Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 117

Petrolhead: Famed musician Nick Mason has long been “moonlighting” as a race
car driver. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, he lined up on the grid in an Auto
Union Type C.
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a superb win with an advantage that has
grown to ten laps by the end of the race.
24 times 60 minutes times 60 seconds –
the length of the toughest motor race in
the world, during which the car has to keep
going flawlessly for 86,400 seconds. The
R10 TDI with race number 1 faced the
challenge admirably, covering a distance
of 4,981.5 kilometers over 369 laps.
Never before was the 24-hour race as
thrilling as in 2007. Audi had fielded
three diesel-powered R10 TDI sports
cars to repeat the previous year’s his-
toric first victory of a diesel-powered
vehicle. In 2006 the revolutionary R10
TDI, with a superior power output of
650 hp from its 12-cylinder TDI engine,
an impressive 1,100 Nm of torque and
incredible speed, turned the racing
world upside down. In 2007, Audi took
the lead right from the first lap and
never let it go after that. At any time
through Sunday morning, there were
always two R10 TDIs at the front. But
racing would not be racing without set-
backs. The third car went out after two
hours, due to an accident in weather
conditions that had been volatile right
from the start.
The second Audi retired the next
morning. Dindo Capello never had a
chance to keep his car in the race as a
wheel came off just before the Indiana-
polis corner. A bitter moment for
Capello, given that his car number 2
had masterfully led the race for over
16 hours. A bitter moment for his team-
mates, too, Allan McNish and Tom
Kristensen, winner of Le Mans a record-
breaking seven times. But Audi number 1
held on to the lead. The tension in
the Audi pits rose even further since the
whole event was now focused on this
one car. For just under seven and a half
hours, hopes rested on Frank Biela,
Marco Werner and Emanuele Pirro.
And especially on the R10 TDI. It all
ended well.
“That was certainly the hardest race
we’ve ever driven at Le Mans,” said
Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board
of Management of AUDI AG, after the
chequered flag. “But once again, we
have proved on the track that we are
the best.” •
Hermann Reil is a freelance journalist with
a focus on automobiles. He writes for major
German weekly Welt am Sonntag.
oaked to the skin but bliss-
fully grinning from ear to ear,
Nick Mason climbed out of the cock-
pit. Perhaps it is surprising that a
64-year-old man could be as happy
about taking a drive as could be a
little boy. But he does have his own
private collection of about 40 rare
vintage racing cars. In June last year,
Mason, the ex-drummer of cult rock
group Pink Floyd, lined up at the start
of the Goodwood Festival of Speed in
a rather special car: In 1936, the Auto
Union Type C was the gold standard
in the motor racing world, and even
today is the pride and joy of Audi
Tradition, the car-maker’s vintage car
division.
So it didn’t take too much arm-
twisting to persuade Nick Mason to
take the wheel of this pedigree
single-seater. “It is a dream come true
for me to drive this car, and I’m well
aware of what an honor it is,” he
smiled before his first lap. In fact, the
Auto Union Type C with its 16 cylin-
ders, 520 hp and top speed of 340
kph requires a competent driver who
knows how to handle a vintage racing
“Absolutely fantastic”
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has driven at
Le Mans five times. Today, he takes part in vintage
car rallies.
car. Despite incessant rain and cold
weather, Mason had no problems
steering the Type C up the steep track.
This kind of ability is based on ex-
perience. Mason’s second passion,
after music, has long been motor rac-
ing. Inspired by his father, who raced
a converted Bentley, he began desert-
ing his drum set for racing cars many
years ago, and acquired several rac-
ing licenses. He entered the legend-
ary Le Mans 24 Hours five times, and
though today he no longer wants to
subject himself to the exertions of
this race, he still feels totally com-
fortable behind the wheel. Mason
sees his collectors’ items as cars to be
driven: “Racing cars can only reveal
their true beauty when they are driv-
en,” which is why he takes part in ral-
lies several times a year, using a for-
mer airfield to keep his unusual fleet
of cars in training at other times. But
although Nick Mason is the proud
owner of dozens of motor racing rari-
ties, he was particularly enthusiastic
about driving the Auto Union Type C.
His verdict? A happy sigh: “Absolutely
fantastic.” Katrin Raczek
Photos: AUDI AG
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