Kristensen hopes Audi remain careful

The French cars have a clear speed advantage over the Audi R10s this year, but while the German cars will try to keep up with the Peugeots, Kristensen feels that taking too many risks is not the way to win the race.

"Normally you would say we have to take more risks than them, but we really have to be careful," Kristensen told autosport.com. "That is the key.

"We will see what happens. Allan (McNish) will start the race, and if we can stay in their mirrors, then we will. But that will mean pushing 100 per cent.

"We have to be careful and make sure we are there the whole way, and we have to be disciplined. Le Mans is so long, and we have the experience of getting through it."

The Dane also believes that the 2005 race, where he claimed his record-breaking eighth victory despite the ageing Audi R8's lacking outright pace, gives Audi extra hope.

"It's a little bit like 2005 again," he added. "We were quite a bit slower than the Pescarolos, but we were disciplined, we worked well in the pits, and we came out on top.

"It's good to have that in the background and know that it's possible. It's nice to be the underdog, because the pressure is on the other guys."