The sport car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA, will be the first time Audi will face Peugeot since they lost in front of the French car maker at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
But the German team looks confident even if Audi's motorsport boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich considers the Petit Le Mans an event where they can begin their program for the 2010 Le Mans. "The race at Road Atlanta marks the first part of our preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010", said Ullrich.
"We want to use it as an opportunity for our engineers to learn even more about the new Audi R15 TDI in direct competition with strong rivals. A lot of things can be simulated on test rigs and in track tests. But nothing can replace the experience gathered in actual racing events", he added.
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich sees the Petit Le Mans as a perfect event where they can show everyone R15's true potential, especially against strong rivals like Acura, Mazda, Peugeot and ORECA. "We're convinced that we weren't able to fully exploit the potential of the R15 TDI at Le Mans. At Road Atlanta we'll have the opportunity to test on the Sunday before the race, so we should be in a better position than we were at Le Mans", declared Ullrich.
"Despite the strong competition by Acura, Peugeot, Mazda, ORECA and the other prototype teams, we figure on having good chances of fighting for victory, as we did over the past few years", ended Audi's motorsport boss.
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