- 10,309
- San Francisco, CA
- Vasco506
- Vasc0
i have some photos in there but my printer can't really print 
I also have the Audi R8C bit right here...
AUDI R8
Audi's decision to make a serious attempt at Le Mans was made in 1997. Audi began looking at other forms of racing to intensify the sporty image of the marque and settled upon an assault on the 1999 24 Hour classic. Success at Le Mans would generate an enormous amount of publicity. As the months passed and development and testing continued apace, the now familiar long-tailed R8 shape emerged.
But then, in September 1998, came a surprise...
The LM-P car would be designated R8R (for "Roadster") and the LM-GTP as R8C (for "Coupe").
But it would not simply be a case of attaching a roof to the R8R. To fully exploit the new LM-GTP regulations, the R8C would have to be an almost entirely different car sharing only the engine and rear suspension. With Le Mans pre-qualifying in May, this left an impossibly short space of time for design and construction. Fortunately for Audi it was able to hit the ground running. It had recently purchased RTN - the Norfolk, England based racecar constructor. The RTN design team was not lacking in the required expertise and was led by Tony Southgate, the designer of the TWR/Jaguar Group 'C' cars and the previous year's Nissan GT1.
Whilst the R8C was designed using state-of-the-art CAD software, the restraints in timescale meant that most of the pattern work for the body was undertaken by hand using traditional wood working tools. It has been said that the Audi R8C is possibly the last ever racing car produced by a major manufacturer that employed this time-honoured method. With a very steep learning curve to climb in such a short period, much of the assembly and construction work was carried out by the mechanics that would run the two R8Cs at Le Mans. This job fell to the Buckingham based Audi Sport UK team who had run the very successful A4 touring car program.
Back in England, the first R8C (Chassis 1) was rolled out in time for a shakedown at Snetterton on April 1st. This was just six months after RTN had been given the go ahead to produce the car and a little over one month before Le Mans pre-qualifying. The car cut an enigmatic and menacing presence, sporting only it's as yet un-painted flat black carbon fibre surfaces. The following week, the car was officially launched and tested at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, clocking up another 1000 km. By this time, the second chassis was now ready and was able to cover 100 km
With so little mileage clocked up, both of the R8C cars struggled with various mechanical problems at pre-qualifying but were able to set respectable times. Unsurprisingly, they could not match the pace of the R8R and further testing of the R8Cs took place at Silverstone in the weeks leading up to the 24 Hour race.
The results did not reflect the advantages of the LM-P over the LM-GTP concept. Both of the LM-GTP Toyota and Mercedes cars simply did not have the reliability to finish the race. In the following year BMW and Toyota withdrew to concentrate their resources on their Formula 1 projects and Mercedes-Benz returned to touring cars.
Audi shelved the R8C and concentrated on developing its R8R concept without competition from the other big manufacturers. Audi R8 roadsters won Le Mans in the next three successive years and triumphed heavily in the American Le Mans series, which replaced the FIA GT Championships as the biggest sports car series.
Le Mans 1999 certainly wasn't the end of the R8C program. After purchasing Bentley, the Volkswagen-Audi Group decided to resurrect the marque by returning it to Le Mans in 2001. RTN were given the job of building the Bentley EXP Speed 8 car, basing the design on the R8C.
In 2003 the car is heavily tipped to win the 24 Hour race for Bentley for the first time in over 70 years. ...
The Bentley EXP Speed 8 is a continuation of the Audi R8C project in all but name
Audi R8C/Bentley EXP Speed 8 Basic Specifications
Vehicle type: Le Mans GT prototype (LM-GTP)
Engine: V8
Displacement: 3600 cc
Output: 640 bhp
Power transmission: Rear-wheel drive
Gearbox: Sequential 6-speed sports gearbox
LE MANS
For the Le Mans 24 hours race two factory R8s and two private R8s were entered. The private teams were the Johansson team with an R8 painted in the classic Gulf livery. The second car was entered by the Champion team. Both private teams had difficult opening hours on the wet and slippery track and lost time because of accidents and spins. Electronic problems ended the race for team Johansson in the third hour and a clutch problem forced the Champion car out of the race in the 6th hour. The two factory cars had taken a firm lead and passed the finish line in first and second, with the #1 car finishing first. The exact same drive pairing of Biela, Kristensen and Pirro won the 2001 event as well. The Infineon Audi went on to win in 2002, followed by the other two Infineons, in order of their numbers.
The Bentley car won its class in 2001, coming 3rd following the two Audis, which were very far ahead of this car. In 2002 the Bentley won its class again, but another Audi R8R snuck in and it came 4th.
