Audi "factory” driver Allan McNish and Stéphane Ortelli steered Audi PlayStation Team ORECA´s Audi R8 to a last-gasp victory in a dramatic 1000 km race at Silverstone.

Partly torrential rain caused many incidents and Safety Car periods. Almost half of the race’s first three hours had to be run behind the Audi RS 4 Safety Car. Having started fourth on the grid, one of the full course caution periods cost the Audi pair almost a full lap. Allan McNish, however, was able to recover the lost ground under extremely difficult conditions in the second half of the race. With 35 minutes remaining, the DTM driver passed the leading Jamie Campbell-Walter. After the last driver-change, Stéphane Ortelli was able to defend the lead against Campbell-Walter´s attacks on the still damp track, eventually crossing the finish line as the winner after an eventful six hours.

It was the first victory of the season for the Audi R8 in the Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES), the first for the French Team ORECA with the R8 and the 59th overall success for the most successful Le Mans prototype ever.

Results and points Silverstone (GB), 13 August, Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES) round 3

1 Allan McNish/Stéphane Ortelli (Audi R8) 151 Rd. in 5:51.09,527 

2 Nicholas Minassian/Jamie Campell-Walter (DBA-Judd) .

3 Joao Barbosa/Martin Short/Vanina Ickx (Dallara-Judd)

4 Claude-Yves Gosselin/Karim Ojjeh/Vincent Vosse (Courage)

5 Robert Pergl/Peter Kox/Jarek Janis (Ferrari) - 8 Rd.

Positions after 3 of 5 rounds:

1 Boullion and Collard, 19 points; 3 Ickx and Short, 18; 5 Shimoda, 17; ... 12 McNish and Ortelli, 10.

Next race: Nürburgring (D), 4 September