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Old 2 May 2010, 22:08 (Ref:2683469)   #30
chernaudi
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chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!
Actually at PLM, it was dry after about the first hour or so until it rained again during what would be the final 20-30 minutes of the race, and the Audis(especially the #2) was still faster in race trim than the 908s. That advantage may've been slight, but it was present. Could've been weather conditions(it seems that cool weather and other low grip conditons favor the Audi), and add to the fact that the #2 R15 for sure double stinted dry tires and Peugeot didn't, and the Audi didn't drop off might be a sign that the R15 since LM last year is easier on it's tires(back to the suspension/J-damper deal possibly).

Based on Paul Ricard and what the old R15 was able to do, it still has an agility advantage(lighter, which means better balast placemment and better natural weight distribution and braking), but has better strightline speed than the old car did. Peugeot may still have a speed advantage, but that top-end advantage seems to have been narrowed with the air restrictor changes the improvments on the Audi.

Nevertheless, Spa may be an Audi romp if it rains to any degree, especially if Peugeot hasn't fixed their suspension and ASR problems that have plauged that car's wet weather performance its entire life. Knowing this, they may get rid of the J-damper on the 909, and maybe the hydraulic system to shed weight and complexity. Audi had gotten rid of the areo channels on the R15, which seem to have helped that car immensly, so maybe we can see an improvement on the 909 if Peugeot go the same route with reducing complexity, but that's another story, and they're stuck with the 908 for now.
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