# 2011 Audi R15, code named the Plus-Plus may happen, per Speed.com



## chernaudi (Oct 6, 2006)

Recently, Speed.com has, like many motorsports news outlets, have commented on Peugeot's own photos of the Peugeot 90X LMP1 car, of which a test mule was seen testing at Monza and within a day's time, Peugeot themselves released press shots of it.

Speed's Marshall Pruett, their resident sports car expert, has commented on the 90x, and even devulged rumors on the Audi R18, and just as significant, the possiblitly that the Audi R15 may soldier on into early 2011.

Don't expect for the R15 to be unchanged, however. In additon to performance ballancing, the R15 may sport a revised suspension/wheel/tire package, a la the Acura ARX-02, with wide front tires. In my correspondance with Marshall, he says that the R15, which Audi have nicknamed the Plus Plus, is largely an Audi R18 test mule, to test the wide front tires for the R18 (the 90x is rumored to run wide front tires as well).

This may address the R15's handling problems in slow corners when it's out of it's set up sweet spot, as the wider tires offer more grip and better wear, and take advantage of the sizeable amount of nose-mounted ballast the R15 carries from birth, as it weighed well below the IMSA/ACO 900kg minimum weight at Sebring in '09, never mind the 930kg min from Le Mans '09 onwards.

The 2011 R15 may also be useful for if the R18 hits a major snag in early development, and, perhaps, if Audi revives plans to enter the ALMS next year, which the latter is at best on life support, and very unlikely to come off.

In otherwords, either as a test mule or possibly as a racing car, the R15 isn't dead after Zhuhai this weekend. And for the ALMS test at Sebring in a couple of month's time, don't be surprised to see an R18 and an R15 sporting slightly wider front fender clearance bulges


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

I wonder if Kolles or another team will consider running R15s if the R18 development goes as planned.


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

Here's the Peugeot Text and Photo












> In parallel with its 2010 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP race programme, Peugeot Sport is busy designing and developing a new prototype that will defend its colours in 2011.
> 
> Peugeot Sport's principal mission accomplished
> Having been kept secret in Peugeot Sport's factory in Vélizy, near Paris, the team's new endurance challenger – known under the codename 90X – has been out for its first track test. "Our objective was to start track testing before the end of the year," says Peugeot Sport Director Olivier Quesnel. "I am pleased to report that we have now done that. Even so, there is still a long way to go and a considerable amount of work to be done as we prepare for 2011."
> ...


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## chernaudi (Oct 6, 2006)

I doubt that Kolles will get R15s--Kolles himself is buried in the HRT F1 team and he and Audi seem to have agreed to end that sportscar program. 

I think that the wide-tired R15 was more geared towards the currently stagnant ALMS program, and will be used now as a test mule for the R18 and as a back up car for it unless AOA gives the ALMS program a go. The cars are or will be ready soon, and there are a lot of ex-Champion Racing personel who would be willing to go back to work in racing, but Audi and AOA need to agree and sign off on the funding. That probably won't happen now, but Audi has done stanger things with their ALMS plans (such as not confirming the '08 program until Sebring race week) 

However, with rumors swerling about the status of PLM as an ILMC round next year means that the R15 plus plus may run PLM next year, ILMC round or not, full time Audi ALMS program or not.

That means, however, that the Audi R18 won't be seen on US soil except for testing if Audi runs the updated R15s at Sebring and PLM.


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

If Audi intends to race the R18 at Le Mans then my guess is that they'll do everything within their power to have it ready for Sebring too.


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## chernaudi (Oct 6, 2006)

I asked Pruett on why Audi would run the R15 at Sebring after that article came out, and he told me that Audi would rather run a proven package at Sebring for the race, and hold the R18 for endurance testing.

Granted, Audi will publically launch the R18 next month, and Peugeot will do the same with the 90X in January. Peugeot have been testing a 90X test mule, as you've posted, and it's been rumored that car has been testing since late September. Audi may've been testing R18 bits on an old R15 or maybe if desperate an old R10 for a while now, and the R18 may've been secretly testing recently as well-any of the facitlities that Audi may've used for that, which likely are owned by Volkswagen Group, are a lot more secure than Monza. Why did you think those Audi R15 test videos showed up so early when Audi tested there in April? Monza is in a public park, and not particualry secure as VAG's test circuits are, as they're private property.

Audi probably will be testing the R18 and the modified R15 very soon in the US at Sebring and maybe 1-2 other tracks, like the oval at Homestead. I know that NASCAR-controled ISC owns Homestead, but they had no issues with Audi running the R15 there--I guess money talks:laugh:

Audi may also do the ALMS test at Sebring in Feb, and after a couple of 30 hour endurance tests at Sebring, maybe Audi will decide which is better, the wide tired R15 with smaller air restrctors to limit its top-end power, of the possibly fragile R18, which may be powered by a compact V6 TDI engine, which in a race car isn't a 100% proven unit.

We'll wait until next month for the R18, and we may know even earlier about the revised R15, and what Audi plans on doing with them, but Audi Sport's own press release from Zhuhai qualifying was telling, revealing that Zhuhai marks the last time that the R15 will race in it's current state of development. To me that means that some early ILMC rounds may feature R15s, or there's still hope for a full ALMS season for Audi. Either way, the R15 might not be done with turning its wheels in anger.


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## chernaudi (Oct 6, 2006)

UPDATE: I don't know if anyone here has access to DailySportscar.com, but DSC had a piece where Dr. Ullrich admits to the R15 being run at Sebring with smaller restrictors, and maybe wider front tires, but I don't know if that's mentioned as I don't have an account on DSC.

Could someone who has an account on DSC give us a rundown of that article?


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