Yahoo Autos Go Under the Skin of the Last R8 to Win Le Mans
Audi R8 chassis #605 is an important car, having won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2005 and the last race it ever entered, a 2006 ALMS event at Lime Rock. R8 engineer Brad Kettler gave Racer Magazine a tour of #605, shown above in its ADT Champion livery at Le Mans, this past weekend at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion. It's a brief, fascinating glimpse into one of endurance racing's most important cars.
One of the most fascinating elements of the R8 LMP shown here is its "quick-change" rear end that facilitates an entire gearbox change in well under four minutes. As Kettler explains, the R8 has quick disconnects for its fluid and electric lines, which allow the transaxle and rear suspension to come off the car as a single unit. The record for the quickest R8 gearbox change stands at three minutes, eight seconds.
Racer also captured footage of Tom Kristensen's reunion with this car at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This is the exact car he drove to victory at Sebring and Le Mans in 2005, so clearly, it was a special moment for him.
You Might Also Like
