2015 24 Hours of Le Mans

Three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars at Le Mans

• Entry list for Le Mans 24 Hours published
• Organizer accepts all three nominations submitted by Audi
• Tom Kristensen ‘Grand Marshal’ at Le Mans 24 Hours

The wait is over: The Selection Committee of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) has accepted all nominations submitted by Audi for the 83rd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours. As a result, three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars will be competing in the world’s major endurance race on June 13 and 14, 2015, for which Tom Kristensen has been appointed as ‘Grand Marshal’ by the organizer.

The ACO published the entry list of 56 participants at its press conference in Paris. Thanks to its 13th victory at Le Mans last year Audi had previously been guaranteed a place on the grid in the LMP1 class. Last year’s winners Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) are set on battling for their fourth victory this year in the number ‘7’ Audi R18 e-tron quattro.

For the limited number of available entries, the Selection Committee has now accepted the two other nominations submitted by Audi Sport Team Joest as well: Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis (BR/F/GB) will be tackling the iconic race in the number ‘8’ hybrid sports car. Filipe Albuquerque (P), Marco Bonanomi (I) and new signing René Rast (D) will complete the Audi line-up in car number ‘9.’

“We’re delighted that the ACO has accepted our three nominations,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who attended the event in Paris together with Chris Reinke, Head of LMP. “Audi will be competing at Le Mans for the 17th consecutive time and has been unbeaten with its hybrid drive so far. This year, we’re welcoming a new competitor. This provides further proof of the positive development that prototype racing and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) have seen since 2012.”

 

Entry list revealed:

Le Mans/WEC - WEC: Entry list for 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans revealed

BHW

 

3 Audis, 3 Porsches, 3 Nissans.

this race is gonna be epic.

 

congrats and good luck to Corvette, ESM, Krohn, Dempsey and Scuderia Corsa for representing the US!

 

If Toyota entered three cars, it would be incredibluller.

BHW

 

yes, I find it curious that they don't.

 

Epic indeed. C'mon Ferrari, join in the fun!

 

Are we taking odds that the Ferrari to Le Mans with a LMP-1 program rumors start
to surface again this year?

Last year it was to a fevered pitch right up until the day of their supposed "important
announcement" which was cancelled without explanation at the last minute.

Think we should be happy that Ferrari is represented in GTE and doing so well there.

BHW

 

Budget !!!

Toyota is also preparing to re-enter the World Rally Championship .

 

Great field.

 

Francois Ferrodo wrecking cars again.

 

Are any members going to the race this year?
Does anyone know of any parties or get together?
I'll be there in the RP24 suite

 

yes me and my wife will be there arriving thuesday and we are guests of AFCorse. We will have our Motorhome also there. would be great to meet.

 

Yes, it would be great to meet.
We'll be in Paris from the 5th and actually be at the track Saturday morning the 13th.
We have pit passes for Saturday and Paddock passes for the weekend.
Maybe we could meet you at the AFCorse pit?

Looking forward to an awesome race.

 

Good to see Peter Mann (ChalStrad) at the start again with AF Corse. Good luck Peter!

 

Le Mans (and the whole WEC season for that matter) is shaping up beautifully.

The latest on Nissan's development has it that they had a successful test running at
the GM test track in Kentucky where they experienced some rain conditions.

Nissan is promising that they're going to surprise at Le Mans.

Given how Audi, Toyota and Porsche have stepped up their games already, that is a
bold statement.

Harry Tincknell: Nissan's LMP1 is going to surprise people | WEC news | Motorsport.com

BHW

 

How does boP actually work? Couldn't find much info about it. I know they recruit a driver and do some laps to make sure they're all similar in all cars and that they reserve the right to change restrictions along the season but is there more to it? Does the driver do many laps to make sure they're all similar on the distance too, do they try different set ups, is there a more scientific approach to it? Seems a very bad and unprecise way of going about it.

