No auto manufacturer has won at Le Mans as often as Audi in such a short period of time, the four rings were at the top of the podium a total of 13 times between 1999 and 2016 and, in 2023, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Audi Tradition will join in the festivities in Ingolstadt, Goodwood and at the world’s greatest endurance race on 10-11 June. For the occasion, “Audi in Le Mans” was recently launched for motorsport fans; the latest book presents the success story of the four rings at Le Mans in great detail for the first time.
The Audi Museum is presenting a whole range of Le Mans racing cars for International Museum Day on Sunday, May 21. Among them will be several winning cars such as the R10 TDI from 2006, the first diesel-powered racing car to win at Le Mans.
Also on the day, in the Customer Center of the Audi Forum, talk sessions will be held with illustrious guests from the world of motorsport, including Rinaldo Capello, the three-time Le Mans winner will be available to sign autographs.
Kristensen, Tréluyer and Capello at Le Mans and Goodwood
Furthermore, there will be a highlight tour in the museum on the motorsport history of the four rings. And there’s also something for the younger guests: In addition to a handicrafts corner, they can look forward to a special driving course with a pit stop where they can demonstrate their tire-changing skills.
This 100th anniversary year, there will also be plenty on offer at the legendary venue of the event, on the Sarthe in France: The organizers of the endurance classic are holding a special exhibition at the Musée des 24 Heures du Mans with around 80 winning race cars from all decades.
Audi alone is contributing a dozen Le Mans-winning cars for the 2023 anniversary race, Audi Tradition will send three winning cars onto the track during the Legends’ Parade on Friday, 9 June, and before the start of the race on Saturday, June 10: the R8 from 2000, the R10 TDI from 2007 and the R18 e-tron quattro from 2012 – driven by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Benoît Tréluyer.
Audi’s commitment to Le Mans was relentless and very fruitful
An appearance in the Village des Constructeurs will round off the Ingolstadt-based company’s commitment at Le Mans 2023: In addition to current product highlights, the brand will showcase the Audi R18 e-tron quattro from 2016 and the S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron, developed for Ken Block. Autograph sessions with Audi driving legends are also planned at Le Mans.
The Le Mans theme will also be demonstrated by Audi Tradition at the 2023 “Goodwood Festival of Speed” in England: From July 13 to 16, Capello, Kristensen and Tréluyer will also be on the grid there with the winning cars from 2000, 2007 and 2012.
And Vesa and Juha Mikkola, the sons of rally legend Hannu Mikkola, will also be making an appearance at Goodwood – with the Audi Rallye quattro (Group 4) from 1980 and the Audi 200 quattro “Safari” from 1987 – both cars from the historic AUDI AG collection with which their father competed in legendary races.
A team from Audi Sport will also be bringing two exceptional racing cars of more recent times to the start at Goodwood: the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron and the RS Q e-tron Dakar Rally prototype. (Source: Audi Media Centre)