Audi fastest in Le Mans pre-test
2,600-kilometre journey to the DTM at Estoril
24h Le Mans: In the traditional pre-test for the Le Mans 24-hour race (12/13 June), the Audi R8 were a class of their own on Sunday. Despite new regulations that make narrower rear wings mandatory, Audi driver Allan McNish beat last year's pole position time in the Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx Audi R8. The Scottish lapped the 13.650-kilometre track in 3m 32.615s. The other three Audi R8 sports cars placed second, third and fourth in the 52-car strong field.
DTM: Following the opening race of the season, Audi factory teams Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline and Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest had less than one week to prepare their Audi A4 DTM cars for the second DTM round. Sunday's race, devoted to Ayrton Senna, takes place close to Portugal's capital Lisbon, about 2,600 kilometres from Germany. For the 3-day journey to Estoril, the trucks had to be loaded already one week before the event. The Audi drivers are looking forward to the 2004 DTM's first foreign race not only because of the location close to the sea: By setting the fastest overall time during official testing in March, Audi works driver Tom Kristensen showed that the Estoril track suits the Audi A4 DTM well.