Audi wary of Pescarolo threat

The French cars have been the leading petrol-engined runners in the build up to the race, and some of Audi's drivers are expecting them to come into play as they run longer stints during the race.

Le Mans organisers the ACO have reduced the size of the fuel tanks for diesel cars to 81 litres, while petrol cars are allowed 90 litres.

"A lot of people have written Pescarolo off, but I wouldn't," Allan McNish told autosport.com. "Strategy will bring them into play.

"They should be able to do two laps more than us on fuel because of the change in the regulations, so when Audi and Peugeot come into the pits, Pescarolo should take the lead."

McNish's teammate Dindo Capello added that he also expected the privateer team to be closer to the pace than they were in qualifying, which should mean that they are in a position to compete with the manufacturer teams.

"They will be ready to fight and compete," the Italian told autosport.com. "In terms of speed they will be on the pace.

"I think we should not just talk of Audi and Peugeot, but we should include Pescarolo as well."

Pescarolo's cars started from the front row at Le Mans in 2005, although last year they struggled to match the speed of the diesel-powered Audi R10s.