Comments on: Audi’s diesel race car too fast for its own good

By: E

Sat, 19 Aug 2006 19:35:21 +0000

Didn’t the French want to do this with the regular LeMans as well?

Anyway, it reminds me of how the French tried to make certain stages of the Tour de France “Lance-Proof” because he was just too much of a badass.

I wish we could get some decent European diesels in the US. I wish I could get an Audi TDI with DSG. But no, we just get gassers and now there’s all this “FlexFuel” hoopla. Give us diesel!

By: Stone

Stone — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 19:03:07 +0000

You know… this sort of silly **** is why I DO NOT watch “professional” motorsports. I remember back in the heyday of RICHARD Petty, not his son/grandson etc. racing, A.J. Foyt, etc. Audi is a fantastic auto maker, and the idea that they can even be competetive with a diesel is amazing. And then, the ruling body not only penalizes them, but in the middle of a season? WTF is going on? Not enough bribes or some ****? Who blew who for THAT ruling? So… let me get this straight… if Audi does this good with a gas engine, does that mean it’s cool that they smoke the competition? I’m really confused here. They need to start making some sense, or revamp their ruling body or something. Start making some sense, people!

By: J

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:35:08 +0000

Because Penske/Porsche isn’t factory backed at all . . . why is it that the P2 cars don’t get penalized for an outright win?

By: FRED

FRED — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:14:14 +0000

Keep in mind people that AUDI is the only factory backed race team in this series, so the fact that Audi is winning all the races doesn’t mean Audi’s are superior, its just they have a lot more money.

Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go?

By: Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn

Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:20:42 +0000

Wie bist alle du? What a comical situation is it not posters? This seems to be the price we pay for exercising ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’ This is a very common turning out through history. Luckily not all revolutions have been dismissed!
We at Audi AG suggest to all the American fans to attend and support now louder than before!
- Hopefully the ‘flat earth society’ on the lmsa will be hearing you! Danke.

By: mdt

mdt — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:33:12 +0000

Go diesel!

Show how absolutely pointless gasoline engines are becoming.

-mt

By: DieselsAreTheAnswer

DieselsAreTheAnswer — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:27:41 +0000

This is BS. Stop the descrimination. Diesels are the answer not only in racing but everywhere.

By: Fatstrat

Fatstrat — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 14:41:21 +0000

Pork is right. This is not a new thing. In fact, it happens all the time (relative term) in these road racing series. It’s not that big of a deal. They kept adding weight to the Quattro’s back in the 80’s and they pretty much kept winning. Some race series add weight to winners cars every race. However, I don’t think that is why the IMSA series died. If memory serves, it was killed by huge carmakers budgets outspending the privateers until they couldn’t afford to compete anymore. No one wanted to come see a race with 4 cars in it and that is where it was headed. After the years of Porsche/Jaguar domination in prototype class, Nissan came on board and after one season of teething pains ( and astronomical dollars) totally took over the series. That really is what killed the IMSA Camel GT series I think.

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:59:20 +0000

What? They have to give other cars an unfair advantage because they can’t come out with something that will beat it? WOW what buttheads

By: axel cortez

axel cortez — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:59:34 +0000

why everytime a car maker makes some discovery the bastards change the rule to slowdown the car… like F1 now they have smaller engine the engine should last 2 races etc is not even fun to watch the F1 anymore

By: Renton

Renton — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:54:07 +0000

I don’t mind if someone comes up with the perfect formula and dominates. Good for them.

Roger Penske + Mark Donohue + Porsche 917 = “The Unfair Advantage” — In the greatest race series ever, Can-Am.

Go ahead and change the rules, but wait until the end of the season.

By: sh.yoon

sh.yoon — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 10:22:02 +0000

It’s also important to consider that, at the end of the day, the ENTERTAINMENT VALUE is also critical for the ALMS. If it’s just going to be R10’s beating the field by several laps at EVERY RACE, it’s going to end up getting tiresome, and many of you will start complaining about how boring the series is, much like the situation with Ferrari’s deam run during the last 7 seasons of F1.

By: Freshshoebox

Freshshoebox — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 06:36:29 +0000

Tell me about it, this is complete BS. Some of those other stories you guys were telling sound pretty bad too.

By: peter Heydenreich

peter Heydenreich — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 06:12:23 +0000

So unfair!

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 05:15:20 +0000

Joel, BAMF, andydru, you guys are right, this is a ridiculous, unjust, and unfair decision. What is this even based on? Innovation and well deserved victories are now punishable grounds?

By: JaggedXJ

JaggedXJ — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 05:00:31 +0000

Reminds me of rotary engines being banned from Le Mans after the early 90s win by Mazda.

By: Vicious6

Vicious6 — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 03:02:12 +0000

Diesel Baby! Just like in the late 60s when the Plymouth Superbird and the 427 SOHC Ford motor was banned from Nascar. If you can’t beat them, whine enough and get them banned! Total BS! Nascar has sucked ever since!

By: The Stig

The Stig — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 02:12:51 +0000

Diesel never gets a break. Interphase elucidates the technology argument perfectly.

By: J

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 01:19:26 +0000

What ever happened to run what you brung?

By: Interphase

Interphase — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:57:00 +0000

Most of the arguments over the relative pollution levels of diesel and petrol engines completely overlook the fact that they both produce very different pollutants. Diesels are cleaner than petrols in most respects other than particulates, and companies like Toyota are coming up with amazingly efficient CATs that bring even these down in line with typical petrol engines. A diesel Yaris fitted with the D-CAT exhaust tech will embarrass a Prius for levels of all typical automotive pollutants.

Kicking back against diesel is just reactionary and shortsighted and, as Audi have found out, the reactions go all the way to the top where people should know better…

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:32:45 +0000

So, they do something different and use a different engine with different fuel (but same limits on tank, weight etc) do better and get penalised?

Weigh this in with the US getting rid of small highly efficient European diesel hatches (too polluting iirc, but not measured on pollution per km or mile iirc too, and then there’s those bloody big tanks), US auto companies being outshone by their Euro and Asian counterparts, and are we seeing something here?

By: BAMF

BAMF — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 23:50:21 +0000

ah thats bull****. how is that even allowed?

By: Renton

Renton — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 23:43:06 +0000

Its not fair to change the rules in the middle of the series.

Wait until next year.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 23:36:55 +0000

That is kind of the expected result when you have a radically different technology that is on a car that is doing execptionally well – regardless of how much that technology in it of itself is helping. Audi can obviously make good petrol engines, so it’d be folly to say that they are only doing well b/c of the diesel. On the otherhand, atleast it’s not as restrictive as say.. the America’s Cup

By: Leopold Porkstacker

Leopold Porkstacker — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 23:32:48 +0000

This is the second time in history that Audi has proven themselves to be “too good”. The first was the IMSA GTO (I think that was the one, brain is getting old) series back sometime in the 1980s or early 1990s which Audi dominated consistently (largely scoring 1-2 and 1-2-3 placing victories each race) with their Quattro cars. Eventually the racing series was cancelled since Audi were untouchable by the other cars. That was a badass motoring series by far. Oh those were the days.

-he who stacks pork

By: Cavity Search

Cavity Search — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 23:23:31 +0000

Audi just rocks!!! You know it