Audi celebrates first WEC victory this season at Spa

Audis push each other early

Audi has won the unusually tough second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Spa-Francorchamps. In temperatures above 25 degrees centigrade, in the end only two of the six hybrid sports cars from all manufacturers that had started finished at the front of the field in Belgium. Victory with a two-lap advantage was celebrated by Lucas di Grassi/Loic Duval/Oliver Jarvis (BR/F/GB) following an impeccable race in their Audi R18.

The spectators in Belgium witnessed the most thrilling WEC round in a long time. At various times of the 6-hour race, each of the three brands was leading with a clear advantage at least once, but the heat and an action-packed race took their toll. Under the eyes of Matthias Muller, Chairman of the Management Board of Volkswagen AG, and Dr. Stefan Knirsch, Member of the Management Board of AUDI AG for Technical Development, Audi Sport Team Joest was the most successful squad. Lucas di Grassi started the race in car number ‘8’ before his teammate Loic Duval, followed by Oliver Jarvis, took over the cockpit. After six hours of racing with several yellow periods, numerous sports penalties, accidents and technical defects in the field, the trio celebrated its first joint victory. Di Grassi was pleased about his first-ever winners’ trophy with Audi, whereas Jarvis had previously scored one and Duval even four sports car victories with Audi.

Oliver Jarvis, Loic Duval, Lucas di Grassi

"Today, the drivers, the team and the technology had to show real endurance qualities," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "I am very happy about the first joint victory clinched by Lucas, Loic and Oliver. Sincere congratulations on their impeccable performance." It was Audi’s 106th LMP success in total since the 2000 season.

The number ‘7’ sister car had no chance on this occasion after Marcel Fassler/Andre Lotterer/Benoit Treluyer (CH/D/F) suffered several setbacks. In a duel, Treluyer drove over a curb so hard that the damaged underfloor had to be changed. After the car spent 14.30 minutes in the pits for this to be replaced, the air ducts had to be cleaned at a later stage, which cost further time. When Marcel Fassler touched a car in front of him, the team had to change the hood of his race car. In addition, number ‘7’ received a drive-through penalty for this incident. In the end, the driver trio battled its way forward to position five overall. As a result, Audi scored 40 points in the manufacturers’ classification.

The next commitment for Audi Sport in the WEC will be the test day at Le Mans on June 5. There, the squad is going to prepare for Audi’s 18th participation in the 24-hour race that will be held on June 18 and 19 this year.

The headlines for the final 90 minutes of the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the chequered flag…

• Oliver Jarvis takes chequered flag at Spa to clinch win for No.8 Audi R18 he shares with Lucas Di Grassi and Loic Duval
• Jarvis and Di Grassi celebrate first ever FIA WEC win
• Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb secure second placed finish despite technical problems for much of the race. The No.2 Porsche trio extend championship points lead
• Best ever combined FIA WEC finish for Rebellion Racing as they claim third and fourth overall. No.13 leads home No.12 R-One-AER car as they also take LMP1 Privateer maximum points

• Sensational LMP2 races sees Signatech Alpine of Nicolas Lapierre, Gustavo Menezes and Stephane Richelmi win LMP2 class, taking the lead in last five minutes
• Pipo Derani takes second in No.31 ESM Ligier-Nissan after epic late scrap with Lapierre
• No.71 Ferrari 488GTE of Sam Bird and Davide Rigon takes second consecutive win after late-race heartbreak for James Calado and Gianmaria Bruni who retire from lead in final ten minutes in the sister No.51 AF Corse Ferrari
• No.67 Ford GT takes first FIA WEC podium as Tincknell, Priaulx and Franchitti place second in LMGTE Pro
• No.98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda claim win in LMGTE Am
• No.83 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Francois Perrodo, Rui Aguas and Emmanuel Collard take second place
• Stefan Mucke, driver of the No.66 Ford GT had a big accident coming out of Eau Rouge. He was assessed at the circuit's medical centre, and the FIA Medical Delegate reported that he has been taken to the local hospital for precautionary checks. The Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK team said the German received heavy bruising but is okay.
• The No.5 Toyota TS050 HYBRID made history today by being the first WEC entrant to complete a full racing lap using only electric power.

Race Results

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]