27 March (Pompano Beach, FL) -- Team ADT Champion Racing’s 24 Hours of Le Mans entry has been recognized by the organizing Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). The Florida-based team’s Audi R8 is amongst the 50-car (plus six reserves) list of “invited” participants for the 4 May test published this week.

Former Le Mans race winners Emanuele Pirro, JJ Lehto and Stefan Johansson, will pilot Champion’s distinctive 2002-spec “customer” Audi R8 in the 71st running of the historic event on 14-15 June.

A 40ft container will be loaded with pit equipment, tools and spare bodywork at Champion’s Pompano Beach race facility next week and will leave on a vessel from Jacksonville in Florida early next month. The R8 racecar chassis will leave on an air pallet from Atlanta around 21 April.

The container will be shipped to Bremerhaven in Germany and will travel by road to Stuttgart. The R8 will be air freighted direct to Stuttgart. Champion’s crew will unload the container in Stuttgart and pack onto Champion’s transporters together with the race car and travel to Le Mans.