By Johan Laubscher
A North American set of Audi R18 e-tron quattro testing has been undertaken
by Audi Sport in recent weeks. Audi Sport was seen testing at the Circuit of
The Americas this week, following their recent test at Sebring.
An Audi R18 e-tron quattro has been put through its paces at COTA this week, with a number of the factory Audi drivers taking to the track behind the wheel of the black and red #1 Audi.
It has also been revealed that Audi Sport has decided not to run a second hybrid recovery system in the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro. Their second system (ERS-H), which was developed to use waste heat energy from the turbocharger and exhaust system, has been abandoned. This decision was taken as the actual testing didn't result in the intended performance and the unit has been dropped for reliability reasons. The 2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, like its predecessor, will be harvesting and releasing its fly-wheel stored hybrid energy on the front axle (ERS-K), whilst the V6 TDI power plant drives the rear wheels.
The FIA WEC will be hosting its official test days at Paul Ricard next
week, 28-29 March, followed by the opening round at Silverstone, 20 April.
A video from the COTA testing, which includes an interview with Dr.
Wolfgang Ullrich, can be seen HERE (From Statesman.com).
More photos from the COTA testing can be seen at the Friends of Formula
1 Austin Texas Facebook page HERE.
Please note: The independent Audi Motorsport Blog does not normally report or post news
and/or spy-photos of private/secret Audi LMP1 or DTM testing. We only mention
these types of tests after the official Audi Communication - Motorsport media
channels have publically acknowledged the occurrence of these secret tests.
Photo credit: Friends of Formula 1 Austin Texas
