*** Merry Christmas and a happy new year ! Best wishes for 2012 ! ***

Timo Bernhard + Daniel Fries

At the end of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) Audi Sport Team Joest achieved another podium result with the Le Mans winning Audi R18 TDI at the season finale in China. Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fässler finished the 6-hour race at Zhuhai in third place. Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen in the "sister car" were forced to retire due to a collision in which they were not at fault.

As was often the case this year, Audi Sport Team Joest was lacking the necessary bit of luck at Zhuhai after both Audi R18 TDI cars had been setting the pace at the beginning of the race. As early as on lap one Allan McNish and Timo Bernhard managed to pass one of the two Peugeots and to take over positions two and three. On lap 18 both Audi drivers also overtook the Peugeot of Sébastien Bourdais which had been leading up to that point.
 
The Audi squad was not able to enjoy the one-two lead for very long though: Allan McNish lost a lap early on when during the first refueling stop the rear bodywork of the Audi R18 TDI had to be exchanged as a result of contact with a GT car in which he had not been at fault. More serious consequences were caused by the mistake of a rival in the LMP1 class who made a braking mistake in front of Turn 1 and slid into the rear of the Audi that was running in front of him causing a cable harness to be severed. The resulting short circuit caused irreparable damage to the onboard electronics of the R18 TDI. Following several unscheduled pit stops Audi Sport Team Joest took the car out of the race after three hours and 46 minutes.

Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fässler were running at the front of the field for a long time. However, toward the race's midpoint the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number "1" lost too much time since the tires started degrading much more heavily than expected during the second stint. While trying to overtake the leading Peugeot and to recover the lap that way, Marcel Fässler went into a spectacular spin in the fast finish turn shortly before the end of the race. The Le Mans winner managed to regain control of the R18 TDI without touching the track barrier and thus secured third place. After Imola and Silverstone, this marked the third joint podium result in the ILMC for Bernhard and Fässler.

Timo Bernhard (Audi R18 TDI #1): "The pace definitely existed today - as had actually been the case at all the previous races. It's a shame because on the first stint we took the lead and after the second one we were leading for about ten seconds. Unfortunately, in the second part of Marcel's double-stint we had to note that the tires had heavily degraded. Exactly the time we lost at that point was the time we were lacking in the end. We weren't able to make up for that any more as the competitiveness in the ILMC is too high to be able do so. I do think though that Marcel (Fässler) and I did a good job today. The pace was good, we always managed to get through the field in a nice, clean drive."
 
Results
 
1 Bourdais/Davidson (Peugeot) 249 laps in 6h 01m 24.879s
2 Montagny/Sarrazin (Peugeot) + 38.651s
3 Bernhard/Fässler (Audi R18 TDI) - 1 lap
4 Jani/Prost (Lola-Toyota) - 7 laps
5 Nicolet/Premat/Pla (Oak-Pescarolo-Judd) - 9 laps
6 Meyrick/Mücke/Primat (Lola-Aston Martin) - 10 laps
7 Lahaye/Moreau/Ragues (Oak-Pescarolo-Judd) - 11 laps
8 Mailleux/Ordonez/Vernay (Oreca-Nissan) - 21 laps
9 Farfus/Müller (BMW) - 28 laps
10 Priaulx/Alzen (BMW) - 29 laps

On November 13, at the close of a successful motorsport season, highlighted by the tenth triumph at the Le Mans 24 Hours and the title win in the DTM, Audi is contesting the 6-hour race at Zhuhai, China, the country that has meanwhile evolved into AUDI AG's largest sales market.
 
As early as in the first week of October the brand with the four rings equaled the Chinese sales record from the entire year of 2010. In 2011, Audi expects sales to reach the level of more than 300,000 vehicles there for the first time. For Audi, the finale of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) at Zhuhai is thus a fitting occasion to celebrate the Chinese record.
 
The brand's success in China is also rooted in motorsport. In 1985 and 1986, the legendary Audi quattro won the Hong Kong-Beijing Rally two consecutive times. Audi competed with the A4 DTM at Shanghai twice. And on the debut of the sports prototypes at Zhuhai last year the spectators were thrilled by the Audi R15 TDI.
 
