Tréluyer: “A family spirit”

Benoît, these are your first 24 Hours of Le Mans with Audi. What stands out to you about the German brand’s ceremonial?
It?s simply huge! We're over-busy. From my point of view, it's a bit too much for the drivers, given that we almost have to devote ourselves more to the side effects than to the race. Fortunately, we have a technical team that takes over from us and our real work is in the car. The technicians, after receiving our comments and thanks to the data, do not necessarily need us to work.

We know everything that Audi has brought to motorsport. Do we feel the pressure, the weight of experience, when joining such a team?
No, and that?s where they are incredible. They are very humble and don't put any pressure on us. They chose us after a lot of thought, they know what they are doing, so they have no pressure to put on us. Furthermore, everything is simulated, calculated and it's up to us to do our job as best as possible. There is truly a family spirit in this team. We don't feel the pressure from the manufacturer behind. It?s very pleasant for the pilots.

You talked about your occupation during the “asides”. Aren't you missing a bit of driving?
Lack of running, I could have told you that when I was with Henri (Pescarolo), who lacked budget, and therefore running. Honestly, we covered a lot of kilometers with the R15 Plus. I feel well prepared enough to attack the race.

But on this 24 Hour circuit?
Yes, we can always ride more. But we're not done yet. We're not going to do three weeks of driving. It’s true that the pre-qualifying sessions were good, they allowed you to have time to think. Now, it?s also a challenge to arrive and only have one week like for all the other races. Then, we must not forget that we are still in an economic crisis and that reducing costs remains an important thing, so that we and especially private teams can participate in such an event.

When you are a pilot, do you have to think about this economic context?
I think he never forgets this kind of thing, even if, for us, everything is going well. I have friends who would like to ride and who are not as lucky as I was, who are today in a situation where they can no longer find a sponsor, and who can no longer enjoy themselves by rolling. We must ensure that everyone can continue to have fun. Life is also made for that, so you have to know how to make sacrifices to continue to enjoy yourself.

You talk about the difficulties linked to the economic context. This year, Pescarolo Sport is not there. For you who rode with Pescarolo, that must hurt you?
It really hurts my heart not to see Henri and his entire team. Because we must not forget that, behind Henri, there is a whole team of passionate people, who gave everything for this team. Seeing them on vacation this week hurts my heart. Unfortunately, I don't have time to go see them, due to my work at Audi. I try to go see Henri every time I see him in the distance, to say hello to him and chat with him. I called him several times this winter. I knew what the situation was. As soon as I was in contact with Audi, I called him to ask him what was going on with his team. Pescarolo was my priority because Henri is the person who allowed me to do Le Mans in good conditions and who helps the young French drivers enormously. It would be good for him to continue or for someone to take over from him. But it really hurts my heart that he's not there.