My personal take on the Porsche Takeover

With as much profit that Porsche has made from using VW/Audi Chassis and Technologies, I see Porsche tightening its grip on the brands underneath the VAG flag. Porsche in the past had reminded Audi during the development of the Audi RS2 Avant that it did not want to see the group produce an Audi which would go head to head in the open market with its products. The reason the lower HP rating on the Audi S2 coupe was in response to Porsches wishes.
Now lets take a look at the Audi R8 and R10, the current supercars from Audi which is a direct competitor with Porsche 911 and its variants. As much as Audi has been a dominant force in recent motorsport history making I can clearly see Porsche moving Audi away from Racing and into Touringcars or similiar classes of racing. With Audi campaigning a winning Diesel in LMP1 and Porsche with its Spyder RS in the LMP2 class Porsche will inevitability takeon Audis spot in LMP as the brand moves more and more back into its racing heritage. Just from a current standpoint and what Porsche has done in the past, this quite possibly could be the end of an era for Audi as a motorsport innovator and Porsche moving sources to their effort. Much as the VAG did to promote Bentley and the Speed 8 LMP1 which won on its first outing with a full Audi support team.
In a business sense it would be smart to move resources to the Tier 1 marque but having both in racing would cost the company millions at the end. Germany with its nationalist roots has for the past two decades fended off takeovers by outside interests in the automaking sector. If I had to choose one I couldn't.
But the future of takeover will be decided in the Lower Saxony courts and the future is still unstable as to which family will have absolute reign over the Volkswagen Audi Group.

Audi could be taken to court by Daimler for BlueTec Technology infringement.

Audi has confirmed talks with Daimler AG, in response to a patent infringement dispute on Mercedes BlueTec technology, which allows diesel engines to produce lower carbon dioxide emissions.
Daimler is currently investigating if Audi has in fact been using the technology behind BlueTec without Daimlers permission. Since the two German automakers are in talks further litigation is unknown at this time.

Audi bumped from #1 spot on controversial final lap @ Monza

The last 20 laps of the Monza LeMans saw an incredible fight between Audi and Peugeot. Audi tried hard to keep the French marque at bay but it was in the final 2 laps that the N8 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP touched the Audi , which was forced to stop to change a wheel, leaving the Peugeot 908 HDi to take the win. Peugeot now leads by two points ahead of Audi. The season will continue with the race at Spa-Francorchamps where the Peugeot will be joined by Jacques Villeneuve and Alexander Wurz. The Audi and Peugeot lapped within thousandths of a second of each other, which means the fight for the best Diesel powered LMP car has turned into an all out war.

New Audi S4 gets 3.0 litre Supercharged engine

With VW/Audis continuing plan to go green, Audi has announced the new S4 platform will receive a supercharged 3.0 litre V6 producing 340Bhp. The sad fact is quattro GmBH was not set to design the forthcoming S4. It seems the VAG group is concerned about rising fuel costs and is focusing on fuel economics in respect to performance which most Audites have grown accustomed too.

The body will be the same as the base model A4 and will not have any type of distinction aside from the body panels. The newer S4 will feature a new magnetic differential similiar to that found in ZF Technologies version for BMW. Weight is rumoured to be around 3900ilbs which only adds certain dismay concerning the power to weight ratio.

Audi and a possible F1 team ?

There is now a small rumour Audi might chair a seat in F1, although this is just a rumour what is a known fact now is that Hans Stuck former driver for BMW has left and is joining the VW group and has hinted at a possible F1 team in the future. He will currently be a liason titled "Motorsport Representative".

Hockenheimring: Audi race report

New Audi A4 DTM dominates in racing début

o Commanding 1-2-3 victory at Hockenheim DTM opener
o Mattias Ekström wins ahead of Timo Scheider and Tom Kristensen
o Martin Tomczyk shines in fight to make up ground

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim - With a commanding 1-2-3 victory at the Hockenheim DTM season opener Audi yet again, underpinned the brand's slogan "Vorsprung durch Technik", not only on the road but on the circuit. 93,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) witnessed an impressive premiere showing of the new Audi A4 DTM, which outperformed the competition in its racing début, clinching positions one, two, three and five.

