The 24 hour Le Mans is one of the biggest races of the year, simply because there are few platforms like the Le Mans that push auto manufacturers to such limits. Audi, who first participated in Le Mans in 1999, will be making its 18th appearance this time around with the new Audi R18 LMP sports car.
Conditions at Le Mans differ from those of the WEC rounds at Silverstone (UK) and at Spa (Belgium). Nobody can practice on the 13.629-kilometer circuit as it largely consists of public roads and is closed to normal traffic only for the test day and the race week. Lucas di Grassi achieved an average speed of nearly 244 km/h at the test day. Audi will be racing at Le Mans with special low-drag aerodynamics.
Audi’s line-up this year consists of Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer in car number 7 and di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis in car number 8.
Audi R18 LMP (Photo: Audi)
Audi is the only brand to rely on a highly efficient diesel hybrid powertrain. In 2006, Audi was the first manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with a diesel engine and has clinched eight victories with the TDI engine since then. They also set a new distance record in 2010 that has not been broken to date.
In 2006, the Audi R10 TDI had a V12 TDI engine with 5.5 liters of displacement. Now, a 4-liter V6 TDI powers the R18 – it uses 46.3 percent less fuel and the race car achieves better lap times.
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