Earlier this month, Audi took time to celebrate its 2011 triumphs which included wins at Le Mans, Daytona and Macao, as well as the DTM title and the ‘Global Motorsport Race Engine of the Year’ award thanks to the V10 TDi which powers the Audi R18. Meanwhile, its film “13.854 seconds” based on the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours enjoyed success at the ITVA Awards and Corporate Media & TV Awards in Potsdam, Germany, and Cannes, France, respectively.

Audi Motorsport hasn’t wasted any time getting back to work to prepare for 2012, however. Last week, the team was in the USA testing the Audi R18 TDi at Sebring where six former Le Mans winners were in attendance, namely Benoît Tréluyer (who will be a full-time Audi driver in 2012), Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer, Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen.

Two cars were used, one of which served to “compare results”, according to the official news release. However, the American website Speed.com suggests that the second car was a diesel/electric hybrid (named ‘R18H’) will could be entered for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. The photos provided by Audi indicate that the Audi R18H ran at Le Castellet, France, at the end of November before being flown out to Florida.

The team’s drivers for the 2012 WEC will be confirmed at a later date. Meanwhile, Audi Motorsport has boosted its operation with the appointment of Dieter Gass as Head of Racing Commitments. After several seasons spent working in F1, the 48-year old engineer returns to the German make as deputy to Audi Motorsport boss Wolfgang Ulrich.

Next season, Audi plans to run an R8 LMS Cup in China where an entry of 16 cars is expected. The series is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2012.

Audi R18 TDi, Audi R8 LMS, FIA World Endurance Championship 2012, LMP1 prototypes, Sebring