Now the Chinese fans can look forward to the Audi R18 TDI, the vehicle that is arguably the world's most fascinating race car in terms of technology. It embodies the company's ultra-lightweight design technology and demonstrates downsizing at the highest level. Although the engine's cubic capacity was reduced from last year's 5.5 to 3.7 liters the R18 TDI is hardly slower than its predecessor. And it impressively proved that it is possible to win the Le Mans 24 Hours even with an ultra-compact diesel engine. In 2006, Audi was the first automobile manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with a diesel-powered vehicle. Since June 2010 Audi has been the first brand to have entered its name on the winners' list of the world's most important endurance race with a V6 TDI engine. And the preparations for the 2012 season have long been in full swing at Audi Sport in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.
 
But before the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup becomes the FIA World Endurance Championship next year, which upgrades the sports prototypes even further, Audi is making every effort to close its successful motorsport season at Zhuhai with a victory. There is no doubt about the Audi R18 TDI having the potential to do so. Most recently, though, it had been lacking a tiny bit of the necessary racing luck.
 
Yet the fans at Zhuhai will not only have the opportunity to experience the two LMP1 sports cars that will again be driven by Timo Bernhard (D)/Marcel Fässler (CH) and Tom Kristensen (DK)/Allan McNish (GB).
 
Audi fans around the world will be able to watch the ILMC finale live on the internet on Audi.tv. The broadcast from Zhuhai will start at 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. CET) on November 13 and can be accessed at http://microsites.audi.com/lemans/. Eurosport will broadcast the final stages of the race live from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. (CET).

Timo Bernhard (30/D), Audi R18 TDI #1 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
- Most recently, at Road Atlanta, started from the front row together with Marcel Fässler
"I've never driven at Zhuhai before and have never been to China in my career before either. That's why I prepared for the track with onboard camera footage. On location, you walk the track before you drive it the first time. As a professional, you're able to quickly implement the things you've learned in the cockpit. The many tight turns after the long straights will be rough on the brakes. But that also makes nice passes under braking possible. The fact that only 29 cars will be on the grid will help us after almost twice as many were in the field most recently. The risk of accidents thus clearly drops. Our lap times were absolutely competitive at the past two races but we often found ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm hoping for better racing luck in China. It's nice that we're arriving as a strong squad. At Audi, we never give up and always support each other a lot."

Timo Bernhard (D): *Feb 24, 1981 in Homburg (D); residence: Dittweiler (D); married to Katharina; height 1.73 m; weight: 61 kg; Audi driver since 2009; ILMC races: 8; ILMC victories: 0; pole positions: 1; fastest laps: 0;

Track info
 
Track length: 4.319 km
Race duration: 6 hours
 
Schedule (local times)
 
Friday, November 11
10:30-12:00 Free practice 1
15:00-16:00 Free practice 2
 
Saturday, November 12
10:15-11:15 Free practice 3
14:50-15:10 Qualifying (prototypes)
 
Sunday, November 13
08:00-08:20 Warm-up
11:00-17:00 Race

The 1,000-mile "Petit Le Mans" race at Road Atlanta (U.S. state of Georgia) was extremely disappointing for Audi. In the battle for the lead Romain Dumas in the Audi R18 TDI #1 on lap 297 became fautlessly entangled in an accident that forced him to retire. After several collisions, Audi Sport Team Joest took the second Audi R18 TDI out of the race early for safety reasons.

For seven hours the Audi fans had reason to hope for the brand with the four rings clinching victory at the prestigious US endurance classic. Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Marcel Fässler in the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number "1" fought some thrilling battles with the competition. It took Marcel Fässler only eight laps to bump the Peugeot that had started from the pole position from position one for the first time.
 
Although the Audi trio acted very cautiously in the extremely heavy traffic on the about 4.088-kilometer track and avoided body contact the three Audi drivers were able to achieve an advantage of a full lap over their immediate rivals some of the time. This advantage was destroyed when debris from another car lying on the track clogged one of the radiator ducts of the R18 TDI, which required an unscheduled pit stop. A 20-second stop-and-go penalty cost additional time.
 
Bernhard/Dumas/Fässler consistently stayed on the leading lap nevertheless and managed to close the gap to the leading Peugeot again with fast lap times. At the end of the seventh hour Romain Dumas launched a first attack against Franck Montagny during which there was some slight body contact in the chicane before the start and finish and the Audi driver lost five seconds. Only a few laps later Dumas caught up with the Peugeot again. When the Peugeot touched a GT vehicle Dumas at the start of the parallel straight was able to move alongside Montagny but was squeezed out by the Peugeot driver in the acceleration phase. While trying to avoid a collision with the Peugeot, Dumas brushed a GT vehicle and heavily hit the wall. That put a disappointing end to the race of the number "1" Audi R18 TDI which had been outstanding up to that point.
 
