2011 gives us the 79th edition of the greatest endurance race in the world, which was created in 1923.

The Le Mans 24 Hours, the Petit Le Mans, the Le Mans Series in the United States, Europe and Asia and the winner of the Michelin Green X Challenge make up the races, championships and trophies, which give an official selection for theLe Mans 24 Hours.

MARCH 24, 2011 - THE AUDI R8 AT THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS TEST
AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST
DINDO CAPELLO, TOM KRISTENSEN, ALLEN McNISH

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June 12, 2011 - WINNERS - BENOIT TRELUYER, MARCEL FAESSLER,
ANDRE LOTTERER, DR. WOLFGANG ULLRICH, RALF JUETNER

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June 12, 2011 - WINNING CAR - AUDI R18 TDI
AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST

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AUDI WINS WITH ULTRA LIGHTWEIGHT TECHNOLOGY AT LE MANS

Ingolstadt/Le Mans, June 12, 2011 - At one of the most thrilling and dramatic 24 hour races in Le Mans history Audi ultra lightweight technology has prevailed. At the fascinating thriller which kept 250,000 spectators at the race track and millions in front of their TV sets watching in awe Marcel Faessler (Switzerland), Andre Lotterer (Germany) and Benoît Treluyer (France) in the innovative Audi R18 TDI clinched the tenth Le Mans victory in total for the brand with the four rings.

The drama at the 79th edition of the world's most famous endurance could hardly be surpassed. After Audi had lost two of its Audi R18 TDI cars as early as in the first third of the race due to accidents all hopes were pinned on car number "2" that had secured the pole position in qualifying for Audi. For 16 hours Faessler, Lotterer and Treluyer were on their own in the battle against three factory fielded Peugeot cars that left no stone unturned to keep Audi from taking victory.

On Sunday morning the four quickest vehicles were still within just a few seconds of each other at the front of the field. The lead kept changing, also on account of the different strategies. And Faessler, Lotterer and Treluyer continually brought the performance advantage of their diesel sports car to bear which in the first year of the engine downsizing was clearly the fastest car in the field at Le Mans. At 3m 25.289s Andre Lotterer on the 229th race lap even managed to beat the fastest time set in qualifying.

The reliability of the new Audi R18 TDI was impressive as well. Across the entire race distance the vehicle designated as number "2" did not have to come in for a single unscheduled pit stop. Only a problem with the fuel tank caused a bit of a headache for Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and the Technical Director of Audi Sport Team Joest, Ralf Jüttner. The full 65 liter capacity could not be used. Consequently, Andre Lotterer had to achieve a sufficient lead for an additional refueling stop in the final phase - in extremely difficult conditions in drizzling rain at times which made the track extremely slippery.

Lotterer mastered this hurdle as well. After the final stop the German started his last stint with a seven second advantage over the second placed Peugeot. In the end he crossed the finish line after 24 hours being frenetically cheered by his team colleagues Marcel Faessler and Benoît Treluyer and the entire Audi squad in first place with a lead of 13.420 seconds. For the three Audi drivers who had finished as the runners up last year this marked the first Le Mans exploit - and the tenth for Audi.

"It was a fantastic triumph of Audi ultra-lightweight technology in extreme conditions," commented Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Management Board of AUDI AG, who had watched the captivating race himself in the pits. "After we celebrated a record victory last year primarily thanks to reliability and efficiency, we not only had the most reliable but also the quickest car this year." Management Board Member for Development Michael Dick said, "The team as well as the entire Audi squad did a first-class job that deserves great respect. This tenth Le Mans success of our brand was no doubt the one that required the toughest battle - which perhaps also made it the most valuable one. At the same time, albeit involuntarily, we proved that our engineers design very safe cars."

Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller sustained no injuries in extremely severe accidents in the first third of the race. McNish in the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number "3" had taken the lead shortly before the end of the first hour when a GT car hit his left rear wheel in the "La Chappelle" section. The R18 TDI spun off the track, hit the track barrier in a heavy impact and rolled over. The Audi R18 TDI's one piece carbon fiber monocoque withstood the crash. McNish was able to climb out of the wreckage uninjured and returned to the race track after a precautionary medical check at the hospital.