The fourth-generation A4 DTM features leading-edge technology with numerous innovative details, particularly in the area of aerodynamics. Using advanced CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) calculations, the engineers intensively worked on the airflow around and through the vehicle. In addition, the technology specialists at Audi Sport managed to lower the vehicle's centre of gravity and achieved a further reduction of the car's dry weight. With the four-litre V8 that delivers approximately 460 hp, the engineers found further development potential as well.

At the season opener at Hockenheim the new Audi A4 DTM was the quickest car straight from the start. In the race the Audi drivers impressively demonstrated that their new "company" car is not only competitive throughout a lap but delivers consistently fast lap times along with immediate reliability. On average, race winner Mattias Ekström beat the best Merc by over half a second per lap - a margin of mammoth proportions in the DTM.

At Hockenheim, the race was crucially determined as early as at the start: Mattias Ekström managed to take off a bit quicker than his team colleague Timo Scheider, who had started from the pole position. The Swede had to briefly relinquish his lead only during the two mandatory pit stops. His eleventh victory in the DTM now makes Ekström the most successful Audi DTM driver of all time.

Timo Scheider followed Mattias Ekström over the entire race distance like a shadow and saw the chequered flag in second place merely 0.824 seconds behind the title defender. By finishing as the runner-up, Scheider repeated his best DTM result so far, achieved in the 2007 season finale.

Tom Kristensen, who had started from position five on the grid, finished third to complete Audi's total triumph. The Dane benefited from perfect pit stops and a good strategy of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, which caused him to move in front of the two Mercedes cars driven by Bruno Spengler and Paul di Resta. Impressive, as well, was Martin Tomczyk's fight to make up ground. Tomczyk had dropped to ninth place at the start, but managed to improve to fifth. Shortly before race end, he even caught up with Bruno Spengler.

Solid performances were also shown by the drivers of the 2007-spec A4 cars: Oliver Jarvis, Mike Rockenfeller, Alexandre Prémat and Markus Winkelhock captured places nine to twelfth, respectively. Finishing the very first DTM race in his career in ninth place, the 24-year-old Brit Oliver Jarvis barely missed scoring a point. Jarvis clearly won the duel between the DTM newcomers against former Formula 1 star Ralf Schumacher.

Katherine Legge finished her first DTM race as well. Her team-mate Christijan Albers retired after a collision with Ralf Schumacher in the early stages of the race.

The Audi squad will not have a lot of time to celebrate its triumph at Hockenheim: as early as next weekend, the second 2008 DTM round is on the agenda at Ochersleben - a circuit on which Audi has traditionally been very strong.

Quotes after the race

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "This is really a superb start for the new Audi A4 DTM. It was obvious that this car delivers very good performance. The front row on the grid and three podium places in the first race - it's hard to wish a better result than this. Martin (Tomczyk) even came extremely close to clinching fourth place. A great achievement by the squad throughout the winter, as well as here on site. We were strong in terms of driving performance, and the pit stops - particularly with the new cars - were sensational. Now we've got a good base. Of course we need to continue working on it to sustain a consistently good performance."

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #1): "The car was simply fantastic. I want to thank Audi Sport and everyone in my team who had a part in creating such a good car. These were the best prerequisites. I was able to really enjoy the race because the car did everything I expect a racing car to do. In the end, we clinched places one to three, which is great for the team. I think after such a good weekend, we definitely deserved this result."

Timo Scheider (GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM #10): "Starting with the completely new developed Audi A4 DTM after the winter break was a difficult task. Nobody would have expected us to strike like this on a circuit that used to be Mercedes territory. I want to really thank Audi and the Abt squad for this brilliant feat. They laid the foundation for what we achieved today. Except for my start, my race was perfect. I had a bit too much wheel spin, that's why Mattias (Ekström) passed me. I wasn't able to follow him too closely because my car would have had more understeer in that case. The car was good enough for winning the race. I think my team and I are strong enough to fight for podium places and also victories on numerous other occasions this year."

