Tuesday January 22nd, 2002

Audi have hired Briton Johnny Herbert for their bid to win the Le Mans 24-hour race for the third time in a row, the German car maker said on Tuesday.

Former Formula One driver and Le Mans winner Herbert will team up with Italians Rinaldo Capello and Christian Pescatori in one of two Audi R8 cars for the French classic on June 15-16.

"The R8 is simply a wonderful car," said Herbert, who won three Grand Prix in his Formula One career. "You can push it to the limit from the first to the last lap and that's very much to my liking."

The 37-year-old replaces Frenchman Laurent Aiello, who has chosen to concentrate on the German DTM touring car series. The other Audi R8 at Le Mans will be driven by German Frank Biela, Dane Tom Kristensen and Italian Emanuele Pirro, who have won the race for the last two years.

Published at 13:02:26 GMT

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