On the Whitsun weekend, the Audi R10 TDI will make its racing début at Spa-Francorchamps, on one of the world’s most demanding race tracks. For Audi, the race in the Belgian Ardennes is more than just the third round of the Le Mans Series: with every racing kilometre, valuable know-how is being collected, which is fed into the next generation of Audi TDI engines. The same applies to the diesel fuel used in the V12 TDI engine of the Audi R10 TDI: Shell V-Power Diesel is a extremely clean diesel fuel delivering a very high performance, which is subjected to continuous development by means of motorsport.
 
With the R10 TDI project, Audi proved its pioneering spirit yet again. The brand with the four rings was the first automobile manufacturer to venture the project of creating a diesel sportscar for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The courage of innovation was rewarded: in 2006 Audi made headlines around the world with the first-ever Le Mans victory of a diesel engine. In 2007 the R10 TDI was again triumphant at Le Mans.
 
As a development partner, Shell was involved in the R10 TDI project from the outset. Since its victorious début in March 2006, the diesel-powered sportscar from Ingolstadt has been running with GTL diesel fuel from Shell.
 
GTL (Gas-to-Liquids) is gained from natural gas. The synthetic diesel fuel reduces consumption and is characterised by extremely clean combustion. GTL is as clear as water, has no odour and contains no sulphur.
 
The GTL fuel, which is produced in Malaysia, is the stage preceding BTL (Biomass-to-Liquids), a future fuel using biological waste as its base material, that will result in a further, massive reduction of CO2 emissions. The engine of the R10 TDI is already fully designed for using BTL diesel fuel.
 
Similar to Audi, Shell uses its motorsport commitment to glean knowledge for regular, road-going products. "Before Audi addressed the topic there was no diesel know-how in motorsport," explains Richard Karlstetter, who is responsible for the project at Shell. "At Shell, motorsport and production development constantly work together. With the R10 TDI, Shell is learning more about GTL diesel fuel, which started selling at filling stations after the first victory at Le Mans."
 
Meanwhile, the competition has started benefiting from the joint development of Shell and Audi as well: Shell V-Power Diesel is prescribed as the official fuel at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in the American Le Mans Series and in the Le Mans Series. That is why the Peugeot 908 runs with GTL as well.
 
The duel between the quick diesel sportscars from Audi and Peugeot has been dominating the headlines in the European Le Mans Series, which will be staged at Spa-Francorchamps from 9 to 11 May. The Audi youngsters Alexandre Prémat (France) and Mike Rockenfeller (Germany) are coming to Belgium as the leaders of the drivers’ standings and want to defend their lead. Their team-mates Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) were struck by considerable misfortune at the two first races and are eager to finally clinch a podium position.