Tom Kristensen (Audi A4 DTM #9): "That was a superb race. Having started from fifth position on the grid, it was clear to me that I'd have to fight in a Mercedes sandwich. My crew had a good strategy and performed an excellent pit stop. When I left the pit lane, I fought for half a lap with Bruno Spengler before I was able to get away. A great feeling! But my two team-mates were already too far away at that point so that I took it easier, something I've never done before in the DTM. Places one to three on our rival's home circuit - that's a great feeling."

Martin Tomczyk (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #2): "My race was good even though it hadn't started well. I lost a few places at the start. The car had a great setup and was running very well over the whole distance. After my second pit stop I caught Bruno (Spengler). It was a very tough but always fair duel. I was lacking a tiny bit of speed to overtake him. It was the first race, so a scoring points is more important than trying to force the issue."

Oliver Jarvis (Best Buddies Audi A4 DTM #15): "My start was great and I managed to move forwards to sixth place. In the first two turns, though, I had to let up a bit, and my tyres picked up some dirt, which caused the car to oversteer. When I pitted for the first time, I was in eighth place. Just as I was about to leave the pit lane, Ralf Schumacher came in and I had to stop briefly, which cost me a second. Bernd Schneider overtook us. At that point, our race became very tough. After the second pit stop 'Rocky' was really putting on the pressure. Too bad, that I wasn't able to score a point. Still, it was a good first race."

Mike Rockenfeller (S line Audi A4 DTM #18): "Of course tenth place isn't what we'd been hoping for this weekend. I started from twelfth place. The pace was okay. I had a very good start but lost four places as early as on the first lap. I was too passive for fear of having an accident. I should have attacked more. The performance in the race was okay, but we need to get stronger at Oschersleben. I want to thank my team for their work."

Alexandre Prémat (Audi Bank/Shell Helix Audi A4 DTM #14): "That was a very difficult race. Even the start wasn't good because my tyres were spinning too much and I lost ground. After that, there were some nice position fights. The car was difficult to drive because I didn't find a good setup all weekend. The car consistently changed between under- and oversteer. I am definitely disappointed about eleventh place. But I'm all the more delighted about Audi's places one to three for Mattias (Ekström), Timo (Scheider) and Tom (Kristensen)."

Markus Winkelhock (Playboy Audi A4 DTM #19): "The start was very good but I was driving a bit too defensively. I didn't want to take any risks and so I lost everything. Up to the first pit stop I was caught behind Mathias Lauda. Then we pitted twice in short succession, after which I drove 22 laps in one go. The car felt good, and I fought with Alex Prémat. I could have driven a bit faster but didn't want to take any risks in a fight with other Audi drivers. That's why I only managed to finish in twelfth place. It's unfortunate that we didn't do better in qualifying, otherwise a better result would have been possible."

Katherine Legge (Audi A4 DTM #20): "At my first DTM race the atmosphere was fantastic, which was a pleasant experience. Unfortunately, our race didn't go according to plan because we had a few problems. But we did finish and can learn from this."

Christijan Albers (Audi A4 DTM #21): "We had a very good day on Saturday, but Sunday was a bad day. I had a normal start. After that, I was fighting with Markus Winkelhock and the other Audi drivers. But then Ralf Schumacher came from behind and hit my right front wheel. As a result my suspension broke."

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): "This was a sensational day. I really, really thank everyone. Everybody was fully in control while doing their job. The cars were perfectly prepared. Today, everything fit. Such a made-to-measure opening race is hard to imagine. But it wasn't sheer luck, but meticulous, detailed work throughout the winter. Congratulations to the entire team!"

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): "The race couldn't have been any better. A 1-2-3 victory for Audi is a great exploit and we're all very happy. We weren't able to keep the pace of the new A4 cars and fought with the Mercedes drivers. Oliver (Jarvis) did a superb job in his first race and made a great start. He's a fantastic fighter. I'm very satisfied. Behind him, Alex (Prémat) fought with Markus (Winkelhock). The boys showed a nice race. Unfortunately, we were a little too far at the back, but next time we'll get closer again."

