Biela: Bentley will win if it doesn't break

The Bentley Speed 8 LMP GT is expected to have a significant speed advantage over Audi's R8 - which has dominated the event for the last three years - but is more complicated to service than the German car. It may also need more tyre stops because regulations state that the Bentley has to run thinner rubber.

"If the Bentleys are going to run through the whole 24 hours without any problem, then I'm quite sure there is no way for us to beat them," said Biela. "They are just quicker than us - that's how it is. Even if they have to stop for fuel a bit earlier than us, I don't see a chance to beat them speed-wise or lap time-wise. I'd say there is no chance of that.

"But, then again, I'd say there is a chance they will run into trouble - perhaps a much bigger chance than for the Audis. We won it three times in a row with very little problems, and there's no reason why we'll have any more difficulties this year. The car is the same, the engines are the same and the car will be well prepared as always. Of course, punctures can influence the race, but at the end of the day our cars are reliable, and that's the key to winning the 24 hours of Le Mans."

Biela reckons the Bentleys could be up to 15-20kph faster in places: "It's a big thing, because there is at least five or six high speed parts of the track where that will really count in their favour.

"I think that is where they will gain all their time over us. It will mean they will benefit by five-tenths or even a second per straight, so the gap will be something between 2.5 and four seconds per lap, which is exactly what we saw at the test day last month."