Audi World Champions after fourth race of season

Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer take second win
Puncture throws Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish back
Audi wraps up Manufacturers’ Championship title early at Silverstone *

Audi with perfect record at half-way stage: In an exciting battle of the concepts the hybrid technology in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro also proved victorious in the fourth race of the FIA World Endurance Championship, WEC. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi wrote history after taking victory with a hybrid car for the first time, now the second win followed. At both events Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît were at the wheel of the victorious car with start number ‘1’.

Audi builds the most efficient sportscars – this was clearly visible at round four of the WEC. During the six hours of the race Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer required only six pits stops with their hybrid car and thus two less than the second-placed Nicolas Lapierre/Kazuki Nakajima/Alexander Wurz who use another hybrid concept. The result is all the more remarkable because the triumphant Audi was awarded a stop-and-go penalty by the race director. The reason: Benoît Tréluyer was involved in an unfortunate accident with a GT car just before the end of the first third of the race. The car of the three Le Mans winners lost 32 seconds as a result, at the finish the winning margin was still 55 seconds.

In addition to the fourth race victory, Audi also has another reason to celebrate: the brand from Ingolstadt holds an unassailable lead in the WEC Manufacturers’ Championship. After four titles in the Rally World Championship between 1982 and 1984 as well as victory in the FIA Touring Car World Cup in 1995, Audi has once again won another World title. *

In contrast, the excitement in the drivers’ classification increases following a change of leaders: after their second win Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer head the standings for the first time this season. At the half-way stage they hold a small 4.5 point lead from former leaders Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish.

The Danish-Scottish duo was plagued by bad luck on their way to third place at Silverstone. The two Audi works drivers had to settle for third place in their Audi R18 ultra after having to make an unscheduled pit stop. Only a few minutes after McNish had taken over driving duties a slow puncture on the right rear forced him to make a tire change. As a result, the sportscar, powered by a conventionally powered V6-TDI engine, lost a lap early in the race and thus any chance of playing a bigger role in the intense battle of the concepts. The car still reached the finish only 19 seconds behind the second placed Toyota.

Audi starts the fifth round of the WEC in only three weeks time. Local matador Lucas di Grassi reinforces the Audi driver line-up as team mate to Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen.

Race result

1. Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro), 194 laps
2. Wurz/Lapierre/Nakajima (Toyota) + 55.675s
3. Kristensen/McNish (Audi R18 ultra) + 1m 14.427s
4. Belicchi/Primat (Lola-Toyota) – 5 laps
5. Leventis/Watts/Kane (HPD-Honda) – 5 laps
6. Prost/Jani (Lola-Toyota) – 5 laps
7. Brabham/Chandhok/Dumbreck (HPD-Honda) – 7 laps
8. Martin/Charouz/Graves (Oreca-Nissan) – 11 laps
9. Potolicchio/Dalziel/Sarrazin (HPD-Honda) – 11 laps
10. Panciatici/Ragues/Rusinov (Oreca-Nissan) – 11 laps

Dieter Gass (Head of Racing Commitments):

An excellent result after an incredibly difficult race. From start to finish, there was an intensive battle with Toyota who were very strong. We mainly won the race due to the efficiency of our technology. So we were able to clinch victory in the race with the help of our strategy. The stop-and-go penalty for car number 1 was unfortunate because the contact between the GT car that pulled to the right and our R18 e-tron quattro that slightly drove toward the left could also have been viewed as a normal racing accident.

Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest):

That was a very interesting race. Toyota was even a bit faster than I’d been expecting. It was an intensive battle that pushed us to the limits. Our car number 1 also had that bit of luck which you simply need in racing, while number 2 suffered quite a bit of misfortune. All drivers drove brilliantly and left the cars undamaged. We saw a great fight for six hours straight. For us, too, it was nerve-wracking. ‘Thank you’ to the drivers and to our team for making it possible for us to continue our string of victories.

Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1):

This was a fantastic victory that wasn’t so easy. I’m extremely happy because this is my first victory in a 6-hour race. I had the lead twice before at Silverstone, and now – finally – we managed to clinch victory. Toyota was a very powerful challenger. Our squad did a perfect job at the stops and was really quick. Simply brilliant!

André Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1):

A fantastic day! Audi has pocketed the title and my two team-mates and I are leading the drivers’ standings. This was a nearly flawless race. There was only a stop-and-go penalty for Ben (Tréluyer) after which the situation became pretty tight. But since there was another safety car period we were spared from a brief refueling stop at the end. The car was running perfectly. It was a great weekend that I’m really happy with. I’m already looking forward to Brazil.

Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1):

I’m very pleased. I’ve never won a 6-hour race before. This was the next nice victory for the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. The team did an outstanding job. But our race was pretty strenuous due to the nice battle with Toyota. This makes the result even sweeter.

Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 ultra #2):

Congratulations to Audi and to our sister car on having clinched victory. We were initially trying to save fuel to prevent having to come in for a last short refueling stop at the end of the race. But then, unfortunately, a few things interfered with our plan. Due to the safety car periods the other cars used less fuel as well. Unfortunately, Allan had to pit due to a puncture. We managed a nice recovery. Naturally, third place is not a dream result. It could have turned into a clearly much closer battle of our car with Toyota.

Allan McNish (Audi R18 ultra #2):

The strategy played a major role today. Our car was very quick. But we also knew how to save fuel. So, theoretically, we would have had to have one pit stop less than our rivals. Unfortunately, a puncture deprived us of our chance. The safety car didn’t help us with our strategy either. And so, in the end, we finished in third place.