 

The nine-time Le Mans win*ner and long-time Audi fac*tory dri*ver
Tom Kris*tensen will for the first time, in the com*ing week, pre*sent
a new book il*lus*trat*ing his en*tire ca*reer – from the early days in
carting to the vic*to*ries in the French en*durance clas*sic. “The Book”
will be presented in Le Mans on Wednesday of race week and will
be available on site and on www.tomkristensen.com.

The comprehensive 304-page book is written in English, Danish
and German.

A few good pictures by a (then) aspiring American photographer
are in the book!

BHW

 

Would that be you by chance Barton?

 

My wife and I will be there as well. Arriving in Tours w/ GPT on Friday, at the circuit on Saturday.

Cheers

 

Hi Jerome.

Yes, yes it would!

Expect to see some of my images from 1999-2000 at Sebring. Most of the images
in the book I should expect will be from John Brooks.

The book is being produced by Speedpool in Germany.

BHW

 

If we buy a copy will we get the "coveted" autographed version?

 

We'll have to see about that!

BHW

 

• Endurance classic on 13th and 14th June at La Sarthe
• Audi with lowest energy consumption in the field
• R18 e-tron quattro with new Audi ultra technology

Audi is set on continuing its string of victories in the world’s toughest endurance race on 13th and 14th June. Five times in succession, the sports cars with the four rings have won the iconic race since 2010. Audi is now battling for an amazing 14th victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours in the past 16 years. The efficiency technology Audi ultra is a major element of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid sports car’s overall concept this year.

The iconic race has been held in the ‘Départment Sarthe’ in western France since 1923, but there is a lot more to it than history. The race also enjoys worldwide prestige because it is unrivaled by any other motorsport competition in terms of combining tradition and progress. Le Mans is the toughest test bed for Audi’s technologies. In 2006, the brand was the first manufacturer ever to have won the race with diesel power. The first winner with hybrid drive had the four rings emblazoned on the hood as well – in the 2012 season. Audi’s diesel-electric powertrain has been unbeaten at Le Mans to this day, plus it is the most economical one at the moment: none of the four manufacturers in the LMP1 category consumes as little fuel energy as Audi does.

“This efficiency perfectly matches the ‘More from less’ formula which is Audi ultra’s take-home message,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. The ACO, FIA and WEC officials managed to create a set of regulations that enables a thrilling contest between various efficiency concepts.” The advantages provided by Audi’s efficiency technology in racing are made visible in direct competition, as four manufacturers are competing with four different concepts – from the type of combustion technology used, to the engine’s configuration in the race car, to the extent and type of energy recuperation and storage. No other automobile world championship features an equally diverse range of technology.

“This is what makes Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) so attractive, so the resulting challenges are equally great,” says Chris Reinke, Head of LMP at Audi Sport.

The season so far has shown: Audi’s engineers have risen to these challenges. Marcel Fässler (CH), André Lotterer (D) and Benoît Tréluyer (F) won the first two races of the season at Silverstone (GB) and at Spa-Francorchamps (B). They are traveling to Le Mans as the leaders of the standings. At Spa, the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro was seven seconds faster in qualifying and four in the race than last year – in spite of now having to consume 2.8 percent less fuel. Its updated V6 TDI engine, the hybrid system delivering twice its previous output and the overall concept that has particularly been optimized with respect to aerodynamics prove the capabilities of the ‘ultra’ principle.

In addition to its technological fortes, Audi can rely on extraordinary team performances and the passion of its professional drivers. Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer have jointly won the Le Mans 24 Hours three times in the past four years for Audi and are competing in car number ‘7.’ Loïc Duval (F), who is sharing number ‘8’ with Oliver Jarvis (GB) and Lucas di Grassi (BR), won the iconic event two years ago. Filipe Albuquerque (P), Marco Bonanomi (I) and newcomer René Rast (D) are tackling the race in car number ‘9.’ The squad that Audi, as in the years before, is again relying on is the most successful Le Mans team of all time: Audi Sport Team Joest. Reinhold Joest’s outfit has won the 24-hour race an amazing 15 times.

Many observers are expecting an extremely thrilling edition of the endurance classic. The race will start on Saturday, June 13, at 15.00.

 

CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just hope the new Nissan GTR LMP1 is not as slow as I think it may be