Audi 2008 Annual Report Download - page 99

96
Vorsprung Perfection
The pit stops are the only thing that will keep man and ma-
chine intact over the 381 laps. So much for the bare facts.
But the 24 Hours of Le Mans is notorious for its surprising
turnarounds. And rightly so, as we see once again: The
three Peugeots dominate the first two hours of the race,
when suddenly the tide turns. Transmission problems
cause the leading 908 HDi FAP to pit for 20 minutes. When
the second-place Peugeot also drops back due to a head-
light problem, Audi briefly takes the lead, but is quickly
passed again by the Number 7 Peugeot. The rivals race into
the night. By around 8 p.m., there is less than one lap sepa-
rating three Audi cars and two Peugeots.
The Capello/Kristensen/McNish Audi R10 TDI continues to
lap steadily. Everyone at the Audi command post is deeply
concentrated; they are working quickly, efficiently and pre-
cisely. A few meters away, the Peugeot technicians are hav-
ing an uneasy night. The cars have to return to the pit sev-
eral times to have their radiators cleaned out with a high-
pressure hose. A defective battery costs the Number 8 car
valuable minutes. When the rain starts at about four in the
morning as predicted, the situation intensifies. The con-
trast between the two teams could hardly be greater:
Peugeot frantically switches over to the rain setup, while
the Audi drivers just consult briefly with their engineers on
the proper tires. In the early hours of the morning, Tom
Kristensen takes the lead from Jacques Villeneuve, but the
gap between the cars is unbelievably close – 16 hours after
the start, they are only 20 seconds apart, though the
Audi R10 TDI is handling the wet road conditions much
better. On Sunday afternoon, 24 hours after the start of
the race, the Audi driven by Capello/Kristensen/McNish
wins the world’s toughest race by 4:31 minutes.
There are tears of joy in the Audi camp. It was a narrow
victory – and a little surprising. There are also tears at Peu-
geot. It’s a huge disappointment; and totally unexpected.
How could the clearly faster car lose the race? Peugeot will
have to answer this question if it hopes to win next year.
And I will be there again as well; I wouldn’t miss the next
round of this historic duel for anything in the world.
“The contrast between the teams
could hardly be greater: Peugeot
frantically switches over to the rain
setup, while the Audi drivers just con-
sult briefly with their engineers.”
Carole Capitaine, Motorsports Editor at L’Équipe
Striving for perfection
to me means …
Michael Dick,
Member of the
Board of Manage-
ment for Technical
Development,
AUDI AG
… drive and motivation. It has influenced my
actions for as long as I can remember. I have al-
ways been fascinated by technology. Taking toys
apart and putting them back together again –
especially toys with tires and a steering wheel –
was always a special experience for me. The idea
was never to take them back to their technical
beginnings, but to make the toy better, faster,
more sophisticated. And over the years, this
passion became my profession.
Mobility is and will remain a concrete expression
of individual freedom and thus a basic human
need. The automobile with all its emotional as-
sociations has played a significant role here for
over a century now. And during this time, by con-
tinuously developing and refining new products
and technologies, the Audi brand has left a
strong mark on the automotive world. Light-
weight design, quattro, Audi duo, TDI and TFSI –
just a few of its pioneering achievements.
Regardless of what you do, the way to the top is
a direct reflection of the goals you set for your-
self. Customers today expect us to deliver superior
quality and unmatched driving performance with
maximum efficiency, coupled with inspiring de-
sign. And that’s also what we want to deliver. It
is therefore eminently important for each and
every employee to perform his or her duties skill-
fully and with great dedication and devotion –
always striving to develop, produce and sell a
perfect product. Only by striving for perfection
will we be better tomorrow than we are today.
Photo: AUDI AG
LE MANS LEGENDS
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