Le Mans – Audi: The Test Day will be very intensive

Test Day 24 Hours of Le Mans promises to be studious for the manufacturers fighting for overall victory. If Porsche will have everything to rediscover on the Sarthe circuit, Audi and Toyota will also have to take their cues from the new regulations which limit fuel consumption per lap. Listed in the lowest ERS class with less than 2MJ per lap, the R18 e-tron quattro may not be the most advantaged. The manufacturer with 12 victories will have many questions to resolve when he arrives at Le Mans.

“It will be very important to take advantage of the time available in order to optimize preparation as best as possible”, comments Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. “We will have eight hours of testing for a very intensive program on June 1st. The new regulation requires us to take care of even more factors than in the past. In addition to the usual work on the settings, the tests will serve to achieve for the first time the consumption objectives set on this circuit. »

Audi will be limited to 3,95l of diesel to cover the 13,629km of the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit. The German brand nevertheless hopes to progress quickly over the laps completed this weekend with its three R18 e-tron quattros on which the crews already registered for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will compete. “Throughout our testing sessions and at the end of the first two rounds of the WEC at Silverstone and Spa, we noticed that the new regulations were associated with many learning processes”, adds Chris Reinke, director of the LMP program at Audi Sport. “We have now become accustomed to the implementation of these new rules, as well as to our new car configured for a 24-hour race at Le Mans (with the No. 18 R3 at the 6 Hours of Spa). »

Discover our 24 Hours of Le Mans Guide currently available in digital version on all platforms and on newsstands.