Can-adian driver Bruno Spengler has a target on his back. The27-year-old Mercedes-Benz racer has been dominating the Europeanseries this season, leading the points standings heading intothe sixth round Aug. 7 at the challenging Nürburgring circuit in Germany.series is a 10-race tour with stops at some of the most famousroad circuits in Europe and, this season, it features a shootout betweentwo well-known premium German brands - Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Audihas finished atop the final standings five times, including three consecutive seasons from 2007 to 2009, and is determined to return the championship trophy to Ingolstadt this year.Spengler drives under the Mercedes-Benz Bank banner, one ofthree factory-backed teams. However, as the series kicks off the final half of its schedule, a trio of Audi teams, with factory support, is focused on unseating the young Canadian. Italian driver Edoardo Mortara, a24-year-old rookiewho gave me an inside look at the seriesand the cars.
We are not competing as individuals but as one teamwho drives for Keke Rosberg's Playboy-sponsored team. "Our goal -everyone's goal - is to win the European championship for Audi. Whenone of us wins a race, that's great for Audi because it's another steptoward our goal of winning the championship this year."was the top contender from Audi heading into Sunday'sround, trailing Spengler by just three points. Timo Scheider, who won back-to-backtitles for Audi in 2008 and 2009, was 15 points back of the leader.
As an example of the all-for-one approach, Mortara says all three Audi teams, with nine cars on the grid for the race, have a policy of sharing all engineering data. The drivers, too, have access to all the details downloaded from every lap, so they can compare their own strengths and also note areas where they can improve their techniques.
The experience of riding at speed in one of these machines is breath-taking. With 470 horsepower on tap from the 4.0-litre normally aspirated V8 to propel the 1,059-kilogram car, acceleration is amazing. The most impressive aspect of those laps was the Audi's ability to brake. Huge ventilated carbon-fibre rotors - the largest I've seen on a car - are mounted at the four corners, and their ability to haul the car down took my breath away - literally.
On race day, Audi driver Mattias Ekstrom started from the pole and won the 49-lap race. Mike Rockenfeller, also in an Audi, had second place secured until he overcooked his entry into a corner with two laps remaining, opening the door for Spengler to take the position and boost his points lead to seven. Rockenfeller recovered to place third.
We are not competing as individuals but as one teamwho drives for Keke Rosberg's Playboy-sponsored team. "Our goal -everyone's goal - is to win the European championship for Audi. Whenone of us wins a race, that's great for Audi because it's another steptoward our goal of winning the championship this year."was the top contender from Audi heading into Sunday'sround, trailing Spengler by just three points. Timo Scheider, who won back-to-backtitles for Audi in 2008 and 2009, was 15 points back of the leader.
As an example of the all-for-one approach, Mortara says all three Audi teams, with nine cars on the grid for the race, have a policy of sharing all engineering data. The drivers, too, have access to all the details downloaded from every lap, so they can compare their own strengths and also note areas where they can improve their techniques.
The experience of riding at speed in one of these machines is breath-taking. With 470 horsepower on tap from the 4.0-litre normally aspirated V8 to propel the 1,059-kilogram car, acceleration is amazing. The most impressive aspect of those laps was the Audi's ability to brake. Huge ventilated carbon-fibre rotors - the largest I've seen on a car - are mounted at the four corners, and their ability to haul the car down took my breath away - literally.
On race day, Audi driver Mattias Ekstrom started from the pole and won the 49-lap race. Mike Rockenfeller, also in an Audi, had second place secured until he overcooked his entry into a corner with two laps remaining, opening the door for Spengler to take the position and boost his points lead to seven. Rockenfeller recovered to place third.
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