Audi aims for twelfth victory at Le Mans
· Three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars at season’s top event for sports cars
Ingolstadt – On June 22/23, Audi will be competing at the classic 24-hour race at Le Mans for the 15th time. On the 90th anniversary of the world’s most important endurance race, the challenge is particularly great for the brand with the four rings, following the most recent changes in the regulations.
Le Mans 2013 will be a year of historic dimensions. The inaugural event of the endurance race was held 90 years ago. Audi is now competing for the 15th time. The current World Endurance Champions Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) will enter the race in the number ‘1′ Audi R18 e-tron quattro. If successful, the three drivers, following two consecutive victories, could manage a hat-trick at La Sarthe. This was last achieved by another Audi trio: In 2000, 2001 and 2002, Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro/Tom Kristensen (D/I/DK) remained unbeaten three times in succession.
Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen (eight wins) expects to be in contention for a top result with his current team-mates Loïc Duval (F) and Allan McNish (GB) as well. In April, the trio won the season opener of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Silverstone. A year ago, Kristensen and McNish finished as the runners-up at Le Mans.
The driver line-up of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro designated as car number ‘3′ is aiming for the trophy as well: Marc Gené (E) was the overall winner at Le Mans in 2009. Oliver Jarvis (GB) was on podium at Le Mans for the first time last year and in March won the 12-hour race at Sebring (USA) in the R18 e-tron quattro. Lucas di Grassi (BR) is experiencing a premiere. The Brazilian is contesting his first Le Mans race and since making his WEC debut with Audi last September has finished his three races to date on the podium. In doing so, he continually benefited from the wealth of experience of his team-mates in the Audi driver squad that boasts an amazing combined tally of 17 Le Mans victories.
On the technology side, the team of Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and Chris Reinke, Head of LMP, has rigorously prepared for the toughest race of the season as well. The Audi R18 e-tron quattro has been thoroughly revised with respect to the engine, the hybrid system, its ultra-lightweight design and in other areas. Furthermore, the diesel hybrid sports car will be running with optimized aerodynamics at Le Mans.
Audi is underscoring its role as a technology pioneer with the high-performance LED headlights featuring matrix-beam technology, the digital rear-view mirror with an AMOLED display and other forward-thinking detailed solutions. Audi has been transferring a wealth of innovations from motorsport to its products for more than 30 years. Customers profit from ideas such as quattro four-wheel drive and leading-edge TDI and TFSI engines as well as the most recent innovations in the field of active safety.
The score in the duel between FIA Endurance World Champion Audi and challenger Toyota is currently at 5-3. But although Audi has been unbeaten this year in sports prototype racing to date and set the best time on the test day on June 9, a question mark remains: More than ever before, it is uncertain whether the rating of diesel and gasoline engines is sufficiently balanced to ensure fair relative strengths over the distance. Since January, diesel sports cars have progressively been subjected to more severe restrictions.
Viewers can watch the race live on Eurosport and numerous other TV stations worldwide and on the internet at www.audi-motorsport.com – including onboard footage and telemetry data of the three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars. A live ticker is available on the Audi Sport app and Twitter. Audi provides background information on Facebook as well.
Topics of the weekend
-How will the changes to the regulations affect the competition at the front of the field?
Quotes by the officials
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport: “This year, Le Mans will be a particularly great challenge for us. There have been various changes made to the regulations in recent months. This has put us in a position that will make it difficult for us to decide the competition in our favor based on our racing performance. But we’re going to focus on our strengths as a team, which we’ve demonstrated on numerous occasions. It’s about doing a one-hundred-percent perfect job. We’ve got to reduce the stopping times in the pits to a minimum and, that way, try to compensate for the restrictions which the regulations have imposed on us.”
Chris Reinke, Head of LMP: “We thoroughly prepared for the most important race of the year with the entire team and, as is typical for Audi, are again entering the race with a number of innovations this year. On the test day a week ago, we didn’t learn a lot yet about how the relative strengths pan out this year. The first two WEC races haven’t been representative either. We’re eager to see how the race week will develop and whether the type of battle will be possible that the audience and we all greatly wish to see – a balanced competition for overall victory. We’ve done everything we could on our part to make this happen.”
Ralf Jüttner, Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest: “We’re very much hoping to see a classic race at Le Mans this year that won’t make things too easy for anybody. Maybe we’ll get an idea of absolute lap times in qualifying. But we’ll probably only be able to tell during the course of the race what effects the most recent changes in the regulations will have. Only then will we be able to finalize our strategy. I’m expecting an intense battle.”
