Audi has dominated testing ahead of the Le Mans 24-hour race later this month.

The team that has ruled the roost in the famous event in recent years was in imperious form on June 9 as its three cars set the first, second and third-fastest lap times on a day interrupted by changeable weather and a crash.

Frenchman Loic Duval set the fastest time with a three-minute, 22.583-second lap at the end of the day-long session, after also posting the fastest morning time before a spectacular crash on his very next lap almost cost the team the entire session.

The test was the only chance to drive the full Le Mans circuit before the start of official testing last Wednesday.

Duval’s Scottish teammate Allan McNish, who has endured two difficult years at Le Mans in 2011 and 2012, said: “With the weather being so bad for pretty much the majority of the day, we ultimately had a full day’s testing condensed in to the last 90 minutes – and even then the circuit was still damp in places.

“The most positive element from our day was that Tom, Loïc and myself all felt very similar balance characteristics in the car and we are all basically happy with the set-up. For us going into the race week in the dry we feel comfortable with what we have got.”

He continued: “Our new 2013-spec car in Le Mans aero specification is a good improvement; Audi’s aerodynamics guys have done a very good job and have given us good downforce but also good efficiency. The lap times are not really that relevant – the important thing being the feeling the three of us have for driving our car fast in all conditions.”

Speaking after his time in the number three Audi, Oliver Jarvis, from Burwell near Newmarket, said: “All of my running was done in the wet, but whenever I was on track I was competitive. The balance of the car was good and I was very happy with the performance, especially in the morning’s difficult conditions.”

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.