And, here we go again. Audi claims the front row of the grid at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, and if the last few years results are anything to go by, that means they are going to win the race as well. Turns out the new R18 e-tron quattro hybrid race car is not only a success, it’s much faster than the last racer, as it improved last year’s best time by nearly two seconds.

In the hands of André Lotterer in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro number “1” achieved a fastest lap of 3m 23.787s in the final qualifying session. But even more incredible than that was the performance of Audi’s conventionally powered number “3” R18 ultra that clocked a time only 0.291 seconds slower than the e-tron. We thought this year Toyota’s hybrid car will challenge Audi’s, but turns out it cannot even match the old diesel car!

After 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2011, this marked the seventh pole position for Audi at Le Mans. Each time, the brand with the four rings secured the complete front row at those events as well – albeit never before with two different technologies.

“The car was running like it was on rails, simply incredible,” raved the 31-year-old German André Lotterer as he praised the advantages of the new type of electric quattro drive that is already being tested at Audi for use in production vehicles. “The guys at Audi Sport did a top job yet again and made my first pole position at Le Mans possible for me. Many thanks to them for this!”