Audi drivers at le Mans

Audi – Meet the drivers Anita and I were asked to interview the Audi drives at Le Mans this year here are our notes from the meeting, I hope they of interest

Rinaldo Capello

Driving in the rain – the main problem of driving at Le Mans in these conditions is that the new tarmac at Mulsanne because of its colour it is difficult to see if it is wet or dry and it makes braking difficult from high speed. Picking your braking point and your line when you are unsure of whether the tarmac is wet or dry is very very difficult and at the speed that these cars go the feel of the car is very important to the driver.

Marco Werner

Getting laps in the car in these conditions is important to us as we need to gather a lot of data before the race starts on Saturday with the slower cars it is difficult to find your braking point. The feel of the car is very important as on every lap the tyres change and the fuel reduces so we are changing our braking points every lap we have to think while we are in the car and change our driving to suit every corner every lap.

Allan McNish

On Peugeot snatching pole from them – we knew Peugeot were intent on snatching pole from us.. I put new tyres on and had a go with five minutes to go but there was traffic at Dunlop and Ford, not enough to make the difference from 1st to 2nd but. Audi had a good session, Tom needed to run and get some laps.

On the new tarmac at Mulsanne – it is difficult to see when and where it is wet, difficult to judge braking points etc.

Session – we were focussed on the last ten minutes of the session, it was probably good for us that it rained in the middle.

That’s probably it for qualifying now it is raining, we are not likely to go any quicker, we will go out though, it’s important to go out and do set up work, find out where the puddles are, these will be very important sessions tonight for set up but not for qualifying, there are not sessions where we will sit around we will go out and do the set up work, gather data etc.

Frank Biela

On young/first drivers at LM - The circuit is not easy, it is very difficult to drive you have to know where to go in the wet and you must know where the water is. The speeds are very high and there is a high risk of damage. You must concentrate all of the time.

On the atmosphere at LM – you are aware that it really is one big party, when the weather is nice you can smell the BBQs and you realise it is one big party for everyone else. It is a fantastic event.

I first raced in 1999, it was special, you start with scrutineering in the town and this is like no-where else in the world. It is really nice, LM is something difficult, the first time on the circuit something different.

What does it take to win? - Experience is important, its nice to race at LM early in your career, but you need to know what to do. You need to not get nervous isf the car is not doing well and if it is not as good as it should hav been.

There are many different priorities for a driver at LM, you need to have a good race car, you must share the car and work together, it’s not like a formula series where you work on your own. Emanuele Pirro and I are a similar height and we use the same seat, Marco Werner needs a small cushion and we need to be able to drive with the same driving style so it can be quite difficult.

To win you must be focussed and be prepared, there are no guarantees for a driver you must just stay fit, be relaxed and not get nervous.

It is important to relax, for me this means getting away from things and having somewhere that I can go to read a newspaper or a book, to be focussed and to try to do my best.

What not to do at LM – it is important not to be too aggressive, this can lead to disaster, apart from the possibility of being injured this would be the race over.

What its like being on the podium – it is great, as a driver you always want to be there, you are shaking a little bit and are happy that you have finally made it.

History – I have four wins, 3 in a row with the same drivers and it is a nice feeling to make history, we have a special routine, it’s what we did to start with and now we just stay with the same routine so I will start the car.

Family – my family come with my, my wife, my daughter and my little one come with me for the week and it is nice to have them around although sometimes it is difficult for me that I don’t have enough time to spend with them and can’t look after them. My daughter is 15 and she likes to travel with me when school allows.

Wolfgang Appel – Chassis Development

Peugeot were always going to be a strong competition, really tough, I am not surprised at their high level but a 24 hour race lasts 24 hours and we will see….

We are likely to have a big fight with Peugeot, it is really nice to see the new technology but we must have reliability, we have more experience than Peugeot in this respect.

We have made changes to the car this year, they are not so visible so the car looks similar, we have carried out lots of work on the aerodynamics but this is under the bodywork so the car doesn’t look very different.

Emanuele Pirro

The unique common dominator for Le Mans is passion, everyone pushes themselves to the limit, that’s drivers, spectators, journalists – everyone is tired and gives their all. LM is all very spread out, it’s very peculiar to LM, the fans are very enthusiastic and are camping, they are wearing wigs and carrying flags and everyone one is friends, it is not like a football match where everyone is against each other it is a great atmosphere.

It is difficult here at night for drivers and for their machines, the speeds are very high, there are cars that are quicker and cars that are slower it is all very extreme

As a racer here you need to do a good job, you need to be good enough, fast enough and not make mistakes it’s important to bring the car home.

Circuit safety – The circuit can be dangerous, they have carried out a lot of work to improve it but with the speeds we do it is impossible to be totally safe.

Driving here is like climbing Mount Everest, it’s hard work getting up there but once you get there it is fun!!