•Ten years of TDI in 18th Audi participation in Le Mans
•Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: “Great respect for rivals”
•Two Audi R18 cars with experienced driver squads on grid
Never before has Audi made so much out of so little: In its 18th Le Mans participation since 1999, Audi has less fuel energy at its disposal than ever before – and less than its competitors, as specified by the regulations. Still, the new Audi R18 LMP sports car is to battle for the top spot on June 18 and 19 thanks to notable efficiency. 13 times Audi has won the 24-hour race to date and this year the endurance classic will arguably be as tough as never before.
“We’ve already seen how great the challenges are this year in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC),” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Audi met with strong rivals, won round two at Spa (Belgium) with Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis (BR/F/GB) and achieved the best time on the test day at Le Mans on June 5 with di Grassi. “However, it would be premature to draw clear conclusions from this for the race at Le Mans. We have great respect for our strong opponents,” says Dr. Ullrich.
Each of the three manufacturers battling for overall victory with their hybrid sports cars has already logged leading kilometers in the FIA WEC. Conditions at Le Mans differ from those of the WEC rounds at Silverstone (UK) and at Spa (Belgium). Nobody can practice on the 13.629-kilometer circuit as it largely consists of public roads and is closed to normal traffic only for the test day and the race week. Lucas di Grassi achieved an average speed of nearly 244 km/h at the test day. Audi will be racing at Le Mans with special low-drag aerodynamics.
