From the racetrack Audi motorsport news

Aug 31, 2008

Audi drivers Marcel Fässler and Emanuele Pirro achieved their first victory in the LM P1 class of the American Le Mans Series in the city street race in Detroit (U.S. state of Michigan). After a faultless drive they finished third overall with their Audi R10 TDI. Lucas Luhr and Marc Werner retired early following an accident and, after seven consecutive victories, for the first time this year did not score any points.

At the "Belle Isle Street Circuit", Team Audi Sport North America’s two Audi R10 TDI prototypes started the race from the forth row of the grid. During the first half hour of the race, Emanuele Pirro and Lucas Luhr passed the two Penske Porsches and one of the four Acura/Hondas. The two diesel-powered sports cars were running in fourth and fifth position when Lucas Luhr first spun on lap 22 before crashing sideways into a tyre wall at high speed on the same lap – his foot having slipped from the brake pedal on a bump, Luhr remained unhurt. The race, however, ended prematurely for him and his teammate Marco Werner because under IMSA rules a repair was not permitted.
 
This meant, all hopes of the Audi squad remained on the "sister car" which Emanuele Pirro handed over in third position to Marcel Fässler on lap 62. In his second race for Audi the Swiss drove faultlessly, bringing the R10 TDI home in third place. Fässler celebrated his first class victory in the American Le Mans Series. Emanuele Pirro scored his first win of the season.
 
Before the last two races at Road Atlanta (October 4) and Laguna Seca (October 18), only the Audi drivers Lucas Luhr, Marco Werner and Emanuele Pirro can still win the LM P1 Drivers’ Championship. Audi had already clinched the Manufacturers’ title last weekend at Mosport.
 
The results in Detroit
1 Rossiter/Montagny (Acura/Honda) 104 laps in 2h 46m 15.626s
2 Brabham/Sharp (Acura/Honda) + 3.985s
3 Fässler/Pirro (Audi R10 TDI) + 20.114s (1st in LM P1)
4 de Ferran/Pagenaud (Acura/Honda) + 28.836s
5 Dumas/Bernhard (Porsche) + 59.266s
6 Briscoe/Long (Porsche) + 59.792s
7 Smith/Dyson (Porsche) -1 lap
8 Devlin/Bonilla (Lola-Mazda) - 1 lap
9 Franchitti/Leitzinger (Porsche) - 2 laps
10 Beretta/Gavin (Chevrolet) - 4 laps