State visit in the Audi pit
Great honor for Audi: before the start of the 83rd running of the 24-hour race at Le Mans, France’s President François Hollande visited the Audi Sport Team Joest pit. Together with Chairman of the Board of Management Rupert Stadler and Member of the Board of Management, Technical Development Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Motorsport Boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich received the President and accompanying Ministers Bernard Cazeneuve and Stéphane Lefoll. In addition to the leading politicians, the top motorsport officials Pierre Fillon (ACO) and Jean Todt (FIA) also honored Audi Sport. The Audi drivers were obviously also reluctant to miss such important visitors from their homeland, especially the French Le Mans winners Loïc Duval and Benoît Tréluyer.
VIPs visit Le Mans
The race weekend at Le Mans traditionally attracts many prominent guests to the paddock. Representing the top management: Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management, Volkswagen AG, and Prof. Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management, AUDI AG, as well as the other Audi Board Members Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Hackenberg, Luca de Meo, Thomas Sigi and Hubert Waltl. In addition, skiers Frida Hansdotter, Jessica Lindell-Vikarby and Adrien Théaux as well as AC Milan’s new trainer Siniša Mihajlović are trackside keeping their fingers crossed for their brand. Also spotted: DTM Team Boss Ernst Moser and Phil Schiller, Marketing Boss at Apple.
Tom Kristensen visits Police in Le Mans
Tom Kristensen was given a Police escort last year as he drove through Le Mans city center at the wheel of an Audi R18 e-tron quattro. On behalf of Audi Communications, the record winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans thanked the local authorities by visiting the ‘Hôtel de Police’ in the French city where he met the motorcyclists who had escorted him on his drive through Le Mans in 2014. Kristensen busily signed autographs and presented a freshly printed copy of his biography ‘Tom Kristensen – The Book’. “The visit was a wonderful surprise, because usually the Police get hardly any recognition for their work,” said delighted acting Division Inspector François Chaumard. Kristensen received a special plaque as memento of his visit and was allowed to sit in a Police car to conclude the occasion. Of course, he couldn’t resist testing the police siren…
Special moment for Le Mans winners
Even though they’ve now enjoyed it for a third time, it was still a very special moment for André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer: On Monday afternoon, at the Place Saint-Nicolas in the Le Mans city center, ACO President Pierre Fillon unveiled the bronze plaque on which the handprints of last year’s Le Mans winners are captured for posterity. In 2014, the three Audi drivers celebrated an amazing third win together in the Le Mans 24 Hours, and this weekend will battle for yet another win at the wheel of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro in the world’s most important endurance race.
Four rings for safety
Anniversary at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: Audi supplies the security cars for the world’s most famous endurance race for the tenth time in succession. No less than 25 vehicles from the Audi RS 3 to the R8 are stationed around the 13.629-kilometer track in Le Mans, and ensure safety and rapid assistance in the sign of the four rings. In action for the first time in 2015: an Audi RS 4 for Race Control, which transports the high-voltage specialists from the relevant teams to the stricken hybrid sportscars. However, Audi does not only supply the security vehicles at Le Mans: as early as 2010, Audi expanded its involvement to cover every round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC), which in 2012 became the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), which also includes the French classic.
Winners’ bikes for race winners
Audi’s tire partner Michelin honored last year’s winners of the iconic 24-hour race at Le Mans with ultra-sporty gifts. Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer received a personalized version of the Audi Sport Racing Bike. The light, 5.8-kilogram carbon race machines bear the names of the respective drivers and sport special liveries that take on graphic elements of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. “These are literally unique gifts that found their way into the right hands with us,” said a delighted André Lotterer, who, like his Audi team mates, is an enthusiastic cyclist.
Tom Kristensen in new Audi R8 LMS
Tom Kristensen made his first outing at the wheel of the new Audi R8 LMS at Le Mans. The Le Mans record winner completed two laps of the ‘Circuit des 24 Heures’ in the new GT3 racecar on Thursday evening. On Saturday, he appears in a new production R8: in his function as the race’s ‘Grand Marshal’, he leads the field of starters on their warm-up lap in the leading car.
Mike Rockenfeller supports Le Mans team
Between the DTM races at the Lausitzring and at the Norisring (27/28 June), Audi DTM driver Mike Rockenfeller made a detour to the 24 Hours of Le Mans to support Audi Sport Team Joest at the track. The 2010 Le Mans winner is involved as test and reserve driver in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro development program. An ARD camera team accompanied ‘Rocky’ in Le Mans.