New generation diesel engine fuels Audi race car

"I'd say 80 to 95 percent of the setup works for both of us. A small difference you accept to please the other driver. It does not work if the car is set up 100 percent to my liking. If only 60 percent to (Biela's) liking, he'd going to go slower, and we lose the race. The race is won or lost by both drivers," he noted.

Where Le Mans and Sebring are very long endurance events, the race at the Motorsports Park is considered an endurance sprint. Cars and drivers will push the limits of the track and their respective cars as far as they can.

Which, continued Pirro, "Won't be easy. It's not often we get a new circuit (race). For me it's kind of a good feeling, going to an unknown track and going through the learning process. It doesn't happen often at this point in my career. It won't be easy. It's quite difficult and quite interesting. This circuit is longer than most. It will require a lot of concentration and some of the corners are really tricky.

"Also, I saw a lot of runoff areas. They are very welcome for safety, but they give you an incentive to try harder and go faster, which is when you make more mistakes. If there were concrete barriers you wouldn't drive so fast. But I'm impressed with the track."

He also pointed out that Le Mans racing is complex and sometimes hard to understand. The race itself is longer than a simple car race, and cars are not only designed to go fast but also to take corners at high speeds.

And, because the four car classes are on the track at the same time, this requires the drivers to do a lot of maneuvering and for the fastest cars to do a lot of passing.

"I think fans will find our cars fun to watch in fast corners. Our cars are fast, yes, but our cars are made for turns so they develop a lot of down force. So, in order to go fast we must go fast in the corners.

"Braking and cornering speeds are going to be a lot higher than people expect and a lot higher than what people have ever seen." he added.

One question drivers and team officials will be looking at this week is the road grip the new track will have on tires. Obviously, the better the grip the faster the speeds and the better the cornering abilities of the cars.

As in other type of long-distance racing, pit stops will play an important part in the race and, possibly, the outcome.

As far as having a problem with the high altitude and thin air, Pirro said cars and drivers will notice little difference in power, because the engines rely on turbochargers to supply the needed air supply as opposed to being naturally aspirated. He said drivers will very likely notice better handling qualities because the thin air will result in less resistances.

And, as for the diesel engine? One reason major automakers get involved in racing is to test new technology. Patrick Haspen, media specialist with Audi, said the new, more powerful, quieter, more efficient, less fume- emitting engines, which are popular in Europe, are headed for showroom models somewhere around 2007.

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