Audi entered the Pikes Peak for the first time in 1984. Michèle Mouton finished second in the Sport quattro; she won the race in 1985. In 1986, local driver Bobby Unser set a new record of 11:09.22 minutes in the S1; Walter Röhrl followed him the next year. His Sport quattro S1 was a concept of bare functionality pushed to the absolute limit. The five-cylinder engine pumped out440 kW (nearly 600 hp) and 590 Nm (435.16 lb-ft) of torque. The recirculation system kept the large turbocharger spinning. A dual- clutch transmission directed the power to a quattro powertrain with three locking differentials.On race day, June 11, Röhrl started second to last, before the driver with the fastest practice time, Ari Vatanen (Peugeot). As calm and collected as ever behind the wheel, the Bavarian navi- gated the world's highest highway in the record time of 10:47.85 minutes. He got the Sport quattro S1 into sixth gear four times and was clocked at 196 km/h (121.79 mph) at the fastest part of
the track. Röhrl beat Vatanen by nearly seven seconds.
Comments
Post a Comment