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): "Congratulations to Audi, to Dr Wolfgang Ullrich and to the entire squad on clinching places one, two and three! Our race was unspectacular. I have to thank my pit crew because we had to manage although several of our people were absent due to illness. Nonetheless, the crew performed four very nice stops. Markus (Winkelhock) put up a great fight and could have driven faster. Still, finishing the race in ninth and the following places with cars from last year is okay. 'Rocky' drove a flawless race - today, that's all we were able to do."

From:DTM.net

Audi victorious, campaign back on the rails

Reigning LMP1 champions Audi seized back the initiative in this year's American Le Mans Series Class 1 championship with a thrilling victory at St. Petersburg thanks to an auspicious charge from three-time champion Lucas Luhr in the dying laps.

Luhr took the lead of the Acura Sports Car Challenge with three laps to go after storming past Romain Dumas' Porsche on the main straight at the third and final race restart.

The 29-year-old German had already led the incident-packed race after pulling off a breathtaking overtaking manoeuvre on Dumas at the end of the second yellow flag phase. But after losing the position to his rival while negotiating backmarkers the Koblenz-born ace was forced to re-take the lead all over again at the third restart, which he did effortlessly with the help of his TDI power down the straight.

Luhr's team-mate Marco Werner, who set the stage for victory on Friday with a mightily impressive pole lap, was full of praise for his team-mate's last minute assault.

"A great day for Audi," the 42-year-old exulted, "at the end it was a thriller. I'm proud of Lucas as he did an excellent job, especially after the restart. That's why we drive TDI!"

Luhr himself meanwhile acknowledged that it had been a difficult day behind the wheel of his Audi.

"It was a tough race for us. We struggled a bit in the heat," confessed Luhr after the race, "but at the end, we got it and that is what counts."

Audi's triumph on Saturday makes of up the team's disappointment at Sebring where both cars failed to finish as a result of mechanical problems and on-track accidents.

"I feel very pleased, particularly after the disappointing result in the first round at Sebring," confirmed Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport.

"It is all the more surprising that we managed to clinch the victory on a street course which is normally not so well-suited to the strengths of the Audi R10 TDI. This is a great motivation for the next races as well as for the whole 2008 season."

by Chris Hayes:Crash.net

Audi TDI Power remains triumphant in St Petersburg

ALMS: Audi celebrated the first victory of the 2008 season with the Audi R10 TDI at the thrilling second round of the American Le Mans Series in St Petersburg (US state of Florida). Lucas Luhr, who shares the cockpit with Marco Werner, won with a 0.818-second margin after taking the lead again from Porsche driver Romain Dumas in the last three laps of the race. It was the 14th overall victory of the diesel-powered sportscar and the first overall win clinched by Lucas Luhr in the series. Last year, Audi had won the city street race in St Petersburg as well. The second R10 TDI retired following a collision.

Audi takes Le Mans Series lead:

LMS: Less than 24 hours after its victory in St Petersburg Audi clinched another podium result with its R10 TDI sportscar: the two Audi youngsters Alexandre Premat and Mike Rockenfeller finished the 1000-kilometre race at Barcelona (Spain), which marked the debut of Audi Sport Team Joest in the European Le Mans Series, in second place overall following a flawless drive. Dindo Capello and Allan McNish finished fifth with the second R10 TDI despite losing six laps due to a broken alternator belt. After the first race, Audi is leading the Manufacturers' Championship of the Le Mans Series with twelve points.

Audi Motorsport going Green

Amoung the speakers at the recent MIA Cleaner Racing Conference, Ulrich Baretsky of Audi and Patrick Symonds of Renault F1 shared the view which Baretsky said
" ..that our industry cannot stand idly behind the arguement that we are a minor contributor. Perception as they say, is reality and unless motorsport is seen to be part of the solution it will be considered part of the problem." and "the OEMs have alot of money and alot of fear but no solutions".

The MIA's Chris Aylett pointed out that " in the last decade, the cost of fuel in the US has trebled and in the UK it now costs eight times as much." He also quoted a discussion with a CIA officer that pointed out "..the war in the Middle East is the first where the US is funding both sides through its dependence on Iraqi oil."

