H Audi ανακοίνωσε ότι στον φετινό 24-ωρο αγώνα του Le Mans αλλά και στον 6-ωρο αγώνα του Spa, θα συμμετέχει με τρία R18 e-tron quattro με πληρώματα τους:
Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F)
Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish (F/DK/GB)
Marc Gené/Lucas di Grassi/Oliver Jarvis (E/BR/GB)
Παράλληλα, ανακοίνωσε ότι τα Audi R10 TDI και Audi R18 e-tron quattro βρέθηκαν στα 10 πιο εμβληματικά αγωνιστικά που συμμετείχαν ποτέ στα 90 χρόνια του 24-ωρου αγώνα του Le Mans
[Πηγή: Audi Motorsport]
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Audi sports cars selected as Le Mans icons
- ACO selects the ten most legendary Le Mans race cars of all time
- Audi R10 TDI and R18 e-tron quattro are winners of their eras
- Hybrid race car from Audi Sport wins Environmental Award as well
Ingolstadt/Paris, February 1, 2013 – The Audi R10 TDI and the Audi R18 e-tron quattro have gone down in Le Mans history. Now they have been selected to join the illustrious circle of the ten most iconic Le Mans sports cars of all time by a panel of expert judges and the fans.
On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Le Mans 24 Hours on June 22/23, 2013, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) had run a poll to select the Le Mans icons. More than 20,000 fans cast their votes online. The final decision was made by a twelve-member panel of expert judges including FIA President Jean Todt and ACO President Pierre Fillon in Paris on Friday. They selected the ten race cars that most decisively shaped Le Mans history in their respective decades.
Two of the ten Le Mans icons come from Ingolstadt. The Audi R10 TDI, in 2006 the first Le Mans winning car with a diesel engine, was voted the most legendary Le Mans sports car of the past decade. The Audi R18 e-tron quattro, in 2012 the first Le Mans winning car with hybrid drive, is the most important present-day Le Mans sports car.
“These two accolades fill us with great pride,” said Wolfgang Dürheimer, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development of AUDI AG when the results were announced in Paris. “Audi uses the Le Mans 24 Hours to demonstrate its technical expertise and to test new technologies on the race track. The R10 TDI and the R18 e-tron quattro are two particularly good examples of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik.’”
Three days earlier, also in Paris, Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich had accepted another award. An expert judging panel of the Festival Automobile International recognized the Le Mans winning Audi R18 e-tron quattro with the “Grand Prix de l’Environnement.” Through the intelligent combination of a compact V6 TDI engine and a hybrid system Audi Sport managed to reduce fuel consumption by ten percent compared to the year before.
In the 2013 season, Audi is competing with the updated hybrid sports car in the FIA World Endurance Championship and at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Mission title defence: Audi nominates driver line-ups for World Endurance Championship
- World Championship winning trio will race for Audi for the fourth consecutive year
- Two other teams with young and established drivers
- Three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars at Le Mans and at Spa
Ingolstadt/Paris, February 1, 2013 – Audi has established powerful driver pairings for its commitment in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The respective entries were confirmed today by the Selection Committee of the ACO and the FIA. Three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars will be competing at the Spa 6 Hours and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013. At each of the six other WEC rounds, Audi will be fielding two hybrid sports cars.
Drivers Marcel Fässler (CH), André Lotterer (D) and Benoît Tréluyer (F) are jointly tackling the title defense. The trio has been racing together for Audi since 2010 and celebrated the WEC drivers’ title and victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours last year, their biggest successes so far. Eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen (DK) and Allan McNish (GB), who has won at La Sarthe twice, are forming a team with Loïc Duval in 2013 for the first time. The Frenchman made his debut with Audi in 2012 and won the Spa 6 Hours. The two driver teams will be competing at all eight WEC rounds.
At the Spa 6 Hours and the Le Mans 24 Hours, Audi is relying on an additional driver line-up. The Brazilian Lucas di Grassi, who debuted with Audi in the WEC at his home round at São Paulo last year and immediately qualified on the front row, will be driving a third R18 e-tron quattro. He is sharing the cockpit this season with the Spaniard Marc Gené, last year’s winner of the Spa 6 Hours. Oliver Jarvis is the third driver in this combination. In the Audi R8 GRAND-AM, the Briton won the GT class at the Daytona 24 Hours a week ago.
“With these three combinations we’ve put together an international team that we expect a lot of,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Our younger drivers will have the chance to establish themselves alongside the experienced Audi drivers who have really been pleasing us with their top results in all these years. With that, we’re in a very good position in terms of drivers for the Le Mans 24 Hours as well as for the other WEC races.”
2013 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) driver combinations
Spa 6 Hours and Le Mans 24 Hours
Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F)
Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish (F/DK/GB)
Marc Gené/Lucas di Grassi/Oliver Jarvis (E/BR/GB)
All other 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship races (WEC)
Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F)
Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish (F/DK/GB)
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