News from the Audi Le Mans team

Tom Kristensen presented six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx with a new watch from his own collection. The Belgian received number 001 of the edition limited to 777 copies. The watch is called “Seven” and is made from titanium.

During the traditional drivers’ parade in the city of Le Mans on Friday, Dindo Capello was awarded a trophy for his best time of 3m 30.466s on Thursday that put his Audi R10 TDI in pole position.

DTM driver Pierre Kaffer is not only Audi’s reserve driver at Le Mans, but also acts as a co-commentator for Premiere and Motors TV.

Tom Kristensen left his mark for posterity in the history of the city of Le Mans: Together with mayor Jean-Claude Boulard he signed the Golden Book of the city.

Audi symbolically handed over the 20 official cars to the ACO on Saturday before the start of the race: two Audi TT and six Audi RS 4 for Race Control and Safety Cars, twelve Audi Q7 as Medical Cars and Fire Safety Cars.

The ACO honoured Tom Kristensen for his seven Le Mans victories presenting him with the “Spirit of Le Mans” trophy and making him a proud owner of a new Rolex watch.

Audi Chairman of the Board Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn and Dave Maraj (Team ADT Champion Racing) handed back last year’s victory trophy to the ACO before the start of the race. The Le Mans trophy is not kept until a team wins the event three times – like Audi Sport Team Joest did in 2002.

Audi factory driver Tom Kristensen promoted the DTM event at Le Mans with a demonstration run in his Siemens A4 DTM on the start-finish straight. The DTM race is staged for the first time on the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit, on 15 October.

Dindo Capello invited his mechanics to Italy. This gesture was the Italian’s thank for his team’s hard work who had to repair the Audi R10 TDI following his accident in the first qualifying session. Capello celebrated his 42th birthday on Saturday at Le Mans.