Audi Grabs Front Row at Le Mans

Audi has managed to secure pole position for the first time since 2006 at the famous Le Mans 24 hour race. In addition, the whole front row of the Grid belongs to the Ingolstadt carmaker, so all the heard work that has gone into the ultra-lightweight R18 TDI seems to have payed off.

Benoit Treluyer set a time of 3m 25.738s and grabbed the first spot on the grid, while his French team-mate Romain Dumas was merely 0.061 seconds slower.

"I am very happy. I just really realize now that it is just fantastic for me. I was born so close to here and the 24 Hours is such a challenge and I was not even thinking about the pole position and then I did and it is just fantastic,” Treluyer said after the qualifying.

The crew of car number 3 on the other hand is in for a lot of work. While trying to push forward onto the two front rows of the grid from fifth place Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen slid against the track barrier in the Tertre Rouge section. Despite extensive damage the R18 TDI (driven by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish) can be fixed in time for the big race. The single-component carbon fiber monocoque remained intact in the impact.

“At the beginning of the night session I had a lot of traffic and therefore tried another fast lap - but unfortunately all three sectors never fit together perfectly. I’m sorry that the guys have a lot of work to do on my car now after my accident and I can already promise now that Allan (McNish), Dindo (Capello) and I will give everything in the race to give them a nice reward for their great work," said Kristensen.