Le Mans – Audi will be ready to defend its crown

Among the three manufacturers fighting for victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, Audi Sport is the only one to benefit from three cars. The presence of a third LMP1 in the Sarthe offers a clear advantage for the preparation of the cars and the teams since the brand with the Rings was able to complete a total of 284 laps at the end of the eight hours of testing, or 3870km. Additionally, the R18 e-tron quattro was able to keep pace with the Toyota TS040 since the No. 3 from Bonanomi-Albuquerque finished in third place, seven tenths behind the reference time established by Sébastien Buemi on the TS040 Hybrid n°8.

“Our drivers, Audi Sport Team Joest and all Audi Sport employees fulfilled the ambitious program of the day by carrying out valuable work”, comments Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, head of Audi's sports department. “The team exceeded our expectations. We will now use the remaining two weeks to analyze the data to find the best settings for our three cars. » Chris Reinke, director of the LMP program, shares the boss's opinion and seems convinced that his team will be able to fight for a 13th success in Sarthe. “We completed a long and intensive program. I thank everyone involved in the project who had a difficult few weeks and months. We will approach the week of competition with the feeling of being totally ready. We know how difficult Le Mans will be this year. We are focusing all our efforts on one goal, which is to fight for victory in two weeks. »

Discover the analysis of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1963 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.