Michael Satterfield
TGR Staff
Testing for the 81st running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans proves that Audi is still at the top of its game. The race is June 22nd, but over the weekend teams got in their last round of testing before practice and qualifying on the historic Circuit de la Sarthe.
The fastest overall time was posted by Audi, which is competing in the top LMP1 category once again with three 2013 R18 e-tron prototypes. Audi will be setting the pace again posting the first, second and third fastest times in testing.
An R18 driven by Loïc Duval was the fastest, with a lap in a time of just 3:22.583. Duval will be driving with Allan McNish and eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen for the race.
While impressive Audi is not the only car running, Toyota with its 2013-spec TS030 Hybrid prototype posted the fourth and sixth fastest times during testing. This is Toyota’s first trip back to Le Mans since 1999, and they would really like to make a splash. Posting times hot on the tail of of Audi is a good start, but they will have a long way to go, since Audi has won Le Mans 11 times since Toyota’s last attempt.
