Audi passes acid test of 24 hours on Nordschleife.

Team Abt Sportsline proved that its DTM championship-winning car is also fit for endurance races as, of the 210 teams that started this year's N?rburgring 24 Hours - and after more than 3500km on the N?rburgring-Nordschleife - Kris Nissen, Karl Wendlinger and Marco Werner finished second overall.

"The car was simply perfect," enthused Werner following his debut in the Abt-Audi TT-R, "That I was so quick right from the word go shows just how good the car is."

Team Abt Sportsline took up the challenge - with support from Quattro GmbH and the Audi Sport Customer Sport Department - to tackle the long distance classic on the legendary N?rburgring-Nordschleife with modified DTM racecars. It's 'courage' paid off, as the #8 Audi took the lead for the first time after only one and a half hours.

Nissen, Wendlinger and Werner were engaged in a fascinating duel with the subsequent winners up until Sunday morning, and the lead changed repeatedly, even in the early morning hours, with the two leading cars separated by less than a tenth of a second. Occasionally they raced side-by-side down the start and finish straight, entertaining the hardiest of the record-breaking 194,000 crowd.

"I think that there has hardly ever been such a thrilling battle on the Nordschleife than the one this weekend - I for one, couldn't sleep a single minute," team director Hans-J?rgen Abt admitted,"I am pleased that, with Quattro GmbH, we have a partner who shares our passion for the Nordschleife. That was a 24-hour sprint and an acid test for our TT-R."

The moment of truth in the battle for victory came after an incredible 20 hours of racing. A faulty power supply caused gear-shifting problems in the Abt-Audi TT-R, and the team decided to change the gearbox, which is identical in all DTM racecars. The #8 TT-R was back in the chase after only 40 minutes, salvaging second position as a result.

"This result is a tremendous success for us," said a radiant Christian Abt, who shared the sister car with Mattias Ekstr?m and three-time Le Mans winner Frank Biela, "Only a few people believed we could get a DTM car to finish on the Nordschleife - and, on top of that, we did it at this incredible speed."

The Abt/Biela/Ekstr?m combination finished in 29th position after changing the servo pump and gearbox on their car.

"Despite the problems, my touring car comeback was a lot of fun," sportscar ace Biela grinned.