The sister car - number "2" - lost all chances of victory as early as in the starting phase. Tom Kristensen had two incidents of body contact with slower cars right at the beginning. The first one led to a puncture and a damaged hood. Later on, Allan McNish was hit in the rear by a GT vehicle. In addition to suspension and body parts, the clutch had to be exchanged which caused car number "2" to lose over an hour and drop back to a hopeless position. Because the various body contacts had also caused problems with the steering, Audi Sport Team Joest decided to take the car driven by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish out of the race after 302 laps for safety reasons.

Timo Bernhard (Audi R18 TDI #1): "I think that the whole team around car number '1' did an exceptionally good job today. This particularly applies to the pit crew but also to us drivers - Romain (Dumas), Marcel (Fässer) and me. We didn't make any mistakes, constantly stayed on the same lap with the race leader despite a stop-and-go penalty and were always within a striking distance to victory. The end unfortunately came very abruptly. We didn't deserve that because we fought hard and always stayed fair in the process. We had a good rhythm and found the right, calculated risk. Unfortunately, Franck Montagny overdid it and barged off Romain (Dumas) who hit a slower car in the process. That was unfair. I'm very disappointed about Montagny."

In June Audi celebrated its tenth victory with the R18 TDI diesel race sports car and ultra-lightweight technology in a dramatic race at the famous Le Mans 24 Hours. Likewise, on October 1st, Audi Sport Team Joest is aiming for the brand's tenth triumph at the U.S. counterpart, the "Petit Le Mans" at Road Atlanta in the state of Georgia. Nine times Audi has won the event which alongside the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours is the most important endurance race in North America. From 2000 to 2005 the Audi R8 was unbeatable at the race that is run over 1000 miles or for a maximum of ten hours. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 the Audi R10 TDI triumphed three times in a row. After unfortunate defeats in the past two years with the R15 TDI, Audi is set on returning to victory lane with the new R18 TDI at Road Atlanta.
 
Audi Sport Team Joest is fielding two vehicles at the first overseas event of the R18 TDI. Each will car will have three drivers due to the length of the race. Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fässler, who have been forming a driver team in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) since the round at Imola and have been on the podium twice, will be supported by Romain Dumas. Joining Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish will be Dindo Capello - the most successful driver of the American classic with a track record of five overall victories (2000, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008). 
 

Minute details could also be crucial this year. At Le Mans Audi triumphed in June after 24 hours with an advantage of merely 13.854 seconds. At the 6-hour race at Silverstone the fastest lap times of the top four vehicles were within 202 thousandths of a second. And with 56 teams having submitted entries, the track at Road Atlanta will be pretty packed, with numerous overtaking maneuvers posing a permanent risk of body contact.
 
After third place at Imola and second place at Silverstone there is just one goal for Audi at the U.S. classic on October 1st: victory. Therefore, Audi Sport Team Joest will already be testing on the weekend before the race at Road Atlanta in order to set up the R18 TDI as perfectly as possible for the special characteristics of the track and not leave anything to chance.
 
Tens of thousands of spectators lining the track at Road Atlanta will be watching the two R18 TDI cars with their whispering V6 TDI engines. Since its inaugural round in 1998, "Petit Le Mans" has evolved into one of North America's biggest racing events that is meanwhile attracting more than 100,000 fans.
 
Qualifying will take place on Friday afternoon (September 30) from 15:30 to 15:45, local time; the race will start on Saturday (October 1) at 11:30. Eurosport will broadcast the starting phase from 17:30 to 18:30 and the final phase from 00:00 to 03:30 live. In the USA the race will be broadcast live on ESPN 3. ABC will air a two-hour summary on Sunday (October 2) starting at 16:00 Eastern Time.
 
 
Timo Bernhard (30/D), Audi R18 TDI #1 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
- Was class winner at Road Atlanta in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007
- Most recently finished as the runner-up with Marcel Fässler at Silverstone
"At Silverstone we saw how tight the situation can be in the end. That gave the whole team another boost. Our performance is right, we're in contention for victory, and in the UK we had the lead several times. After my class victories at Road Atlanta an overall win would mean a lot to me. Maybe I can continue my sequence of results: At Sebring I was fifth, at Spa fourth, at Imola third and at Silverstone second. So what's still missing ...?"
 
