Quotes after the race at Le Mans
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “I think this was the most difficult race we ever did at Le Mans – even more difficult than the rain-soaked race in 2001. This was topped this time due to the strong competition, the many incidents and the rain in the final hours. We managed to get one car to the finish in these difficult circumstances winning against strong competitors. This was a fantastic achievement of the whole team. We wanted to prove that we have the best technology with Audi TDI Power, the best drivers and the best teams. We achieved that. This triumph shows one more time the meaning of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’.”
Frank Biela (Audi R10 TDI #1): “You realize a Le Mans victory only a couple of days later because you have so much stress and pressure during this race. Of course you wish that everything goes well but you can’t plan it. Something can happen anytime. To have the luck of being on the top of the podium for the fifth time is simply great. The key to success has been to attack at the right time and to be on the safe side at the right time. The pit crew has done a great job. We always had the right tyres on our car. This victory was achieved by the entire team.”
Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #1): “Le Mans was simply incredible this year. The two other Audis had really bad luck. They could not finish the race. After that we had enormous pressure. Behind us were the Peugeots and we had to fight hard. The last nine hours have been especially difficult. It was a tough race with some rain at the beginning which made the tyre choice complicated and heavy rain at the end. I dedicate this victory to the mechanics of all three cars. There was a great battle with Peugeot. To beat such a competitor makes our victory even sweeter. Personally I’m on the podium with Audi at Le Mans for the ninth time in a row – this is great!”
Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #1): “Of course it is a great feeling to win but tomorrow for sure I will feel even better because there was gigantic pressure on our shoulders until the very end of the race. In the closing stages this Le Mans 24 Hours was more like a boat race. It was incredible that the race went green again under these conditions. I was more than relieved when I had crossed the finish line.”
Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): “This has been a hell of a race and extremely exciting. The weather ended like it started. Fortunately there has been a long dry period in between. I see the result with two crying and one laughing eye: It’s a shame we lost two cars due to accidents. Especially the number two car showed a great performance. But of course the most important thing is that an Audi has won. We have been fighting with a big competitor and were not sure before how the balance of power would be. The race proved that Audi and Joest are a strong combination at Le Mans. And we showed that we can always up the ante in the race. This has been never become clearer than this weekend. We also proved that we can fight. A big compliment to the whole squad: Everything worked out perfectly. I’m proud of the whole team.”