Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Audi
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/04/marc-gene.jpgWhen a major automaker shuts down its racing program like Peugeot did at Le Mans, it leaves a big gaping hole for everyone involved. The French automaker’s departure from endurance racing left the series organizers scrambling for another team to take its place just as it was preparing to inaugurate the new FIA World Endurance Championship. It left Audi - the Diane Sawyer of Le Mans racing, to borrow an analogy from Talladega Nights - without its Katie Couric. And arguably most of all, it left Peugeot’s roster of highly skilled drivers without a ride.
Easily among the most talented of these drivers is Marc Gené, the driver who helped Peugeot clinch the checkered flag at La Sarthe in 2009. A longtime factory test driver for Ferrari (and one time grand prix driver for Minardi and Willaims), Gené has a wealth of experience that couldn’t very well be left untapped. So it should come as little surprise that Audi has scooped him up.
Although the German automaker already has a full roster of pilots - proven race winners, no less - at its disposal, it has found room for Gené as a reserve driver. In this capacity Gené will be filling in for an uninjured Timo Bernhard to drive the #3 Audi R18 Ultra together with French drivers Romain Dumas and Loïc Duval at Spa-Francorchamps in just a couple of weeks, and will undoubtedly be on hand to jump into the cockpit at Le Mans in June should duty call.Continue reading Audi Sport scoops up ex-Peugeot driver Marc Gené for reserve role
Audi Sport scoops up ex-Peugeot driver Marc Gené for reserve role originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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