Small reward for strong performance of both Audi R18 cars in TexasLucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis (BR/F/GB) in second placeAudi with pole position and fastest race lap in America
Audi led the first half of round six of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with both R18 cars in commanding style. But in the end, its strong performance, with a trophy for second place, did not produce the desired reward. In the fifth hour, car number 7 lost a lot of time due to a collision in which its driver was not at fault. During an overtaking maneuver, a lapped race car hit the Audi which subsequently spun into the guardrail. The sister car, number 8, that was leading for a long time, lost ground following several incidents and recovered to second place.
Audi dominantly began the weekend. In all practice sessions, the R18 hybrid sports car was in front and in qualifying, both race cars of Audi Sport Team Joest locked out the first row. The race started strong as well. In air temperatures of 36 degrees centigrade, the Audi drivers built a near-one minute advantage over their best rivals. Initially, Marcel Fässler (CH) and subsequently André Lotterer (D) were leading in car number 7 before Lucas di Grassi in number 8 took the lead.
His teammate Loïc Duval managed the fastest lap of the race. On lap 99, he lost the lead when an electrical issue disabled his Audi for about 50 seconds. Subsequently, the Frenchman pitted earlier than planned because his drink system was no longer functional. When race control imposed a full course yellow shortly afterwards, the rivals gained valuable time during their pit stops. Finally, in the fifth hour of the race, Lucas di Grassi shortly after his scheduled pit stop had to pit again to have an open door closed. On finishing, di Grassi, Duval and Oliver Jarvis were trailing the winner by only 23 seconds. Up until the fifth hour of the race, the drivers of car number 7 were expecting to have a chance of victory as well. Benoît Tréluyer (F), with a gap of just 19 seconds, was running in position two when a lapped GT driver spun the Audi into the gravel. Six laps were lost in reaching the pits and having the damage repaired. In the end, Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer were left with an unrepresentative sixth place.
“It’s hard to believe how much can go wrong in the course of a six-hour race,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Our drivers delivered a tremendous performance and felt very comfortable in the Audi R18. We were fast in all sessions and in the race nobody drove any faster lap times than us either. The setbacks hit us hard because today a one-two would have been possible. In this light, second place is cold comfort.”
In the manufacturers’ classification, Audi, with three rounds remaining, continues to chase the front runners in second place. In the drivers’ classification, di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis improved by one position and are now lying second. The title decisions will be made in the last third of the season that will begin at the Fuji circuit in Japan in four weeks’ time.
Race results
1 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (Porsche) 186 laps
2 Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (Audi R18) +23.641s
3 Conway/Kobayashi/Sarrazin (Toyota) +26.096s
4 Dumas/Jani/Lieb (Porsche) –1 lap
5 Buemi/Davidson/Nakajima (Toyota) –2 laps
6 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18) –6 laps
7 Imperatori/Kraihamer/Tuscher (Rebellion) –12 laps
8 Lapierre/Menezes/Richelmi (Alpine) –14 laps
9 Albuquerque/Gonzalez/Senna (Ligier-Nissan) –15 laps
10 Brundle/Rast/Rusinov (Oreca-Nissan) –15 laps
Quotes from the Audi team following second place in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) race at Austin.
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “I’m extremely disappointed. We clearly had the fastest cars on track from the beginning to the end. However, we were not able to convert this performance into success because we made mistakes ourselves and, on top of that, fortune wasn’t on our side today either.”
Stefan Dreyer (Head of LMP): “The weekend has ended in disappointment. Our car was very fast. We dominated for a long time, but in the end were not in contention for victory. There were too many issues such as the short-term electrical failure with car number 8 or the racing accident in which number 7 was involved without being at fault. You cannot win a race this way.”
Ralf Jüttner (Team Director Audi Sport Team Joest): “Our disappointment is huge.We had the fastest car the whole weekend, plus both R18 were running reliably. It wasn’t easy to lose the race following our one-two lead, but we managed to do so. The first pit stops weren’t good, we were unfortunate again in yellow periods, plus there were the loss of electric power with number 8 and the accident of number 7 that wasn’t our driver’s fault.”
Lucas di Grassi (Audi R18 #8): “As drivers, we only have a certain share in the race result. There are alwaysadditional factors like pit stops or racing fortune. In contrast to us, Porsche managed a perfect race. Towards the end, I defended myself against an attack by a Toyota while I was trying to close the gap to the Porsche in front. That was fun, but also pretty strenuous in the heat.”
Loïc Duval (Audi R18 #8): “I started the race without taking a big risk because I knew we were faster than Porsche. We worked hard and did a good job this weekend, but lost a race once more. When I was in the cockpit the car simply stopped due to an electrical issue. That cost us a lot of valuable time.”
Oliver Jarvis (Audi R18 #8): “The whole teamsoldiered on after Le Mans and prepared a great car for us. It’s not enough to be fast. You have to do a perfect job in all areas. Today, we didn’t get everything right. That’s why second place feels like a loss – we missed victory.”
Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 #7): “The race started really well and the R18 was fantastic to drive. We were confident, but the yellow period again put a spoke in our wheel, and while lapping we weren’t fortunate either. We were fast enough to win today – and so was our sister car. But, once more, that wasn’t enough.”
André Lotterer (Audi R18 #7): “After six hours, there was a sad ending in spite of a promising beginning. Both Audi cars could have won.Afterthe yellow periods hadn’t gone well for us, Ben was unfortunate in traffic. That we had a very good car is important. This gives us confidence for the next race at Fuji.”
Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 #7): “While I was driving, our car lost some downforce at the front. I took that in my stride and was still pretty fast. The yellow period cost us time once more and afterwards I attacked. Then I overtook a GT race car but there was contact. For me, this was a racing accident because my opponent didn’t hit me intentionally, but lost control of his car.”
