VAG Division – Volkswagen Group Car Club

Allan McNish steered his diesel engined Audi home in to third place after a spirited recovery in the Le Mans 24 Hour race which ended today (13 June) as the German manufacturer scored a dominant 1-2-3 result.

German Timo Bernhard and Mike Rockenfeller plus Romain Dumas, of France, claimed Audi’s ninth Le Mans race win since its début in 1999 – their Audi R15 TDI setting a new distance record of 3,361-miles in the 78th running of the historic event in France.

“It’s an unbelievable result because we didn’t have the outright pace of Peugeot,” commented McNish. “But Audi had the efficiency and reliability plus the team, structure, drivers and engineers that knew from experience, how to win here.”

Audi’s fourth 1-2-3 victory at Le Mans after 2000, 2002 and 2004, completed at an average speed of 139.95mph, was a supreme combination of TDI turbo diesel efficiency and reliability but less than five hours in to the twice-around-the-clock marathon, the race had turned against former two-time race winner McNish.

The 40-year-old Scotsman, driving a latest specification Audi R15 TDI with Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello – Audi’s previous Le Mans winners from two years ago – ultimately recovered to claim a “podium” position after losing three laps and dropping from being the highest-placed Audi in fourth to eighth.

McNish had started sixth on the 55-car grid and was up to fourth when after almost 4½hrs, co-driver Kristensen came across a slow-moving car which moved across in front of him.

Allan added: “Tom had to take avoiding action of a slow, wounded car that drifted across on him. TK ended up in the gravel having also lightly touched the guard rail. He was towed out of the trap and got the car back to the pits for repairs. In all we lost around three laps – the distance we finished behind our winning team-mates . . .”

The Bernhard (29/Germany)/Dumas (32/France)/Rockenfeller Audi finished one-lap ahead of the “sister” R15 TDI of Marcel Fässler (34/Switzerland)/André Lotterer (29/Germany)/Benoît Treluyer (23/France) with the McNish/Kristensen/Capello Audi third, a further two laps adrift.

“I’ve not been involved in a Le Mans like this one in my 10 previous starts here! It turned on its head two or three times. The result of our car was obviously dictated by Tom’s incident which was frustrating. But our fight back was intense and we can all be very proud – but that doesn’t mean to say that we can forget about the performance of our ‘French friends’ as we now must focus on the Intercontinental Cup which begins at Silverstone in September.”

Meanwhile Le Mans débutant Oliver Jarvis, from Cambridge, who shared his “customer” Audi R10 TDI with Christian Bakkerud (Den) and Christijan Albers (NED), started from the seventh row and lay a commendable seventh with three hours to run but a mechanical problem when seventh caused the car’s retirement in the closing stages.

British former 24 Hours of Le Mans race winner to drive Audi GT3 sports car
New high profile team already able to attract “star” drivers
Britain’s Mark Blundell will drive an Audi R8 LMS sports car for United Autosports in the Spa 24 Hours in Belgium this summer (Jul 31-Aug 1).

The 44-year-old Royston-based Londoner who won the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans but stepped away from active motorsport after finishing second in the French marathon seven years ago, makes a one-off return to the cockpit for the high-profile American-owned, British operated “customer” Audi team.

Blundell netted three “podiums” during a four year Formula One career and will compete in the annual twice-around-the-clock GT race around the legendary 4.35-mile Spa-Francorchamps track in the heart of the Ardennes.

“I’d thought about returning to the cockpit but wanted to do so at a race I had not done before but also in an environment where it would be fun and professional,” remarked Blundell. “I feel that United Autosports ticks those boxes after being given the opportunity by team co-owner Zak [Brown] which has re-ignited the fire in my belly again.

“I now have time to commit and focus on the occasional race after eight years involved in ‘live’ television as part of the ITV F1 presenting team and building up my motorsport and soccer management companies while the Spa 24 Hours makes perfect sense with my previous successes in 24 Hour racing.”

Blundell, who drove for Brabham, Ligier, Tyrrell and McLaren in F1 before competing in the American CART World Series for five years, raced at Spa for the first time in 1987, posting his best-ever result at the Belgian track with a second place in an FIA International Formula 3000 race. His last race at Spa was in 1995 and almost signed off from regular on-track motorsport action with a second Le Mans victory seven years ago.

Mark continued: “My last Spa race was at the wheel of an F1 McLaren [1995]. It’s one of my top-three track’s in the world because it offers a massive challenge to a race driver. My last race was in 2003 with Bentley at Le Mans where I finished second overall having led much of the race. I love long distance, round-the-clock racing.”

Yorkshire-based United Autosports, formed last winter and co-owned by American Zak Brown and Leeds-born Richard Dean, is concentrating on successfully defending the FIA GT3 European Championship title for Audi this year but will additionally enter two, Audi R8 LMS sports cars at Spa.

“It’s great to be part of a team of drivers as there is a huge amount of energy in the build-up and lots of emotion in sharing the trials and tribulations of a 24 hour race itself after months of preparation,” added Blundell who sampled the 525-hp Audi R8 LMS for the first time this week (Silverstone, May 4). “The highs and lows are extreme because it’s such a big team effort with everyone involved over such a long period but that is the attraction for me to dust off the helmet again.”

The Spa 24 Hours was first run in 1924 and has seen only seven British driver’s winning the race – the most recent 15 years ago. Blundell teams-up with Brown in the Remington sponsored Audi, which will include two other co-drivers, bidding for GT3 honors.

Zak Brown added: “It’s very exciting to have someone of Mark’s caliber and experience joining our young team. Mark has raced and won at the highest level in motorsports and I consider it to be a huge privilege to share a racecar with him.”

“Everyone who knows Mark well understands what he will bring to a team,” stated Richard Dean. “He is fast, the guys here love him and he has won the biggest 24 hour race there is. Everything we need for United Autosports’ first shot at the Spa 24 hours!

“We’re under no illusions that Spa is a very difficult race and we are excited to be part of it. Our preparations start with putting together the very best people for a very serious effort,” concluded Richard.

United Autosports competes in the third and fourth rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championship at Brno,Czech Republic (May 22-23). Despite only being formed in recent months, the team have already made its mark in the FIA GT3 paddock with its ultra-professional presentation and high-profile sponsors including Spectrum Brands – Remington, Just Marketing International (JMI), LG Electronics Inc., RaceDayStaff.com., Molecule Labs Inc., Cerruti plus West London Audi.