In qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hour race, Audi yet again demonstrated in a stunning way the performance of TDI Power. The brace of new Audi R10 TDI cars were by far the quickest in final qualifying.
The two sportscars powered by 650-hp diesel engines will start from the front row on Saturday at 1700 hrs. After rain had affected the first qualifying on Wednesday, the conditions on Thursday evening were dry and perfect.
In the first part of the final qualifying session, the Audi drivers concentrated on fine-tuning their R10 TDI cars before Audi Sport Team Joest headed for the top of the time sheets at the beginning of the last section.
Shortly after 2200 hrs, Dindo Capello and Marco Werner set lap times beyond the reach of the opposition powered by petrol engines. Setting a time of 3m 30.466s, Dindo Capello scored his third Le Mans pole position following 2001 and 2002.
A mere 0.118 seconds behind, Marco Werner completed an all Audi R10 TDI front row. Capello, who turns 42 on Saturday, did not only present himself with an early birthday present. He also rewarded the work of his mechanics who completely dismantled and re-assembled the Audi R10 TDI with start number 7 for safety reasons after an accident on Wednesday. Just in time for final qualifying, the R10 TDI was ready again.
Dindo Capello starts at Le Mans together with record winner Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish. Frank Biela shares driving duties in the "sister car” with Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner. All six drivers have won the Le Mans 24 Hour race at least once. However, a diesel-powered car has never won in the history of the Le Mans endurance classic. For the first time, Audi accepts this challenge this weekend.
-From Audi
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