Mike Rockenfeller had an even greater guardian angel when shortly before 11 p.m. while running on position two he was also touched by a GT vehicle on the left rear wheel while running at a speed of about 300 km/h. The Audi R18 TDI turned left and at 270 km/h hit the guard rails on the entrance to the "Indianapolis" turn. The carbon fiber monocoque developed and produced by Audi using a new type of technology withstood the impact. The front crash absorber and all other passive safety devices of the car fulfilled their purpose as well. Mike Rockenfeller was able to climb out of the wreckage. As a precautionary measure, last year's winner spent the night in the hospital but was released again on Sunday morning.

"The safety standards at Audi are simply incredible and have saved my life," said Mike Rockenfeller. "I've never had such an accident before in my career and hope I'll never have such an experience again." Allan McNish commented in a similar vain: "I want to thank the Audi designers for having developed a car that you can climb out of unharmed after such severe accidents."

On clinching its tenth victory in 13 years Audi has added another impressive chapter to its success story at the Le Mans 24 Hours. After the first success of a TFSI engine in 2011, the first triumph of a diesel powered car in 2006 and the first exploits with variable turbine geometry, VTG, last year Audi again triumphed with innovative technology. "Audi ultra technology has passed an extreme acid test this weekend," said Head of Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich after the car had crossed the finish line. "If you pursue new paths this always involves a risk. But this risk has absolutely paid off. The Audi R18 TDI was in a class of its own at Le Mans 2011. Particularly due to the two extremely serious accidents this has been the most difficult Le Mans race for us in an emotional sense so far. That our team managed to keep the strong competition at bay for 16 hours with just one car is almost unbelievable. Everyone at Audi can be proud of this triumph. However, the news that Allan (McNish) and Mike (Rockenfeller) came out of these extremely heavy accidents so well is at least as important as that of the tenth Audi victory."

2011 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Sunday 5th June 2011
14:30 - 19.00 Administrative Checks and Scrutineering 
              (Place Centrale des Jacobins)
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Monday 6th June 2011
09:30 - 17:30 Administrative Checks and Scrutineering 
              (Place Centrale des Jacobins)
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Tuesday 7th June 2011
17:00         Drivers’ Autograph Session
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Wednesday 8th June 2011
16:00 – 20:00 24 Heures du Mans Free practice sessions
22:00 – 24:00 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying practice sessions
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Thursday 9th June 2011
19:00 – 21:00 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying practice sessions
22:00 – 24:00 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying practice sessions
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Friday 10th June 2011
10:00 – 20:00 Pit Walk
18:00 – 20:00 Drivers' parade (City centre) 
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Saturday 11 June 2011
09.00 - 09:45 Warm-Up 24 Heures du Mans
14:22         Beginning of starting procedure 24 Heures du Mans
15:00         Start of the 79th race of the 24 Heures du Mans
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Sunday 12th June 2011
15:00         Finish of the 79th of the 24 Heures du Mans

