Born of a Brazilian father and a French mother, Hermano da Silva Ramos, who will be 89 on December 7th, is the first citizen of his country to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first of his four participations took place in 1954 at the wheel of an Aston Martin with which he was reunited in July at the seventh edition of the Le Mans Classic: "I rolled everywhere with the Aston Martin, I even drove it on the road. The Gordinis of the 1955 and 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans were a little fragile, but they were very fun little things to drive. The Ferrari 250 TR that I raced at my fourth and final participation in 1959 is the one I got the most from, namely for its power. One was really happy behind the wheel of that car. After my retirement, I continued to follow Formula 1 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which I love more than anything. I also know Emerson Fittipaldi well (organizer of the 6 Hours of São Paulo, former two-time Formula 1 World Champion and two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, editor's note). I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Lucas di Grassi, but if I am be able to come to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year, I will go see him and will be very happyt to meet him."

Title-winner with Audi in 2014 alongside Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval after Allan McNish's retirement, Lucas di Grassi (30 years old) finished third at his first participation at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans then second this year. He has every chance to become the first Brazilian to win in La Sarthe: "That is indeed my objective and I am very motivated to reach it with Audi, but Le Mans is a very hard race where everything must be perfect. I also hope to win the driver title of the FIA World Endurance Championship as it has been more than 20 years since a Brazilian was a World Champion in motorsports (the last to date was Ayrton Senna in Formula 1 in 1991, editor's note). I loved the R18 e-tron quattro as soon as I got behind the wheel. The mindset of the big Audi family is victory. And whether it is prototypes or single-seaters, the essential for me is to be a part of a team that wins." This weekend at the 6 Hours of São Paulo, he will undoubtedly be closely watched. He figures not only among the potential winners, but the fact his teammate Tom Kristensen is racing in his final race will certainly put plenty of attention on the No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro.

Last round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, the 6 Hours of São Paulo will take place Sunday, November 30.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, TUESDAY JUNE 10 2014. Third in 2013 then second in 2014, will Lucas di Grassi be the first Brazilian to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Time will tell.