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AUDI MAKES HISTORY AS DIESEL-POWERED R10 TDI WINS MOBIL 1 TWELVE HOURS OF SEBRING
![http://www.americanlemans.com/News/NewsImages/3182006225925890_Image1_Thumb.JPG](http://www.americanlemans.com/News/NewsImages/3182006225925890_Image1_Thumb.JPG) The No. 2 Audi R10 TDI is the first diesel-powered car Audi Sport North America made history Saturday as the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The new prototype is the first diesel car in the world to win a major sports car race.
“Our R10 TDI is a real racing car,” Kristensen said. “Over two stints, you can drive it very precisely, which is a combination of the diesel power and immense torque. It’s simply pure fun to drive it.”
The No. 2 Audi won the opening race of the 2006 American Le Mans Series by three laps over Intersport Racing’s No. 37 Lola B05/40-AER. After winning the pole position, the No. 2 car had to have its heat exchanger switched before the race and had to start the race from pit lane and in 34th position. But by the two-hour mark, the pole-sitting car had moved back into the lead when the No. 1 sister car had to pit.
Kristensen gave the No. 2 car the lead for good when Marco Werner, driving with defending Series champions Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro in the No. 1 Audi R10 TDI, pulled the car into the garage just shy of the four-hour mark. Shortly thereafter, the car was retired due to overheating.
That left Kristensen, Capello and McNish to comfortably run out front. Kristensen added yet another record to his already impressive résumé. He is now has four overall wins at Sebring, the most in the race’s 54-year history. He also has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans seven times, including the last six in a row.
![http://www.americanlemans.com/News/NewsImages/3182006225925890_Image2_Thumb.JPG](http://www.americanlemans.com/News/NewsImages/3182006225925890_Image2_Thumb.JPG) Intersport Racing outlasted Penske Racing to win in LMP2. Intersport Racing stole the thunder from Penske Racing in LMP2, outlasting the two Porsche RS Spyders for the team's second class win at Sebring. Defending class champion Clint Field teamed with his father Jon Field and Liz Halliday for the victory over the No. 6 Penske Porsche, which lost drive after 323 laps while leading.
Like the Audi, Intersport’s Lola also came from the rear of the field after turning in one qualifying lap Thursday.
Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen gave Corvette Racing got a measure of revenge in GT1 by beating Aston Martin Racing in a rematch from lasT year. The trio from the No. 4 Corvette C6.R won at Sebring for the first time as a group. They topped Aston Martin Racing’s No. 009 Aston Martin DBR9 of Pedro Lamy, Jason Bright and Stephane Sarrazin by a lap.
![http://www.americanlemans.com/News/NewsImages/3182006225925890_Image3_Thumb.JPG](http://www.americanlemans.com/News/NewsImages/3182006225925890_Image3_Thumb.JPG) Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen won at Sebring, just as they did last year at Le Mans and Petit Le Mans. The victory gives Beretta 25 career Series victories, the most in its eight-year history. Magnussen also has won at least one race in each of the eight years of the American Le Mans Series.
In GT2, David Brabham, Scott Maxwell and reigning Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais piloted their No. 50 Panoz Esperante of Multimatic Motorsports Team Panoz to a 33-second victory. The trio beat the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche of Johannes van Overbeek, Jon Fogarty and Marc Lieb for only the second Series win for the Panoz Esperante GTLM.
Four different marques - Panoz, Porsche, BMW and Ferrari - all led laps during the race, which featured 25 lead changes in class.