The Audi RS Q e-tron is making a name for itself in this Dakar. However, it is not a simple question of results, also because a race like that of the most famous Rally Raid in the desert, lives to the day. Today you are in heaven, tomorrow in a hell of sand between problems and navigation.
However, the vision that Ingolstadt has brought to these latitudes no, that remains constant, and is linked to a wide-ranging planning that sees the Four Rings aiming strongly at the Dakar now and in future years, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, without forgetting to Formula 1 and, why not, also Valentino Rossi for the future. The present therefore traces new technological paths and this 2022 edition is only a preamoblo.
These are not suppositions, however: this is the thought of Oliver Hoffmann, head of the technical development board in Ingolstadt, whom we intercepted in the Riyhad bivouac.
“I’m really proud of the whole team, it’s our first Dakar and in less than 12 months we have developed and finished the car. I’m really proud. We said that if we would enter the Dakar, we would do it in a non-traditional way, so not with a petrol engine. The RS Q e-tron concept is working very well, and the electric motorization is convincing. We are proud to have immediately won a stage with Carlos Sainz (later repeated with the victory of Ekstrom ed) in the first race that the car is running. The whole board is happy at Ingolstandt “.
Hoffmann and Audi have an important tradition in endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Sarthe marathon will see Ingolstadt again as a protagonist starting from 2023, with an LMDh. That same 2023 in which we will aim for victory in the dunes.
# 202 Team Audi Sport Audi: Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz
Photo by: ASO
Yeah, but which of the two is the more important program?
“I cannot say which is the most important for us, I can say which is more important for the technological contribution. We have a great history at Le Mans, and it is fundamental for us. Here at the Dakar, however, we are pushing ourselves to new limits. We are developing new technology in the desert ”
More than once it has been pointed out that this prototype is “simply” an electric product with a range extender, especially since the ICE is a TFSI Turbo petrol engine deriving from the DTM unit …
“The ICE is not part of the concept where we have focused most. We can also change our thermal unit as an Energy Converter, and also evaluate other solutions for the future. We are focusing on the weight and efficiency of the electrical part.”
You are defining the thermal engine as an energy converter and not a range extender. What is the difference technically?
“The concept is similar, but the setting is different. The thermal unit works to control the autonomy of the battery, but also the state of charge of the battery itself”.
This element is fundamental and interesting, but it must be investigated. In fact, the Audi e-tron RSQ is recharged every evening. The electric motor, the third MGU unit to be more precise, takes energy from the heat engine, with the latter therefore serving to “create energy”, not to give power. Although, from this point of view, due to the nature of a battery, the higher the SOC, the State of Charge, the more power you will have to exploit.
Precisely for this reason, when we interviewed Stephane Peterhansel, Mr Dakar told us how the internal combustion engine was running half the time during the simplest passages, while on the dunes and on soft sand, the heat engine remains on at 100%. In fact, in situations of demand for power and torque, keeping the SOC of the battery always on “full charge” values helps to have more power, but also a coherent response on the accelerator pedal. A very interesting system, therefore, that is not “limited” only to acting as a range extender.
# 200 Team Audi Sport Audi: Stéphane Peterhansel, Edouard Boulanger
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Technical speeches aside, Hoffmann focuses on the sporting aspect of the Dakar itself …
“I didn’t really expect these results, to be honest. It’s only our first race, this must be underlined anyway. Of course, if we had been able to choose, the Dakar would not have been the first race to run, but I didn’t expect this speed and these results. That’s why we’re thrilled. I’ve seen the Dakar in the past, having Carlos, Stephane and Mattias with us is something special. ”
What will you focus on in terms of development?
“We will work a lot on weight and energy density on everyone. We must and want to make this car more efficient. This is why we have chosen the technical path of the Energy Converter. There is room to develop it, we have to develop it, but the the goal for this year however remains the end of the Dakar “.
Have you decided which other races to run?
“Not yet, for sure the next Dakar. We still have to discuss it, but the fever for this Rally Raid has infected Ingolstadt.”
Will you adapt this technology to other motorsport competitions?
“Definitely. We have some ideas because it is a very clever way to push electric motorization, and to make it effective for long distances. Because for us, to be clear, our future is electric, the electric drivetrain is our future and for this is what we are pushing on. On this point … we have made a decision regarding Le Mans, we will see in the future what it will be … “.
The discourse obviously widens and widens. And the question of whether to enter Formula 1 is – in some ways – also obvious. Hoffmann is not unbalanced, but repeatedly emphasizes his appreciation for future regulatory changes, with the abandonment of the MGU-H.
“I think about Formula 1 the FIA made some good decisions about the future of the series. The last season was very interesting and they made some good decisions, but … we’ll see. Now we’re focused on that … Dakar and Le Mans … we will see into the future. In recent years, however, we have turned our gaze to many motorsport series that made sense to us as a brand. ”
Maybe a GT series with Valentino Rossi, given the recent test with the WRT team’s R8 EVO on the Cheste in Valencia.
“I love Valentino and …[sorride]. Why not! He tested a WRT specimen a few weeks ago. We also had interesting DTM races with a MotoGP rider (Andrea Dovizioso nda) …. why not then! “.
Valentino Rossi, WRT Audi R8 GT3 LMS
Photo by: Ferdi Kräling Motorsport-Bild GmbH
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