Female Race Engineer Wins Le Mans With Audi R18 TDI

Of the three turbo diesel-engined R18 TDI sportscars that Audi entered this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours race, one earned Audi the 10th victory in the race. That particular car was engineered by Leena Gade, who thus became the first female race engineer to win the French sportscar endurance classic.

Gade, 35, is a No.1 race engineer for the “factory” Audi Sport team. The car she engineered, the winning one, was driven by Benoit Treluyer, Marcel Fassler, and Andre Lotterer the past weekend. The car clocked up over 3,000-miles having made pit-stops for only fuel, tires and driver changes.

“I still can’t believe what’s happened and I don’t think it will sink in for a few weeks,” said Leena. “Our Audi R18 TDI started from pole-position, set the fastest race lap and did not have any major problems in what was only this car’s second race. We’d prepared properly which is what Audi and the Joest team do. We had to race hard throughout the entire 24 hours. It was quite amazing.”

According to Audi, Leena “masterminded” the German prestige car manufacturer’s 10th win since 1999 from the pit-wall throughout the race. Audi raced its latest single turbo diesel V6 Coupe featuring the company’s ultra-lightweight technology at Le Mans – a race regarded by many as the world’s toughest motor race.

“I’m responsible for the final decisions on the racecar. If a part on the car moves, changes temperature or changes pressure, I’m logging it. A snapshot of our computer screens could show hundreds of channels at one time,” she continued.
“The collected information is then used by me to give instructions over a radio to the driver to help him maintain tyres or maximise the engine performance for example.”