Facts and quotes by the Audi drivers
Marcel Fässler (37/CH), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
André Lotterer (31/D), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
Benoît Tréluyer (36/F), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
Loïc Duval (31/F), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
Tom Kristensen (45/DK), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
Allan McNish (43/GB), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
Marc Gené (39/E), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #3 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
Lucas di Grassi (28/BR), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #3 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
Oliver Jarvis (29/GB), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #3 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
The Audi drivers at Le Mans
Loïc Duval (F): * June 12, 1982 in Chartres (F); residence: Tokyo (J); single (partner Gaëlle), one son (Hugo); height: 1.78 m; weight: 70 kg; Audi driver since 2012; Le Mans victories: 0; WEC races: 5; WEC victories: 1; WEC pole positions: 0; fastest WEC laps: 1; best result Le Mans 24 Hours: 5
Marcel Fässler (CH): * May 27, 1976 in Einsiedeln (CH); residence: Gross (CH); married to Isabel, four daughters (Shana, Elin, Yael and Delia); height: 1.78 m; weight: 78 kg; Audi driver since 2008; Le Mans victories: 2; WEC races: 10; WEC victories: 4; WEC pole positions: 1; fastest WEC laps: 1; best result Le Mans 24 Hours: 1
Marc Gené (E): * March 03, 1974 in Sabadell (E); residence: Barcelona (E); single, one son (Patrick) and one daughter (Sienna); height: 1.73 m; weight: 69 kg; Audi driver since 2012; Le Mans victories: 1; WEC races: 3; WEC victories: 1; WEC pole positions: 0; fastest WEC laps: 0; best result Le Mans 24 Hours: 1
Lucas di Grassi (BR): * August 11, 1984 in São Paulo (BR); residence: Monaco (MC); single; height: 1.79 m; weight: 75 kg; Audi driver since 2012; Le Mans victories: 0; WEC races: 2; WEC victories: 0; WEC pole positions: 0; fastest WEC laps: 1; best result Le Mans 24 Hours: –
Oliver Jarvis (GB): * January 09, 1984 in Burwell (GB); residence: Burwell (GB); single; height: 1.80 m; weight: 70 kg; Audi driver since 2008; Le Mans victories: 0; WEC races: 3; WEC victories: 0; WEC pole positions: 0; fastest WEC laps: 0; best result Le Mans 24 Hours: 3
Tom Kristensen (DK): * July 07, 1967 in Hobro (DK); residence: Hobro (DK); single (partner: Hanne), two sons (Oliver and Oswald), one daughter (Carla Marlou); height: 1.74 m; weight: 72 kg; Audi driver since 2000, Le Mans victories: 8; WEC races: 10; WEC victories: 2; WEC pole positions: 0; fastest WEC laps: 1; best result Le Mans 24 Hours: 1
André Lotterer (D): * November 19, 1981 in Duisburg (D); residence: Tokyo (J);
Allan McNish (GB): * December 29, 1969 in Dumfries (GB); residence: Monaco (MC); married to Kelly, one son (Finlay), one daughter (Charlotte Amelie); height: 1.65 m; weight: 60 kg; Audi driver in 2000, since 2004; Le Mans victories: 2; WEC races: 10; WEC victories: 2; WEC pole positions: 2; fastest WEC laps: 1; best result Le Mans 24 Hours: 1
Benoît Tréluyer (F): * December 07, 1976 in Alençon (F); residence: Gordes (F); married to Melanie, one son (Jules); height: 1.78 m; weight: 68 kg; Audi driver since 2010; Le Mans victories: 2; WEC races: 10; WEC victories: 4; WEC pole positions: 1; fastest WEC laps: 0; best result Le Mans 24 Hours: 1
All Le Mans winners (since 2000)
2000 Biela/Kristensen/Pirro (Audi)
Track info
Track length: 13.629 km
Oliver Jarvis about the track at Le Mans
“Le Mans is unique and at night it’s even more challenging. We brake hard into the first chicane. In traffic, you lose a lot of time there. We take the S-turns with a lot of momentum. Then we’ve got to run through Tertre Rouge. This fast turn takes us onto the Hunaudières straight. You brake hard from high speed into the two chicanes on the long straight and the power has to start flowing at the exit. The area where you brake in front of the Mulsanne corner is located in a bend. After a straight section, the Indianapolis double-turn follows. Indianapolis 1 is very fast, part 2 a slow left-hand bend. The tightest corner is Arnage. Then the Porsche corners follow, which arguably are the nicest part of the track. Finally, there is a chicane before the start and finish straight. But you’ve got to watch out as it’s easy to lose four or five seconds in traffic there. It’s a brilliant circuit.”
Timetable
Wednesday, June 19
Thursday, June 20
Friday, June 21
Saturday, June 22
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