Although the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series has already been decided, Peugeot and Audi are still going all-out for a win in the season’s final round at Zhuhai, China on November 13.
China is the world’s largest automotive market; these manufacturers want the advertising benefits which would come with a win.
Peugeot Reloading Both Barrels
Peugeot has won five of the series’ six races so far, losing only at Le Mans. The French company captured the ILMC crown for the second year running, clinching the title with its win at Petit Le Mans in October, but the stakes are still high in China. The French firm’s sales have been growing at twice the rate of the Chinese car market—and Peugeot believes its popularity has been supported by the team’s 2010 win there.
“We are the champions, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to win again in China,” said Olivier Quesnel, Peugeot Sport Director, in a company press release. “We want to head into this Six Hours of Zhuhai in relaxed mood, so we can grab another win, which will be one of the most sought-after of the season, given the high stakes in China as the world’s biggest automotive market.
“Our win here last year helped to promote Peugeot’s brand image and raise its profile in China. We are therefore aiming to do just as well this year, in order to demonstrate Peugeot’s know-how and technological prowess.”
Peugeot is bringing two brand-new 908 chassis to China, modified according what Peugeot has learned in its two major test sessions since Petit Le Mans.
“We worked on a strategy to protect the transmission, which failed to work on cold tires at Petit Le Mans, resulting in the retirement of the no.7 car,” said Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport’s Technical Director in the release. “We also fine-tuned the mechanical set-up.
“Zhuhai is a specific track which is particularly demanding on the brakes. Last year, we won by just four seconds after we had major problems in this area. This year, with the cars even closer together—every race has been decided on a minor detail—we will have to be absolutely perfect at all levels to prevail.
“The 908s will feature a few relatively minor technical upgrades to the suspension, the steering and the brakes, and more significant changes to the engine,” Famin continued. “We will be running both our cars during Wednesday’s free practice day, after which we will decide which upgrades to keep for the race.”
Audi Contesting Two Classes
China became Audi’s largest market in 2011—2011 sales surpassed 2010 numbers in October and are still rising. A win at Zhuhai would be an important marketing asset for the German manufacturer.
As usual, Audi will be bringing two R18 TDI coupes to contest the LMP1 class. The R18 has proved to be consistently competitive with the Peugeot 908, losing races not because the Audi is slower, but because of technical failures, collision damage, and racing luck. Audi has every reason to hope for a win at Zhuhai, the difficulties of the 2011 season nonwithstanding.
“The 6-hour race at Zhuhai marks the close of a long, tough, but very successful season for Audi Sport. We won the most important race of the year—the Le Mans 24 Hours—with the Audi R18 TDI, the Spa 24 Hours with the R8 LMS and the DTM with the A4,” explained Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport, in a press statement.
“We still have some unfinished business in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. That’s why I’m wishing for a race with fair sporting competition at the end of the season and a bit better fortune than we last had at Silverstone and Road Atlanta. It would be nice if we could close the year with a success in what has become the world’s largest single market for Audi.”
Audi’s drivers are confident but aware that Zhuhai, China’s oldest racetrack, is a challenging course.
“The many tight turns after the long straights will be rough on the brakes. But that also makes nice passes under braking possible,” said Timo Bernhard, co-driver of the No. 1 Audi. “The fact that only 29 cars will be on the grid will help us, after almost twice as many were in the field most recently. The risk of accidents thus clearly drops.
“Our lap times were absolutely competitive at the past two races but we often found ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m hoping for better racing luck in China.”
Allan McNish, co-driver of the 2 car, said similar things in the Audi press release. “The Audi R18 TDI has been updated since Le Mans and at Silverstone and Atlanta we saw that our pace was really good. We’ve always battled for victories but they were thwarted by incidents. In China I’m again expecting a thrilling battle between Peugeot and us.”
Besides bringing the two R18TDIs, Audi is also also supplying three customer teams with its highly successful R8 LMS GT3 car. The R8 has scored more than 100 GT3 class victories since its introduction. The German firm is doubling down—Audi could win or lose in two different classes.
How to Watch the Race
Both Peugeot and Audi will be broadcasting the race live and in full on their respective websites: Audi’s is http://microsites.audi.com/lemans (Note: this link might not work until race day,) Peugeot’s are http://www.peugeot-sport.com and http://www.peugeot.com.cn.
The excellent Radio Le Mans team will provide live audio at http://www.radiolemans.com. Le Mans.org (http://www.lemans.org) will supply timing and scoring. The race begins at 11 a.m. November 13, 2011 Chinese time, eleven or twelve hours ahead of U.S. east coast time.
