Audi was strong in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) finale, but not strong enough. Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) are world championship runners-up for the third time in succession. In the end, the Audi driver trio came up short by only five points of clinching its second World Championship title after 2012.
In one of the season’s most thrilling WEC races, the brand with the four rings dominated the action in the early stage. Initially, Lucas di Grassi (BR) in the number ‘8’ Audi R18 e-tron quattro led the race, trailed in second place by the sister car. In these positions, Audi was heading for the title, as the Porsche of its championship rival had lost ground. However, when Loïc Duval (F) in the number ‘8’ Audi lost eight laps due to a brake disc defect, the tide turned. Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer battled up to the end of the race and saw the checkered flag in second place, while Timo Bernhard/Brendon Hartley/Mark Webber only needed fifth place for Porsche to win the title. Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis achieved sixth place.
“Sincere congratulations to Porsche on their victory and to their driver trio on winning the title,” said Dieter Gass, Deputy Head of Audi Motorsport. “We delivered a thrilling season to the fans in endurance racing, in which Audi was leading the championship until the fifth race and battling for the title up to the last lap in the finale. The team’s performance this season was impressive but, unfortunately, in the end it wasn’t quite enough for the title.”
Still, Audi’s track record remains positive. Following the first four years of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the brand with the four rings continues to be the most successful manufacturer. 15 of the 32 race wins went to the Audi R18. No other manufacturer has such a high win rate in the LMP1 class. In addition, Audi has won two of the four driver world championships since 2012, as well as two of four manufacturers’ titles. An Audi driver trio is holding a record as well. Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer, in addition to a world championship title, have celebrated ten overall victories to date – in other words they have won 31.3 percent of all races, more than any other driver has. In the 2015 season, they clinched a podium place in all the rounds, a feat that has not been achieved by any other driver team.
“We owe a debt of gratitude for this to the whole squad,” said Chris Reinke, Head of LMP at Audi Sport. “Audi Sport, all the drivers and the team have done a good job of representing Audi’s colors, never giving up and recording consistently good performances. The work this season that was often hard has paid off, even though in the end we were lacking a few points. Audi was strong up to the end for the fourth consecutive year. Our congratulations go to Porsche on their title win.”
Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #7): “Our race started strong. Unfortunately, front tire grip wasn’t perfect at the beginning. But as the race went on, we stayed within striking distance. André Lotterer was in the car for a long time and put a lot of pressure on our rivals, that was awesome. We can be proud of the season and of the eight podium results in succession. We were leading the championship for a long time. The season was a lot of fun and the Audi R18 e-tron quattro is a tremendous car. All the people in Neuburg and Neckarsulm did a great job and we’re determined to take this momentum into the next season.”
André Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #7): “Today, we were finally in contention for victory again.That was a great feeling. But in the second half of the race, Porsche countered, plus one of our pit stops wasn’t perfect. We had hopes of clinching the title some of the time, but it wasn’t quite enough. This winter, we’re going to give everything to be even stronger in 2016.”
Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #7): “That was an absolutely thrilling race.For an amazing third time now,André, Marcel and I are the runners-up in the world championship after winning the WEC title in 2012. We can be proud of such a track record. A big thank you goes to my teammates and to the whole squad that have played their part in our success of finishing each race on the podium. We battled up to the very end.”
Lucas di Grassi (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): “The race reflected our season. Our potential was good, but we were lacking the necessary fortune. ‘Thank you’ to my teammates, our pace was good this weekend. Unfortunately, we lost ground due to some issues and a penalty so that an initially promising race turned into a disappointment and we weren’t able to battle for a good result for Audi anymore.”
Loïc Duval (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): “The last race was typical for2015. We were fast, but there were some setbacks as well. That was a shame on a weekend that presented us with a few opportunities. Now, we’re looking ahead to the 2016 season and are going to optimally prepare in winter. We had a lot of misfortune this year, so we’re hoping for the next season to be all the better.”
Oliver Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): “For the first time in a while we were fast enough today to actually challenge Porsche. Unfortunately, there was an issue that got in the way. Congratulations to Porsche on their deserved title win of the drivers’ and the manufacturers’ championship. We’re going to work even more meticulously in order to be stronger than ever before. Next year, we’d like to be in contention at the very front right from the beginning.”
Race results 1 Dumas/Jani/Lieb (Porsche) 199 laps 2 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) +1m 25.310s 3 Conway/Sarrazin/Wurz (Toyota) –3 laps 4 Buemi/Davidson/Nakajima (Toyota) –3 laps 5 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (Porsche) –9 laps 6 Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) –11 laps 7 Bird/Canal/Rusinov (Ligier-Nissan) –16 laps 8 Bradley/Howson/Tandy (Oreca-Nissan) –16 laps 9 Derani/Gonzalez/Yacaman (Ligier-Nissan) –17 laps 10 Chatin/Dillmann/Panciatici (Alpine-Nissan) –17 laps
Press release Audi Sport
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