FINAL RACE RESULTS JUNE 12, 2011

POS  NO CAR                      CLASS DRIVERS &  TEAM                          LAPS
 1    2 Audi R18 TDI             P1    Fassler / Lotterer / Treluyer             355
 2    9 Peugeot 908              P1    Lamy / Bourdais / Pagenaud                355
 3    8 Peugeot 908              P1    Montagny / Sarrazin / Minassian           353
 4    7 Peugeot 908              P1    Gene / Wurz / Davidson                    351
 5   10 Peugeot 908 HDI-FAP      P1    Lapierre / Duval / Panis                  339
 6   12 Lola B 10/60  Toyota     P1    Jani / Prost / Bleekemolen                338
 7   22 Lola Aston Martin        P1    Ickx / Martin / Leinders                  328
 8   41 Zytek Nissan             P2    Ojjeh / Lombard / Kimber-Smith            326
 9   26 Oreca 03-Nissan          P2    Mailleux / Ordonez / Ayari                320
10   33 Lola Coupe-Honda         P2    Tucker / Bouchut / Barbosa                319
11   73 Chevrolet Corvette C6    GTE   Garcia / Milner / Beretta                 314
12   36 Honda Arx 01 DRML        P2    Erdos / Newton / Collins                  314
13   51 Ferrari 458 Italia       GTE   Fisichella / Bruni / Vilander             314
14   49 Oak Pescarolo-BMW        P2    Nakano / De Crem / Charouz                313
15   56 BMW M3 GT                GTE   Priaulx / Muller / Hand                   313
16   77 Porsche 911 RSR (997)    GTE   Lieb / Lietz / Henzler                    312
17   76 Porsche 911 RSR (997)    GTE   Pilet / Narac / Armindo                   311
18   80 Porsche 911 RSR (997)    GTE   Bergmeister / Long / Luhr                 310
19   40 Oreca 03-Judd BMW        P2    Frey / Meichtry / Rostan                  304
20   50 Chevrolet Corvette C6    GTE   Bornhauser / Canal / Gardel               302
21   70 Porsche 911 RSR (997)    GTE   Bourret / Gibon / Belloc                  301
22   65 Lotus Evora              GTE   Rossiter / Mowlem / Hirschi               295
23   75 Porsche 911 RSR (997)    GTE   Goossens / Holzer / Van Lagen             293
24   66 Ferrari 458 Italia       GTE   Bell / Sugden / Maassen                   290
25   35 Pescarolo-Judd BMW       P2    Barlesi / Da Rocha / Lafargue             288
26   68 Ford GT-Doran            GTE   Robertson / Robertson / Murry             285
27   83 Ferrari F430             GTE   Rodrigues / Menahem / Marroc              272
NOT CLASSIFIED
     44 Norma M200P-Judd BMW     P2    Rosier / Haezebrouck / De Fournoux        247
RETIRED
     16 Pescarolo Judd           P1    Collard / Tinseau / Jousse                305
     55 BMW M3                   GTE   Farfus / Muller / Werner                  276
     74 Chevrolet Corvette C6    GTE   Gavin / Magnussen / Westbrook             211
     81 Porsche 911 RSR (997)    GTE   Neiman / Law / Pumpelly                   211
     48 Oreca 03-Nissan          P2    Premat / Hallyday / Kraihamer             200
     63 Porsche 911 RSR (997)    GTE   Ried / Felbermayr Jr. / Felbermayr        199
     13 Lola B 10/60 Toyota      P1    Belicchi / Boullion / Smith               190
     61 Ferrari F430 AF          GTE   Perazzini / Cioci / Breslin               188
     59 Ferrari 458 Italia       GTE   Ortelli / Makowiecki / Melo               183
     71 Ferrari 458 Italia       GTE   Kauffman / Waltrip / Aguas                178
     88 Porsche 911 RSR (997)    GTE   Miller / Tandy / Al-Faisal                169
     42 Honda Arx 01 D           P2    Leventis / Watts / Kane                   144
     60 Aston Martin Vantage     GTE   Giroix / Goethe / Wainwright              141
     39 Lola B11/40-Judd BMW     P2    Perez-Companc / Russo / Kaffer            139
     89 Ferrari 458 Italia       GTE   Farnbacher / Simonsen / Keen              137
     58 Ferrari 458 Italia       GTE   Beltoise / Jakubowski / Thiriet           136
     64 Lotus Evora              GTE   Slingerland / Rich / Hartshorne           126
     57 Ferrari F430             GTE   Krohn / Jonsson / Rugolo                  123
     24 Oak Pescarolo-Judd       P1    Nicolet / Hein / Yvon                     119
      1 Audi R18 TDI             P1    Bernhard / Dumas / Rockenfeller           116
      5 Oreca Hy Tech-Hybrid     P1    Zacchia / Lammers / Elgaard               115
     62 Ferrari F430             GTE   Ehret / Lynn / Wills                       84
     15 Oak Pescarolo-Judd       P1    Monteiro / Moreau / Ragues                 80
     79 Aston Martin Vantage     GTE   Dolan / Hancock / Buncombe                 74
     20 Zytek 09 SC              P1    Amaral / Pla / Hughes                      48
      3 Audi R18 TDI             P1    Capello / Kristensen / McNish              14
    007 Aston Martin AMR-One     P1    Klien / Mucke / Turner                      4
    009 Aston Martin AMR-One     P1    Fernandez / Meyrick / Primat                2