Narain Karthikeyan is set to become the first driver from India to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The 32-year-old from Coimbatore will contest the legendary event on June 13-14 driving a diesel-engined Audi, the same type of car Allan McNish drove to victory in last year's race.

"I'm very excited and happy to be racing in the Le Mans 24 Hour," said Karthikeyan.

"I really enjoyed a recent endurance test at Paul Ricard which gave me a good idea of the performance of the Audi and the difficulties I will be faced with.

"I now cannot wait to race at Le Mans. It's a big part of motor-racing history."

Karthikeyan, who became India's first Formula One driver when he raced for the Jordan team in 2005, will drive the 'customer' Team Kolles entered Audi R10 TDI for the first time at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on June 10.

McNish, meanwhile, will race Audi's latest diesel-powered car, the R15 TDI, which the 39-year-old Scotsman drove to a debut victory in the Sebring 12 Hours two months ago.