Audi at Le Mans: three shock trios

Audi, for the next 24 Hours of Le Mans, has chosen a mixture of stability and novelty. At the wheel of the No. 15 Audi R7, three experienced drivers and multiple winners of the Le Mans double round of the clock will take turns. We will thus find the winning crew of the 2008 edition, namely Dindo Capello, Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen, the latter being the record holder for victories (8) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The three men know each other perfectly and between them have won the legendary Le Mans race twelve times. As in 2009, they will be Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich's right-hand men. They also report unprecedented experience, with an average age of 42 years.

Romain Dumas et Timo Bernhard, pilotes officiels Porsche, poursuivront leur collaboration avec Audi, après avoir pris le volant de la R15 n°3 l?an passé, en compagnie d?Alexandre Prémat. Les deux compères sont renouvelés au volant de l?Audi n°9, pas Prémat, qui laisse sa place à Mike Rockenfeller. Ce dernier, récent vainqueur des 24 Heures de Daytona et pilote de l?Audi n°2 au Mans l?an passé, est confirmé par la marque à l?étoile pour la composition d?un équipage qui se veut solide et, malgré la jeunesse des pilotes (moyenne d?âge, 29 ans), déjà expérimenté.

The novelty comes from the crew of the Audi R15 n°8, completely renewed. Audi has placed its trust in the Swiss Marcel Fässler, the German Andre Lotterer and the Frenchman Benoît Tréluyer. The latter had participated in the last three editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Pescarolo, finishing sixth in LMP1 in 2007, seventh in 2008 and making a mistake in the night in 2009, at the wheel of the Peugeot 908 Pescarolo.

« We are pleased that the ACO has accepted our three applications for the most important automobile race in the world, says Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Our goal is to bring the trophy back to Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. Three cars are three chances and the seats of our R15 TDIs are made up of high-level drivers. I thank Porsche, which once again makes two of its best drivers available to us, Timo (Bernhard) and Romain (Dumas), whose first race at Le Mans with Audi we enjoyed. »