Bernhard: #3 Audi can win the race

Factory Porsche drivers Bernhard and Dumas raced against Audi in the American Le Mans Series in 2007 and 2008, and have been loaned to Audi for Le Mans this year.

Although Bernhard has had little time to get used to the R15, he believes the trio can compete with their more experienced team-mates.

"The others have a lot more experience with the diesel and we all know who is the benchmark with the car from the last years," Bernhard told AUTOSPORT. "We all know Allan [McNish], Tom [Kristensen] and Dindo [Capello] are the guys to beat if we want to be the best Audi, and if we want to win.

"For me it's not so much the goal to beat everybody here, it's more that I really want to do the best job that I can do for this race, to do the best job for Audi, and maybe at the end we have a chance or can be on the podium."

Bernhard says the step from the LMP2 to LMP1 class has been straight-forward, but that the change from a petrol to diesel-powered car has taken more getting used to.

"For me really it's not the transfer so much from LMP2 to LMP1, it's the transfer from a petrol car to a diesel car. The petrol car I drove a lot on sound as well as from the feeling.

"Now you only have what you feel from the car, you can't go from the sound any more. Above a certain speed you don't hear the engine any more, but after a while you get used to it. On one side it's a nice thing because it's more calm in the car."