COPENHAGEN, June 11 - Seven-times Le Mans champion Tom Kristensen will start this weekend's 24 hours race after recovering from crash injuries, his Audi team said on Monday.

The 39-year old Dane will be competing alongside Italy's Dindo Capello and Scotland's Allan McNish in a diesel-powered Audi R10.

Kristensen suffered severe whiplash in an accident during a DTM (German touring car) race in April and had not driven a race car until a test run last Saturday.

"It was a long break without motorsport, and, on occasion, I really had to fight very hard with the effects of my accident," Kristensen said in a statement.

"I'm delighted to be able to compete with Dindo and Allan at Le Mans. We are a closely knit team and have already driven many fantastic races together."

Last year, Audi becoming the first manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours race with a diesel-powered car, which was driven by Germans Frank Biela and Marco Werner and Italian Emanuele Pirro. Kristensen was in third place.