Friday, December 5, 2008
Audi Drops LMP1 Program due to Economy
Audi motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich has confirmed that the manufacturer will not attempt to defend its Le Mans Series title next season with the new R15 TDi.
Alexandre Premat and Mike Rockenfeller won the LMS title this year in an Audi R10, but Ullrich says in this week's Autosport that the decision not to return was made to save money.
"We will not participate in the LMS," he said. "We all have to face that the economy is moving and everyone has to put something into their pocket to save money.
"The LMS has grown quite significantly but you have to face the fact that to make the best out of less money, there is no choice but to cut parts of the programme."
The Le Mans 24 Hours is, so far, the only confirmed outing for the R15 beyond the American Le Mans Series season-opener, the Sebring 12 Hours, in March.
But Ullrich says a decision about a tenth consecutive full ALMS campaign is still to be made.
"We are still in discussion about the American programme," he said. "There has to be a board decision to do it, but we are all working on it very hard."
Audi stalwarts Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela, who have five Le Mans wins each with the marque, are likely to race Audis again next year despite not having their contracts renewed this season. Both are expected to race the new R8 GT3 car for teams in Europe.
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