NOVEMBER 24, 2002

Audi confirms Le Mans withdrawal

Audi has been expected to confirm its withdrawal from involvement in the Le Mans 24 Hours for several months and the news has finally been announced by the Ingolstadt firm, which says that it will now only be represented by private entries. These will include Champion Racing and Team Goh.

The announcement means that the way is now clear for Audi's sister marque Bentley to win the race. The new Bentley EXP Speed 8 coupe, which has been developed in recent months, is already showing the kind of pace seen in recent years from the Audi R8s and that should mean that the company has a good chance of victory in the French endurance racing classic.

It remains to be seen which other teams will appear at Le Mans using old Audi machinery but there have been rumours of operations from Alain Prost and Team Rahal. For the moment, however, nothing has been confirmed.