Timo Bernhard (D): *Feb 24, 1981 in Homburg (D); residence: Dittweiler (D); married to Katharina; height 1.73 m; weight: 61 kg; Audi driver since 2009; Le Mans victories: 1; ILMC races: 7; ILMC victories: 0; pole positions: 1; fastest laps: 0; best result "Petit Le Mans": 2; victories "Petit Le Mans": 0
 
Track info
 
Track length: 4.088 km
Length/duration of race: 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) / 10 hours
Pole position 2010: Anthony Davidson (Peugeot), 1m 07.187s = 219.023 km/h (Oct 01, 2010)
Fastest lap 2010: Franck Montagny (Peugeot), 1m 07.948s = 216.569 km/h (Oct 02, 2010)
 
Timo Bernhard about Road Atlanta: "You reach an incredible speed on this track. Except for turn seven all the corners are very fast. The many directional changes within a lap also stand out. Particularly the 'Esses' are very challenging. It's difficult to find a good set-up for them. After you've been at the wheel for a long time you can really tell what you've accomplished because of the high 'g' forces. In addition, there are many differences in elevation. You often can't see the track behind the crests. It's very dusty when it's dry and it floods the circuit when it's wet. The best places for overtaking are in turns 10 and 11. But watch out, if you overtake a car in the left-hand turn it is normally perfectly placed to counter in the next right!" 

Schedule (local times)
 
Monday, September 26
08:00-12:00 Free practice
13:00-17:00 Free practice
 
Wednesday, September 28
14:45-16:45 Free practice
 
Thursday, September 29
10:00-11:00 Free practice
14:55-15:55 Free practice
19:00-21:00 Night practice
 
Friday, September 30
10:15-11:15 Free practice
14:40-14:55 Qualifying (GTC/LM GTE Am)
14:55-15:10 Qualifying (GT/LM GTE Pro)
15:15-15:30 Qualifying (LM PC prototypes)
15:30-15:45 Qualifying (LM P1 and LM P2 prototypes)
 
Saturday, October 1
09:15-09:40 Warm-up
11:30-21:30 Race

The 6-hour race at Silverstone (Great Britain) in which the two Audi R18 TDI cars of Audi Sport Team Joest on positions two and seven were beaten below their performance potential was perfect advertising for the new FIA World Endurance Championship to be launched in 2012.

From the first lap on the spectators at the fifth round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) witnessed fascinating duels between the diesel sports cars from Audi and Peugeot. It took Allan McNish in the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number "2" only eight laps to grab the lead from the Peugeot driven by Frenchman Sébastien Bourdais who had started from the pole position. In the "sister car" Timo Bernhard was putting pressure on Franck Montagny in the second Peugeot before the Frenchman touched another vehicle and spun off the track.

Afterwards Allan McNish and Sébastien Bourdais at the front of the field overtook each other several times. Shortly before the end of the first hour the number "2" car lost any chance for victory when the Audi driver was hit by a GT vehicle. Replacing the front left suspension cost six laps and caused the R18 TDI #2 to drop to the rear of the field. Although the steering wheel was no longer perfectly straight after the repair Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen in the end managed to recover to position seven. That the opponent in the accident had to sit a longer stop-and-go penalty was only little consolation to the two.

All the hopes of Audi Sport Team Joest then rested on Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fässler in the #1 Audi R18 TDI that was fighting a thrilling duel for the lead with the second Peugeot.

A particularly impressive performance was delivered by Marcel Fässler, who in the third hour made up a gap of over 30 seconds to Simon Pagenaud in the Peugeot, overtook the Frenchman and moved to the front of the field.

After the driver change Timo Bernhard defended the lead despite the fact that the rear of the Audi R18 TDI had previously been damaged during slight body contact between Fässler and a slower prototype resulting in a loss of downforce on the rear axle.

More serious though was the fact that in the incident the right taillight of the R18 TDI had come off. The regulations required Audi Sport Team Joest to change the rear bodywork of the car at the next pit stop. Although this was done in record time the time loss of more than a minute was crucial for the outcome of the race. At the finish Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fässler were 89 seconds short of clinching victory.

Fans will not have to wait long for the next race of the fascinating sports prototypes: The penultimate round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup that will become the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012 will be held at Road Atlanta (U.S. state of Georgia) on October 1.
 
Timo Bernhard (Audi R18 TDI #1): "I think we showed a nice race. Second place is good - but we had the potential for more. The performance was good enough for victory because we were battling for the lead across long stretches of the race. It wasn't meant to be. We lost time in traffic as a result of me going into a spin once, Marcel (Fässer) had a collision that required a repair due to the regulations. Too bad, but I think we can still be satisfied. We delivered a good show today. And, most importantly, the team did a tremendous job of pulling together."
 