Thanks for all the help guys!
I also have the Audi R8C bit right here...AUDI R8
Audi's decision to make a serious attempt at Le Mans was made in 1997. Audi began looking at other forms of racing to intensify the sporty image of the marque and settled upon an assault on the 1999 24 Hour classic. Success at Le Mans would generate an enormous amount of publicity. As the months passed and development and testing continued apace, the now familiar long-tailed R8 shape emerged.
But then, in September 1998, came a surprise...
The LM-P car would be designated R8R (for "Roadster") and the LM-GTP as R8C (for "Coupe").
But it would not simply be a case of attaching a roof to the R8R. To fully exploit the new LM-GTP regulations, the R8C would have to be an almost entirely different car sharing only the engine and rear suspension. With Le Mans pre-qualifying in May, this left an impossibly short space of time for design and construction. Fortunately for Audi it was able to hit the ground running. It had recently purchased RTN - the Norfolk, England based racecar constructor. The RTN design team was not lacking in the required expertise and was led by Tony Southgate, the designer of the TWR/Jaguar Group 'C' cars and the previous year's Nissan GT1.
Whilst the R8C was designed using state-of-the-art CAD software, the restraints in timescale meant that most of the pattern work for the body was undertaken by hand using traditional wood working tools. It has been said that the Audi R8C is possibly the last ever racing car produced by a major manufacturer that employed this time-honoured method. With a very steep learning curve to climb in such a short period, much of the assembly and construction work was carried out by the mechanics that would run the two R8Cs at Le Mans. This job fell to the Buckingham based Audi Sport UK team who had run the very successful A4 touring car program.
Back in England, the first R8C (Chassis 1) was rolled out in time for a shakedown at Snetterton on April 1st. This was just six months after RTN had been given the go ahead to produce the car and a little over one month before Le Mans pre-qualifying. The car cut an enigmatic and menacing presence, sporting only it's as yet un-painted flat black carbon fibre surfaces. The following week, the car was officially launched and tested at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, clocking up another 1000 km. By this time, the second chassis was now ready and was able to cover 100 km
With so little mileage clocked up, both of the R8C cars struggled with various mechanical problems at pre-qualifying but were able to set respectable times. Unsurprisingly, they could not match the pace of the R8R and further testing of the R8Cs took place at Silverstone in the weeks leading up to the 24 Hour race.
The results did not reflect the advantages of the LM-P over the LM-GTP concept. Both of the LM-GTP Toyota and Mercedes cars simply did not have the reliability to finish the race. In the following year BMW and Toyota withdrew to concentrate their resources on their Formula 1 projects and Mercedes-Benz returned to touring cars.
Audi shelved the R8C and concentrated on developing its R8R concept without competition from the other big manufacturers. Audi R8 roadsters won Le Mans in the next three successive years and triumphed heavily in the American Le Mans series, which replaced the FIA GT Championships as the biggest sports car series.
Le Mans 1999 certainly wasn't the end of the R8C program. After purchasing Bentley, the Volkswagen-Audi Group decided to resurrect the marque by returning it to Le Mans in 2001. RTN were given the job of building the Bentley EXP Speed 8 car, basing the design on the R8C.
In 2003 the car is heavily tipped to win the 24 Hour race for Bentley for the first time in over 70 years. ...
The Bentley EXP Speed 8 is a continuation of the Audi R8C project in all but name
Audi R8C/Bentley EXP Speed 8 Basic Specifications
Vehicle type: Le Mans GT prototype (LM-GTP)
Engine: V8
Displacement: 3600 cc
Output: 640 bhp
Power transmission: Rear-wheel drive
Gearbox: Sequential 6-speed sports gearbox
LE MANS
For the Le Mans 24 hours race two factory R8s and two private R8s were entered. The private teams were the Johansson team with an R8 painted in the classic Gulf livery. The second car was entered by the Champion team. Both private teams had difficult opening hours on the wet and slippery track and lost time because of accidents and spins. Electronic problems ended the race for team Johansson in the third hour and a clutch problem forced the Champion car out of the race in the 6th hour. The two factory cars had taken a firm lead and passed the finish line in first and second, with the #1 car finishing first. The exact same drive pairing of Biela, Kristensen and Pirro won the 2001 event as well. The Infineon Audi went on to win in 2002, followed by the other two Infineons, in order of their numbers.
The Bentley car won its class in 2001, coming 3rd following the two Audis, which were very far ahead of this car. In 2002 the Bentley won its class again, but another Audi R8R snuck in and it came 4th.
Thanks for all the help guys!
Thanks 
