Audi 2013 Annual Report Download - page 110

5
OCTOBER 2013
than before.” The operating strategy involves the perfect
interaction of the hybrid systems with the engine in order to
take optimal advantage of every racing situation. Today,
this detailed work increasingly involves programming software
that uses algorithms to tightly mesh the engine and the
hybrid systems. The operating strategy for the entire drive
system including the TDI engine is uncharted territory. The
corresponding software and function development is created
at Audi itself.
Lucas di Grassi is the Audi factory driver who covers the first
kilometers in the new R18 e-tron quattro. “The most important
thing is reliability,” confirms the Brazilian. “Then it comes
down to the details. Among the qualities needed by a test
driver is the ability to give the engineers very precise feedback.
We have to understand exactly what things are not yet work-
ing perfectly. We methodically explain these phenomena to
the engineers in such a way that they can work in a specific
direction to make the car faster and better balanced while opti-
mizing its reliability. The work with the new energy systems
and their impact is exciting.” The Audi engineers develop ex-
tremely complex operating strategies for a wide variety of
curves, racing situations and acceleration scenarios.
A numerical example illustrates just how important reli-
ability is. In 24 hours at Le Mans, an LMP race car covers
a distance that corresponds to an entire Formula 1 season.
Audi has held the record at Le Mans since 2010 with a
distance of 5,410.713 kilometers. The R18 e-tron quattro must
therefore satisfy exacting requirements. Matthias Huber
knows what is expected of his team : “At the beginning, there
were a good 30 engineers and ten mechanics focused on
development during the tests. We have to hand over a fin-
ished car to the race team at the end of the process.” Bit
by bit the team works through the gigabytes of data that the
race car generates about its road behavior.
Time is racing in the first quarter, and with it our countdown.
Until the starting light of the first race for the new Audi R18
e-tron quattro switches to green at the World Endurance
Championship (WEC) opener at Silverstone in April.
(Left) Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport
(Center) Matthias Huber, Audi Sport test engineer
(Right) Lucas di Grassi, Audi factory driver
/// THE ROLL-OUT RACE CAR IS FINISHED
In October 2013, the first prototype of the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro completed
a function test in which the general operational readiness of the vehicle was checked.
At the wheel : Audi factory driver Lucas di Grassi.
PHOTOS : AUDI AG