A diesel wins at Lemans 24 Hours
[quote]
No.8 Audi Sport Team Joest R10 - The Winner
Photo : Bertrand COUSSEAU - ACO/Nikon
In the final hours of the 74th running of the 24 Heures du Mans, there were no more surprises - unless one counts the unlikely eventuality of the world’s premier endurance race being won by a diesel-engined sports car. Unlikely as it may seem - and it would have been deemed impossible until recently - diesel is not just economical, not merely practical, beyond unexpectedly torquey, it is now a type of engine with a Le Mans win to its name.
Even before the victory of the No.8 Audi Sport Team Joest R10, in the capable, mature hands of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner, and the third place of its sister No.7 car driven by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, the car was changing the face of racing. Peugeot announced it will contest the great race next year with its own V12 diesel, with much the same specifications as Audi’s TDI.b[/b]
lemans.org/24heuresdumans/li … 49_gb.html[/quote]
Impressive stuff though, getting a diesel engine to put out enough useable power to beat off top flight gas engines and keep it up for 24hrs…