Quick Decisions

Auszug

Formula 1 world champion, Nico Rosberg, is to end his career. Volkswagen is to quit the World Rally Championship after lifting driver and manufacturer titles. Plus, after 18 years of participation, Audi has decided to leave the prototype World Endurance Championship and henceforth focus on its works team in the Formula E Championship. Motorsports gave us surprising news aplenty as 2016 drew to a close. The most significant story, however, is surely the last one – namely that besides the German Touring Car Master (DTM), Audi will solely focus on electric motorsports in future. This also means that the high-efficiency turbodiesel engines, developed under the leadership of Ulrich Baretzky in Heilbronn, will no longer grace the 24 Hours of Le Mans event, either. Compared with Audi's turbodiesel racing debut in 2006, the Audi R18 consumed 46.4 % less fuel on its last appearance – thanks partly to a hybrid system delivering 350 kW of output power – while achieving lap times that were 10 to 15 s faster. …