Audi, Porsche teams hold successful test day for Le Mans 24 Hours

Le Mans, France—Audi and Porsche intensively used the only testing opportunity for the Le Mans 24 Hours at the ‘Circuit des 24 Heures.’

The three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars, on a total of 284 laps, completed an aggregate of 3,870 kilometers before the 82nd running of the iconic endurance race on June 14 and 15.

The eight hours of testing at La Sarthe proved very valuable for Audi. During the four hours in the morning, Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen (BR/F/DK) in car number 1, Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) in the number 2 R18 e-tron Quattro, and Filipe Albuquerque/Marco Bonanomi (P/I) in the third car put all the setup work into on-track action.

In addition to the final aerodynamic configuration, mechanically generated grip was another focal point of the program. Furthermore, all eight drivers had the first opportunity at Le Mans to align their race cars and their personal driving styles with the energy consumption targets which the regulations specifically define for each track. In the morning, Bonanomi, on setting a lap time of 3m 23.799s, achieved the fastest time in the first practice session.

During the course of 125 laps (1703.625 km) the Audi drivers met the requirements set by the engineers with such precision that all three squads were able to use the afternoon for extensive tire tests. The objective was to test the performance of the new tire generation over the long run. Three interruptions of the practice session by red flags interfered with their rhythm only in a minor way. After 159 laps in the afternoon, Audi looked back on a total of 3,870.636 kilometers driven. Albuquerque/Bonanomi finished the practice session as the best Audi squad in third place.

“Our drivers, Audi Sport Team Joest and all Audi Sport employees fully accomplished an ambitious program today and in doing so performed valuable work,” said Audi Head of Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “The squad surpassed our expectations. Now, in the remaining week before the event, we’re going to analyze this data in order to find an optimal setup for all three race cars.”

Chris Reinke, Head of LMP at Audi Sport, was pleased at the end of the test day as well. “We completed a long and extensive program on the test day. My thanks go to all the people involved in this project, who are looking back on some tough weeks and months. We’re entering the race week with the feeling of being thoroughly prepared. We know how tough Le Mans will be this year. Now we’re all focusing our joint efforts on a single big aim – we’re set on battling for victory two weeks from now.”

The Porsche 919 Hybrid, meanwhile, did its first laps in Le Mans. During the morning session the Porsche team covered 90 laps with the two innovative prototypes on the 13.629-km track. In the afternoon the distance achieved was 103 laps. Because about nine kilometres of the legendary circuit are on public roads, normally it is impossible to test at the “Circuit de la Sarthe.”

Inside and around the paddock the infrastructure for the huge Porsche works entry is coming together—be it engineers’ offices, container buildings for the drivers to rest in, or spare parts logistics and storage. The aerodynamic package of the Porsche 919 Hybrid had been modified for the high-speed track. The test program went according to plan.

Andreas Seidl, Team Principal LMP1: “This has been a very productive day. We travelled to Le Mans with a long to-do list and managed to tick off every single topic without experiencing any unpleasant surprises. Both cars ran trouble-free and all the drivers were on duty. With the number 14 Porsche 919 Hybrid, we focused on tire evaluation in the morning, while the number 20 car was busy with mechanical and aerodynamic setup work. In the afternoon the job lists for the cars were swapped. Race control did several simulations, which have been good drills for our team and drivers, too. For example safety car periods and the so called ‘slow zones’ were practiced. We now have a lot of data to study. Today was a very good preparation for the drivers, engineers and mechanics—actually for everybody in the team. We would never have made it this far without our development department in Weissach—therefore thank you very much to all our colleagues at home.”

“I was really looking forward to taking the car round here for the first time. I always enjoyed this track and the long lap. To come here with the Porsche 919 Hybrid is a big day for all of us and it ran smoothly. First thing in the morning I got my ten rookie laps out of the way, which are mandatory at the pre-race test when you haven’t raced here for a while. We then quickly were able to start working on the balance and setup of the car. We are constantly improving and again we learnt a lot,” said former F1 star Mark Webber, who drives Porsche 919 Hybrid #20.