Sport Auto, 24h du Mans | Tag Heuer backing Audi for 24 Hours of Le Mans

Tag Heuer is joining forces with Audi Sport in its quest to once again win the most mythic endurance race in motorsports — the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Swiss brand has signed on for the 78th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as official partner for watches, eyewear and timekeeping solutions of the German racecar team, which has the best record at Le Mans, with eight victories in 11 appearances.
Audi Sport will roll out three R15 TDI Plus cars for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and an impressive line-up of drivers: Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen (a world record eight-time winner), Allan McNish, Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, Benoît Treluyer, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller. Together, these men have competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 61 times — and have taken home the trophy 13 times.
Audi Sport will bear Tag Heuer colours on its racing cars and drivers' suits in endurance races of the 2010 season, including the 8 Hour race at Le Castellet in France, the 1000-kilometer races at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and at Silverstone in England, Petit Le Mans/Road Atlanta race in the United States and one race in Asia.
Audi Sport's drivers will join the likes of to Leonardo Di Caprio, Maria Sharapova, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. The Audi Sport drivers will wear and promote Tag Heuer Carrera Day-Date chronographs. The team's managers, including Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, the head of Audi Sport, will wear Tag Heuer Grand Carrera chronographs. The team will also use Tag Heuer's timekeeping technology on private testing sessions.
Tag will equip Audi Sport drivers with Tag Heuer Night Vision glasses. Created to provide better night-vision comfort by correcting night myopia and prismatic deviation, the exclusive Tag Heuer technology will help maximise the Audi Team's driving performance at dawn, dusk and in the dark of night. Enhancing vision while driving — in road car driving and competition car racing — is the keystone of Tag Heuer's Avant-Garde Eyewear strategy. Audi Sport Drivers will put these products to the test in the most demanding conditions imaginable, and Tag Heuer's R&D will use their findings to push accuracy and performance even further.
"For Tag Heuer, being part of this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans is a key component of our 150th Anniversary celebrations," said Jean-Christophe Babin, the brand's chief executive and president. "Motor racing and car manufacturing have been the main source of our inspiration from the very start. After associating our Grand Carrera model with the GT Audi R8, it is important to reinforce this partnership by joining Audi in their bid to win back Le Mans. We share values of prestige and avant-garde, and we're driven by the same thing: the quest for the best in performance by means of the best in innovation. With our eyewear technology, we expect to give the Audi drivers a serious advanTage. At Le Mans and in day-to-day driving, vision is a key factor for performance and safety."
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, the head of Audi Sport, added: "For Audi, it's a great honour to welcome Tag Heuer to our team of partners. They're an important part of motor racing lore and have demonstrated, for a century and a half, unparalleled vision and focus. Tag Heuer has designed and manufactured some of the best timepieces and eyewear that we will use with pleasure."   [Via]