Duval with McNish and Kristensen for the WEC

Audi will have to react this season by WEC. If the Ingolstadt brand won its 11th victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship last year, the R18s were battered by the arrival of Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer quickly proved effective with its TS030 as it won three times in six events contested by the Japanese firm. With the confirmation of a second Japanese car in 2013, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich's team will have to be aggressive.

Audi will therefore enter two R18 e-tron quattros for the entire WEC season and a third at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans which will be driven by Oliver Jarvis, Lucas di Grassi and Marc Gené. The 2012 champions Benoît Tréluyer, André Lotterer and Marcel Fässler will logically put their title on the line in the No. 1, while the No. 2 will still be driven by Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish. The two endurance veterans will however be joined by Loïc duval who will compete in his first full season in the WEC after making his debut on the R18 at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

“With these three crews, we have formed an international team which has many ambitions”, confirms Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Our young drivers will have the chance to make their mark alongside the experienced Audi drivers who have satisfied us with superb results over all these years. With this, we have a very strong line-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other WEC events”, underlines the sports director.