Le Mans 2002
Frank Biela in the Infineon Audi R8 #1

Audi also set the pace in the warm-up session for the 70th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hour race. In the #1 Infineon Audi R8, Frank Biela set the fastest time with 3m 35.307s. “I had the impression that the track has become a little more slippery after the rain yesterday”, said the German. “Nevertheless, the car was fine.”

As the Audi Sport Team Joest had already run the race engines in the Infineon Audi R8 sportscars during the qualifying session on Thursday, the warm-up on Saturday morning was just a last functional test before the start at 16:00 hrs. “Mainly we have checked the balance of our three cars”, explains Technical Director Ralf Jüttner. The Audi drivers also took the opportunity to briefly run-in rain tyres.

Thanks to the improved fuel consumption of the FSI engine, the Infineon Audi R8 sportscars are reckoned to do around 13 laps under normal race conditions before coming into the pits to refuel. Therefore, the first pit-stops are expected after about 45 minutes.

The start drivers for Audi
At the 16:00 hrs start, Frank Biela (#1), Johnny Herbert (#2) and Michael Krumm (#3) will be in the cockpits of the three Infineon Audi R8. The Audi drivers should take over in the following sequence:

Infineon Audi R8 #1: Frank Biela -> Tom Kristensen -> Emanuele Pirro

Infineon Audi R8 #2: Johnny Herbert -> Christian Pescatori -> Rinaldo Capello

Infineon Audi R8 #3: Michael Krumm -> Philipp Peter -> Marco Werner