Audi and Porsche scale back LM24 30 | 11 | 2015
AUDI AND PORSCHE, both part of the giant VW Group, have confirmed they will scale back their Le Mans 24 Hour racing programmes. The new comes in the wake of the VW Group emissions scandal.
The decision — which was revealed prior to an Audi event, where its next generation R18 e-tron quattro racer was unveiled (pictured) — means British race winner Nick Tandy will not be able to defend his crown with Porsche.
"In the interest of maximum cost efficiency, Audi and its group sister brand, Porsche, have agreed to each compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours — the WEC season's pinnacle event — with only two instead of the most recent three cars," a statement read.
The new 2016 Audi R18 e-tron quattro will continue to compete in the LMP1 category, but will now take advantage of the World Endurance Championship’s (WEC) innovative hybrid rules to compete in the six megajoule hybrid sub-class. In 2015, it competed in the four megajoule category.
Related: Porsche seals Le Mans 24-Hours 1-2
The change means that the diesel-powered R18 will no longer use a flywheel energy storage system and mechanical battery set-up. Instead it will have a front-axle kinetic energy-retrieval system and lithium-ion battery arrangement. Petrol-powered rivals Porsche and Toyota will both race in the eight megajoule category.
The R18 will be driven by former champions and Le Mans winners Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler. The second car will be led by former WEC champion Loic Duval and Lucas di Grassi and Camridgeshire's Oliver Jarvis.
Audi has informed the drivers of its third car at Le Mans in 2015, Filipe Albuquerque, Marco Bonanomi and Rene Rast, that they will remain with the squad as works drivers. However, they have no allocated programmes at present.
And while Porsche has yet to reveal its LMP1 racer, it has confirmed reigning WEC champions Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard will remain as a unit for 2016. They will be joined in a second car by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb.
In light of Porsche’s decision, Tandy and fellow Le Mans winner Earl Bamber will beunable to defend their crowns. Third driver Nico Hulkenberg would not have been available for next year's race on June 18-19 in any case as, due a a clash with the F1 calendar, the German will be racing his Force India in the European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan.
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Jim McGill