WEC: Audi says goodbye with one-two victory in Bahrain

Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis in Bahrain in front of Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer107th sports car victory and Audi’s best result this season

Emotional departure from the sports car scene with vice-championship titleSaying goodbye with a bang: Audi achieved an impressive one-two victory in the last race of its Le Mans prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). After clinching pole position in qualifying, the Audi R18 diesel hybrid sports car went on to claim a lights-to-flag victory in the 6 Hours of Bahrain. In addition, Lucas di Grassi set the fastest race lap. As a result, Audi has clinched the vice-championship titles in the manufacturers’ and drivers’ classifications.

Audi Sport, its six campaigners and Audi Sport Team Joest gave their all once again in the season finale and came out the big winners. “Thank you to the whole squad for an impeccable performance. You couldn’t wish for a sweeter farewell,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Our competitors and the FIA WEC gave us a very emotional finale with many nice gestures, and we are saying thank you with the best possible sporting result for so many years of tremendous racing: an unforgettable weekend!”

Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis (BR/F/GB) took the lead from the start. Towards the end of the first third of the race, the sister car, number 7, of Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) clearly caught up, temporarily taking the lead, but subsequently dropped back again due to issues with a wheel gun during a tire change. Number 8 took the lead again and on lap 104 was the only top team to gamble on a pit stop during a full-course yellow. This move paid off and combined with setting good lap times, including the fastest race lap by Lucas di Grassi, number 8 eked out an advantage. Even an unscheduled stop on lap 149, during which the team had to remove rubber pickup from various body parts, did not ruin the trio’s rhythm.

As a result, Grassi/Duval/Jarvis crossed the finish line after six hours with a 16-second advantage, achieving their second victory this season following the 6 Hours of Spa in May. In addition, they recaptured position two in the standings. Their teammates Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer completed the one-two, earning Audi its best result of the season. With that, Audi looks back on a sports car era with an impeccable track record. Since 1999, the LMP race cars with the four rings have won 107 of 187 races in America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) since 2012, Audi has stood for bests as well. On 16 occasions, the brand’s sports cars were on pole position, winning 17 of 41 races. 23 fastest race laps complete this tally. No other manufacturer has been more successful in even just one of these categories. In addition, Audi clinched two drivers’ and two manufacturers’ world championship titles.

“Our intention had been to achieve the maximum today in Bahrain, and that’s exactly what we did,” said Stefan Dreyer, Head of LMP at Audi Sport. “A huge thank you goes to this top team, to Audi Sport Team Joest, to our drivers, and to all the people who made this possible behind the scenes in Neuburg, Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt. As emotional and touching this farewell may seem it is matched by the joy we feel about this top sporting performance with our one-two result and the two vice-championship titles. Sincere congratulations to everyone.”

Quotes from the Audi team following the one-two victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) finale.

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “There’s no sweeter way to end such a project than with a one-two victory. It was a very emotional race and the entire FIA WEC made it very difficult for us to quit. Today, you could tell that we’ve grown into a big family over many years. Now, we’re going to look ahead, giving our all in our new projects, just like we’ve come to be known. What happened in the WEC will not repeat itself. These 18 years of the sports car project have been a very important part of my professional life that I tremendously enjoyed. And I was fortunate enough to have always worked together with fantastic people.”

Stefan Dreyer (Head of LMP): “The greatest thing in motorsport is to stand on the top step of the podium and to have achieved the maximum in positions one and two. This victory was long overdue and is the reward for the hard work of the trackside teams and those at home. The drivers and Audi Sport Team Joest did a perfect job today and deserve having clinched the vice-champions’ titles. I feel exhausted and am very emotional following this last LMP race victory achieved by Audi. Many thanks to everyone for their trust – we were a superb team.”

Ralf Jüttner (Team Director Audi Sport Team Joest): “After 18 years withAudi, a one-two victory is the sweetest ending you could imagine. I’d like to thank my team that did a perfect job and, of course, Audi for this era. We’re going to leave no stone unturned to develop a new program for our squad. Today, we’re celebrating our one-two victory and the vice-championship for Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Oliver Jarvis. All six drivers drove sensationally. An era is ending with a result that this era deserves.”

Lucas di Grassi (Audi R18 #8): “It’s a good feeling to end this season with a golden result as a team. We showed that we developed as a driver squad, and having won twice this year is great. Naturally, I’m sad that Audi and most of us are leaving the WEC, which is such a big family. I’m not only going to miss the races, but the people as well. I wasn’t familiar yet with endurance racing when I drove for Audi for the first time in 2012, but I’ve come to love it very much. I’ll miss these cars and the adrenaline of the endurance races.”

Loïc Duval (Audi R18 #8): “It means a lot to us to be the last drivers to have won a race in Le Mans prototypes for Audi.We were absolutely competitive today. When I was sitting in the car a little downforce was lacking, but the mechanics cleaned the bodywork and in the process discovered a plastic bag that impaired aerodynamics. The whole team did a superb job. It was a very emotional weekend. My feelings were even stronger than in the 2013 title win. I’m happy and proud.”

Oliver Jarvis (Audi R18 #8): “We had a fantastic year. Our weekend was very emotional. Naturally, we wanted to win. We managed to do that, and it was the perfect conclusion of Audi’s sports car program. Now we’re leaving the FIA WEC in the hands of the two strong teams of Toyota and Porsche – where it’s in good hands. Audi will be missed by many, but the championship is incredibly strong nonetheless.”

Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 #7): “Sincere congratulations toRomain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb on winning the world championship title. My race started with some great and very fair battles. Even in the past two years, the duels with Toyota and Porsche were tremendous. I’m definitely going to miss that. Today, I extremely enjoyed every lap in this car. Having achieved so much with Audi Sport, Audi Sport Team Joest and with my two teammates in these seven years compares with nothing else. Plus, our rapport was outstanding, both on and off the track.”

André Lotterer (Audi R18 #7): “Today, we showed what the car is truly capable of. The team worked very hard for this aim throughout the season. Like Marcel, I enjoyed every lap to the full. This one-two victory is the sweetest farewell gift for Audi. It won’t be easy now to go different ways. We were kind of a dream team and lived this dream. I’m going to miss that very much.”

Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 #7): “A huge thank you to my teammates, the entire squad and toDr. Ullrich. Congratulations to our teammates on a sensational race and to the Porsche drivers on winning the title. Thank you also to the FIA WEC for this great time. Now I’m going to enjoy my life and do something different. Thank you very much to everyone who helped me in my career.”

Race results

1 Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (Audi R18) 201 laps

2 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18) +16.419s

3 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (Porsche) +1m 17.001s

4 Buemi/Davidson/Nakajima (Toyota) –1 lap

5 Conway/Kobayashi/Sarrazin (Toyota) –1 lap

6 Dumas/Jani/Lieb (Porsche) –3 laps

7 Imperatori/Kraihamer/Tuscher (Rebellion) –10 laps

8 Kaffer/Trummer/Webb (CLM P1/01) –14 laps

9 Brundle/Rast/Rusinov (Oreca-Nissan) –17 laps

10 Albuquerque/Gonzalez/Senna (Ligier-Nissan) –17 laps


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