The 2015 version of the Audi R18 at Spa. [Photo by Audi Motorsport]
By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine
Recently, at their new motorsports headquarters, Audi lined up their 13 Le Mans winning cars for a portrait. Thirteen Le Mans winners in a span of 15 years – almost unbelievable, which got us to thinking about Audi and their place in racing history.
It is not just the 13 Le Mans wins that have happened in the 21st century that makes for Audi’s racing legacy. Le Mans is just the icing on the cake, for the sum total of Audi’s dominance of racing is all of its victories in the ALMS series, its Sebring victories, its DTM race wins and championships and its GT racing dominance worldwide with the R8 LMS.
Just this past weekend, Audi with their R8 LMS won the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring overall once again, in a spirited 24 hour sprint race against the likes of BMW, Porsche and Mercedes.
In the 1930’s, Auto Union was a dominant force in Grand Prix racing and hill climbs.
In the 1980’s Audi’s Quattro race cars with their 4-wheel drive dominated the World Rally Championship and the IMSA GTO and SCCA TransAm championships.
Now there is renewed speculation that Audi may make the jump to Formula One, where they no doubt would do well, and judging from past experience, probably dominate in a short time.
In the past, when one thought of great race cars and auto manufacturers who’s very DNA was built around motorsport, one usually thought of Porsche or Ferrari. Granted, Porsche is still thought of when one thinks of competition, and their new 919 Hybrid model that is racing in the FIA-WEC series is a technical marvel and very fast. With Le Mans coming up shortly, one would have to give Porsche a very good chance of doing quite well. As for Ferrari, they still do quite well in the GT ranks but of late have been looking for success in Formula One with little to show for it and currently have no entry in what is without a doubt the most technically challenging class of race cars on the planet – the P1 class of the FIA-WEC.
There have been two FIA-WEC races so far this season and Audi has won them both. At neither race was the Audi the fastest car – outstanding driving and team strategy won both races. Going into the world famous 24 hour contest at Le Mans next month, one would be foolish not to consider Audi as the most likely to take home the victory, regardless of what the competition has to offer in terms of outright speed. There has been a not too subtle change in the DNA of motorsport over the last decade and a half, and the company that has evolved the most rapidly to take advantage of the latest technologies and has the most to show for it is Audi. One could easily argue that Audi has assembled the best team of drivers, designers, engineers, and mechanics in the history of motorsport and the results speak for themselves.
So far, the 21st century has been the century of Audi, and from the look of things, they show absolutely no sign of slowing down or stepping back from their total commitment to motorsport. Racing is now permanently in Audi’s DNA and without doubt in the future their accomplishments will be spoken of in the same reverent tones as were spoken about Porsche or Ferrari in the past.
Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com. Eddie LePine has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up). You can usually find Eddie in the paddock area, deep in conversation with a driver.