by 2010, the EVO regulations have been shelved for now. But they will replace it for next year. No coupe it seems though.

[KFA-R]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

No they won't have to replace it by 2010, the EVO regulations have been shelved for now. But they will replace it for next year. No coupe it seems though.

is that to keep up with the 908's

was safety the reason they wanted to make all the cars coupe's again?

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by KFA-R

is that to keep up with the 908's

was safety the reason they wanted to make all the cars coupe's again?

Of course it is to keep up with the competition; the R10 was always a bit of a Le Mans special.

The reason for wanting to go Coupe was to have the cars look more closely like the road going cars of the various manufacturers. Nobody, with the exception of Corvette, was really for these 'Evo Regulations', so they have been binned now. There are however imminent rule changes to hopefully stop the cars from flipping over so quickly. Considering the massive flat-bottom surface area of the prototypes this will be quite a task. Apparently there is an ACO commission to look at the future of prototype racing cars headed by none other than Gordon Murray.

[KFA-R]

blind fred could see that the R10 was built to win le mans... and thats it

as you pointed out not sure how that is going to happen with the prototype cars... could mean that the cars will be cut in speed very VERY drematically... this would take away some of the appeal of the cars and maybe some of the coming manufacturers

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by KFA-R

blind fred could see that the R10 was built to win le mans... and thats it

as you pointed out not sure how that is going to happen with the prototype cars... could mean that the cars will be cut in speed very VERY drematically... this would take away some of the appeal of the cars and maybe some of the coming manufacturers

Speed as such is not really the problem. It even happened to an LMP2 car at Le Mans.

[Zytek_Fan]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

No they won't have to replace it by 2010, the EVO regulations have been shelved for now. But they will replace it for next year. No coupe it seems though.

Yep. The ACO decided to scrap the proposed 2010 regs after they and the manufacturers couldn't decide on the best option.

[The_Canuck]

Oh thanks for the clear up guys, I would assume an open cockpit car has more advantages if you ignore aerodynamics anyway...

[Zytek_Fan]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Oh thanks for the clear up guys, I would assume an open cockpit car has more advantages if you ignore aerodynamics anyway...

Easier driver changes, no windows to fog up, don't need any A/C...

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Oh thanks for the clear up guys, I would assume an open cockpit car has more advantages if you ignore aerodynamics anyway...

Yeah who cares about aerodynamics?

Originally Posted by Zytek_Fan

Easier driver changes, no windows to fog up, don't need any A/C...

The Peugeot did not fog up and the A/C gives them a restrictor break. You forgot to mention that a coupe is faster.