The use of bio-derived fuels was discussed largely and Lord Drayson who gave up a British government job to go racing went in depth on his reasons for competing with Bioethanol.
Pat Symonds voiced the use of first generation bio fuels on a large scale could not be justified due to the effects on food production vs the miniscule savings.
Richard Karlstetter of Shell Racing Solutions revealed that the 08 WRC will be using what is known as 2nd Gen Bioethanol produced by the biomass to liquid process.

Judging from the motorsport heads and advocates for ecosystem impact the MIAs Cleaner Racing Forum will become a serious annual event to voice how the motorsport industry can improve positive conservation and changes geared through realistic goals aimed at showing the world how Motorsports Racing standards will be the future of how cars can be powered and cleaned up without losing the thrill and excitement of this 100 yr old sport.

Audi dominate Oschersleben test

Audi had the upper hand over Mercedes in the three-day test DTM at Oschersleben this week, filling four of the top five places.

Timo Scheider set the quickest time in the final test before the season begins at Hockenheim next weekend. The German was the only driver to break into the 1:21s and finished nearly half a second clear of teammate Markus Winkelhock who was second fastest.

Scheider set his best time on the second morning and nobody was able to beat it in the afternoon session or on the final day of running. But he did not want to read too much into times in the testing.

"Obviously you realise the lap times aren't of any significance while testing, apart from making me and my little boys feel good," he said.

"The situation is close, even within our team, so we will have to wait until the Saturday of the Hockenheim weekend to get the first hint of the true balance of power."

Tom Kristensen was one of several drivers to experience the 2008-spec machinery for the first time, and was pleased with the development from last year's Audi A4.

"It was the first time that I had the opportunity to drive my new car and I realised as early as the first laps that there is a big difference between this year's car and its predecessor," he said.

"We tested different setups and the car responded very well to the changes - that's what testing is about."

Reigning champion Mattias Ekstrom finished the test fourth overall, after going quickest but also crashing heavily on the first day.

The Swede suffered a brake failure at the end of the pit straight and ploughed into the barriers at turn one. He suffered a mild concussion, while the car was too badly damaged to be repaired at the circuit and was taken back to the team's base at Ingolstadt.

Bruno Spengler was the only Mercedes representative in the top five, with Britons Paul Di Resta and Jamie Green finishing sixth and seventh overall.

Ralf Schumacher ended the test in 16th place, 1.5 seconds slower than the quickest Mercedes, but around the same pace as fellow rookie Maro Engel, who was frustrated to lose a day of running when a steering failure for Schumacher prevented him from getting on track until the last half hour of the second day.

Pos  Driver                  Team                        Time     Laps
1.  Timo Scheider           Audi A4 DTM                 1:21.644  139
2.  Markus Winkelhock       Audi A4 DTM                 1:22.000  126
3.  Bruno Spengler          AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:22.162  168
4.  Mattias Ekstrom         Audi A4 DTM                 1:22.297  128
5.  Mike Rockenfeller       Audi A4 DTM                 1:22.305  258
6.  Paul Di Resta           AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:22.330  210
7.  Jamie Green             AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:22.341  200
8.  Oliver Jarvis           Audi A4 DTM                 1:22.422  217
9.  Martin Tomczyk          Audi A4 DTM                 1:22.650  129
10.  Alexandre Premat        Audi A4 DTM                 1:22.653  189
11.  Bernd Schneider         AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:22.776  148
12.  Tom Kristensen          Audi A4 DTM                 1:22.835  154
13.  Gary Paffett            AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:22.931  139
14.  Christijan Albers       Audi A4 DTM                 1:23.303   94
15.  Maro Engel              AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:23.579  100
16.  Ralf Schumacher         AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:23.796  251
17.  Katherine Legge         Audi A4 DTM                 1:23.893  179
18.  Susie Stoddart          AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:24.141  209
19.  Mathias Lauda           AMG Mercedes C-Klasse       1:24.163  204

By Steven English:Autosport.com