Audi has already completed a successful 30-hour test at Le Castellet (France) earlier this month, but this will be the first time when the Audi R15 TDIs will face their Le Mans rivals Peugeot 908 this season. Therefore this will be a good opportunity for each team to test their potential ahead of the famous endurance race in France.
The second good news for Audi is that Mister Le Mans, Danish veteran driver Tom Kristensen, has fully recovered from his foot injury and will compete alongside long-time teammates Dindo Capello and Allan McNish for Audi Sport Team Joest at Spa. This will be his second outing with Audi this season, following his test at Le Castellet.
“We will compete with exactly the same line-up at Spa as we will a month later at the Le Mans 24 Hours. For the team the race is primarily a dress rehearsal for Le Mans – but it’s a final assessment of where we stand as well,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.
“There’s no circuit in the world on which you can truly simulate the Le Mans track. Still, I do believe that at Spa it’s possible to get an idea of where you stand compared with the competition,” added Ullrich about the Spa-Francorchamps event, held approximately one month before the race at Le Mans.
“I did a lot of driving at Le Castellet and had no problems whatsoever. I only felt some pain during the driver changes – but I’m definitely fit and ready for Spa!” added Kristensen.
The three teams fielded by Audi Sport Team Joest will be as follows: Capello, Kristensen and McNish will drive the Audi R15 TDI designated as car number 7; Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Treluyer (car number 8) and Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller (car number 9).
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