Audi’s record at Le Mans bears repetition. 13 wins from 16 starts. Between 2000 and 2015, and with a single win apiece, only Peugeot, Bentley and 2015 winners Porsche have headed home Ingolstadt’s prototypes.
All the time Dr Ullrich has been at the helm; securing funding, nurturing relationships, pushing limits. When we meet, at the 2016 WEC season-opener at Silverstone, Ullrich carries the confidence of a man in a job he was born to do, though if the FIA hadn’t forced Audi out of touring car racing in the 1990s, the marque may never have ventured into endurance racing in the first place…
‘We raced to prove that quattro was good not only on snow and mud,’ explains Ullrich, who joined Audi Sport in 1993. ‘That had been the message all along; in rallying, in IMSA GTO in the States [with the 700bhp 90] and in DTM. But by ’96, after years of the FIA trying to nullify the advantage of four-wheel drive, we had a meeting. Max Mosley told us, “Sorry, I have to ban four-wheel drive”. What to do now?’
Fortunately Audi had the budget to aim high: Le Mans, or as Ullrich describes it ‘the best communicated race event in the world’. The marque’s immediate success – third with the R8R in ’99; the win a year later with the R8 – says a great deal about Ullrich, his resources and the importance of a key ally, Team Joest. Joest scored its first win at Le Mans in ’84 with a 956 and went on to become synonymous with Porsche and endurance racing glory. By ’97 it had amassed a wealth of experience. Audi had none. Ullrich swooped.
‘The chance to get Joest was there because there was no real programme with Porsche, so Joest was looking for a new challenge – it just came together,’ says Ullrich. ‘They brought experience, and with us they were able to work more closely with a manufacturer than they’d done before. This combination has been the secret of our success.’
Ullrich also does his homework. ‘Back then I looked at the last ten races and the causes of retirement,’ he explains. ‘We avoided those by making our second car, the R8, very easy to repair.’ As a result Audi is responsible in no small part for the ultra-reliable modern endurance racer, a phenomenon that’s made Le Mans harder to win than ever before.
‘It is a mythical race,’ says Ullrich. ‘24 hours with the speed and pressure of high-level competition, and on a combination of circuit and closed roads that gives it such character… It’s unique because it is so challenging. If you win, the value of the win is very high, and all the important automotive brands have tried to be successful there. This is why we go, and why the others come. But it is a sprint race – this is no cliché. Now, if you have an issue that brings you into the pits for more than three minutes it is difficult to go for victory. Years ago it was different. If you had a fast car you could spend 15 minutes repairing it and still fight back.’
Ullrich’s Audis have always been fast, from the R8 (five wins) through the R10 and R15 TDIs (four wins) to the closed-cockpit, diesel-electric R18 (four wins and counting…). ‘It is a technology-driven category,’ says Ullrich of the WEC’s appeal to OEMs. ‘A lot of effort goes into the rulebook, to ensure the different concepts are competitive. We had to convince the rule-makers to open the regulations to other combustion concepts, but then we were first with the diesel and, when our competitors (notably Peugeot) moved to diesel, the next step was hybrids with regenerative braking. The rules are good – this year we are on the same level as the gasoline-powered Porsche.’
The 2016 R18 is a kitchen-sink bid to win back Le Mans glory from Porsche, begun the very afternoon Audi failed to cross the line first last year. And if, during its gestation, Ullrich had F1 on his mind – it’s understood Audi is planning a move into F1 in 2018 – you’d never know.
‘I first looked at F1 in ’94 and there hasn’t been a single year in which we haven’t looked at it,’ he says. ‘There is no question that F1 is the best-televised motorsport in the world – this is the main pro and has been for years. But Audi has always had the need to develop future technologies and for many years F1 didn’t even look at that. Now they have taken a step, with hybrids, but the limitations there are much bigger than in sports prototypes. Then there is the cost. Last year we spent less on our entire motorsport programme [Le Mans, the WEC, DTM…] than Red Bull spent on Formula One.’ Besides, Ullrich is keen to first claim back the Le Mans crown he has out on loan to Porsche.
Q&A
Best driver you’ve worked with? ‘I am a happy man because it is not easy to say. If you look at the numbers, personality and awareness it’s Tom [Kristensen]. But there are some other guys who have been at a high level in my team for a long time who are also special.’
Career low?‘Michele Alboreto’s [fatal] accident in testing [in an R8 in 2001], because that was simply the worst thing that could happen.’
Did Nissan’s front-engined LMP1 prototype ever have you worried? ‘Because the manufacturers in the series have been there with the same rulebook for two or three years, it isn’t easy to jump in, as Nissan found out. The level of competition is so high. The Nissan was an interesting concept, and you know one thing for certain: that they’re doing it because they’re convinced it is competitive.’
Can Ford win?‘With the record they have at Le Mans it’s good to have them back. But it would be great if they had come into LMP1.’
Do you sleep at Le Mans? ‘I never sleep, except maybe sitting with the mechanics I fall asleep in a chair for ten minutes. But I’m always ready because you win Le Mans when you come up with the best solutions for the unpredictable.’
The race
The 84th Le Mans 24 Hours starts at 14.00 (UK time) on Saturday 18 June 2016. The weekend’s action starts with free practice on 15 June.
24h-lemans.com