Photo : Audi Motorsport

 

Following a DTM test with Audi, the Brazilian driver confirmed he would still be with Audi in endurance racing next year. Will the best "rookie" 24 Hours of Le Mans 2013 be back in La Sarthe next year?

Lucas di Grassi was a Formula 1 driver in 2010 with Virgin, and should have had his début at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year because he had signed with Peugeot Sport. Following the cancellation of the endurance program of the French manufacturer, the Brazilian driver was left without a drive and had to wait until the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in 2012 to start in endurance driving a prototype. At his home race in Brazil, Lucas di Grassi did his first laps at the wheel of a conventionally powered R18 Ultra: the presence of a local driver was an opportunity seized by Audi.

The native of São Paulo delivered results and Audi enlisted him for their 2013 campaign with the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a goal. In his first appearance in La Sarthe, Lucas di Grassi mounted the third step of the podium and was named best "rookie" 2013.

Although his future will not be in the DTM he will still be part of the team next year as he confirmed after a DTM test with Audi: “...in the DTM car I’m a rookie of course. I’ve got a mid-term contract with Audi and I fully identify with the LMP program for which I’m scheduled again next year.”

This year, the participation of Lucas di Grassi at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the second and third rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), resulted in two podiums, each on the third step with team mates Marc Gene, who won at Le Mans in 2009 with Peugeot, and Oliver Jarvis. 

Cécile Bonardel / ACO (quote from Audi Sport press information)

Translation by Dave Davies /ACO