Results
 
1 Bourdais/Pagenaud (Peugeot) 190 laps in in 6h 00m 13.255s
2 Bernhard/Fässler (Audi R18 TDI) + 1m 29.763s
3 Nicolet/Prémat/Pla (Oak-Pescarolo-Judd) - 5 laps
4 Belicchi/Boullion (Lola-Toyota) - 5 laps
5 Lahaye/Moreau/Ragues (Oak-Pescarolo-Judd) - 5 laps
6 Collard/Tinseau/Jousse (Pescarolo-Judd) - 5 laps
7 Kristensen/McNish (Audi R18 TDI) - 6 laps
8 Montagny/Sarrazin (Peugeot) - 9 laps
9 Fernandez/Primat/Klien (Lola-Aston Martin) - 11 laps
10 Ojjeh/Lombard/Kimber-Smith (Zytek-Nissan) - 12 laps

The 6-hour race at Silverstone (Great Britain) marks the beginning of the final sprint for Audi in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) - the racing series that will become the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012. The fifth of seven ILMC rounds in 2011 is on the calendar at the Grand Prix circuit in Silverstone. Audi Sport Team Joest is again fielding two vehicles of the Le Mans winning Audi R18 TDI featuring ultra-lightweight technology that will be driven by Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fässler (car number "1") and Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish (car number "2"). 

Given that the most recent event, the 6-hour race at Imola, did not go according to plans for Audi Sport Team Joest, with Bernhard/Fässler and Kristensen/McNish taking third and fourth place, there is only one aim for Silverstone: victory. Since the event at Imola further work on fine-tuning the setup of the Audi R18 TDI has been done in track tests. In addition, it should be easier for the sports prototype powered by an innovative V6 TDI engine to bring its strengths to bear on the British Grand Prix circuit.
 
With respect to its driver line-up Audi is optimally set for Silverstone. Allan McNish has already won the race three times (in 2004, 2005 and 2008), took the pole position last year and regards Silverstone as his home track. Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen won there in Formula 3000 and in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fässler, who have been forming a driver pairing since Imola, have been on the podium at Silverstone as well.
 
The Silverstone 6 Hours will start on Sunday, September 11, at 11:35 a.m., local time. Audi.tv will air a full-length broadcast of the race live on the internet at http://microsites.audi.com/lemans/.

Timo Bernhard (30/D), Audi R18 TDI #1 (Audi Sport Team Joest)
- Finished in the Audi R15 TDI at Silverstone in third place last year
- Together with Marcel Fässler last mounted the podium for Audi at Imola
"We're running on a tradition-steeped circuit with a proud sports car history. There are slow, medium fast and some nice fast corners. I really like this circuit so I'm especially eager to go there. The fast Maggotts and Copse sections are particularly exciting to drive in a sports car like the Audi R18 TDI because you reach speeds of over 200 km/h there. That's huge fun, but also a big challenge. As the circuit is a bit longer than Imola driving in traffic should be a little easier. After the pole position at Spa, our leading position during parts of the race at Le Mans and our initially promising place at Imola it's time for victory now."

Timo Bernhard (D): *Feb 24, 1981 in Homburg (D); residence: Dittweiler (D); married to Katharina; height 1.73 m; weight: 61 kg; Audi driver since 2009; Le Mans victories: 1; ILMC races: 7; ILMC victories: 0; pole positions: 1; fastest laps: 0; best result Silverstone 6 Hours: 0; victories Silverstone 6 Hours: 

Track info

Track length: 5.891 km
Duration of race: 6 hours
Pole position 2010: Allan McNish (Audi R15 TDI), 1m 43.475s = 204.954 km/h (Sep 11, 2010)
Fastest lap 2010: Nicolas Lapierre/Stéphane Sarrazin (Peugeot), 1m 44.338s = 203.259 km/h (Sep 12, 2010)

ILMC LMP1 manufacturers standings after 4 of 7 rounds:
1 Peugeot 132 points; 2 Audi, 89.
 
ILMC LMP1 team standings after 4 of 7 rounds:
1 Peugeot Sport Total, 65 points; 2 Audi Sport Team Joest, 61; 3 Team Oreca Matmut, 34; 4 Rebellion Racing, 33; 5 Oak Racing, 5.
 
Schedule
 
Friday, September 9
13:15-14:15 Free practice 1
17:00-18:00 Free practice 2
 
Saturday, September 10
09:00-10:00 Free practice 3
13:35-13:55 Qualifying (GT vehicles)
14:05-14:25 Qualifying (prototypes)
 
Sunday, September 11
09:00-09:20 Warm-up
11:35-17:35 Race