With air temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the shade, high humidity and asphalt temperatures reaching up to 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit), conditions for the R10’s debut on the demanding Florida track were unimaginably tough. Allan McNish had already shown the potential of the 650 hp V12 TDI engine with a record-breaking pole position time in qualifying. Due to a heat exchanger having to be replaced after the morning warm-up, Dindo Capello was forced to start the number two R10 TDI from the pit-lane and chase from the back of the field. It took Capello just 30 minutes to work his way from 35th and last position to second, right behind the sister car driven by Frank Biela. Shortly before the end of the second hour, Capello took the lead, which the number two R10 TDI kept until the finish. The number one Audi R10 TDI driven by Biela had dominated the race for the first two hours but was withdrawn just before completing one-third distance due to an overheated engine. The reason was simple – the car’s telemetry system had failed shortly after the start of the race. As a consequence, Audi Sport’s engine technicians had no data at all for the whole distance. When driver Marco Werner reported high water temperatures via radio during the fourth hour of the race, the second placed R10 TDI was called into the pits. The team discovered the car’s radiators were completely blocked by tyre rubber debris. After cleaning the radiators, the temperatures dropped immediately. However, as a precaution Team Audi Sport North America decided to withdraw the second placed R10 TDI from the race because the engine had been running with significantly high temperatures for an extended period. The two Audi R10 diesel racers next turned a wheel in anger at the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans in July 2006.
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