Audi wins WEC opener at Silverstone

The winning No. 7 Audi leads the sister Audi No. 8

Audi Sport managed a dream start of the 2015 motorsport year. In the season opener of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Silverstone, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer took victory after a thrilling six-hour race in which the lead kept changing and was fiercely contested.

If the 6-hour race in the United Kingdom provided a foretaste of the season, motorsport fans can look forward to an exciting WEC year. Audi, Toyota and Porsche fought a three-way battle with numerous overtaking maneuvers and door-to-door fighting for positions from almost start to finish. When the checkered flag fell, the number '7' Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid sports car was running in front and decided the race in its favor with a 4.610-second advantage. The sister car of Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Oliver Jarvis took fifth place following two unscheduled pit stops.

"Congratulations to Marcel, Andre and Ben, who delivered fantastic motorsport for six hours today," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "This victory is a dream start of the season and a great reward for the whole squad for the hard work last winter. At the same time, this success motivates us even more for the great challenges awaiting us the next few weeks. The weekend at Silverstone has also shown that we could be facing what may be the most thrilling and fiercely contested WEC season ever."

At the beginning, events in the race did not seem to augur well for car number ‘7.' As the correct gear could not immediately be engaged, Benoit Treluyer, who had started from position five, lost a lot of ground and had to battle his way forwards again through half of the field on the first laps. After two and a half hours, Andre Lotterer took over driving duties from Marcel Fassler and 30 minutes later the lead in the race. "A perfect day for Audi and for our team," said Lotterer. "We were under pressure from the first to the last lap and could not afford to slip. We managed to do this and the team did everything right at the pit stops and with the perfect strategy. Now, we're going to take this momentum with us to Spa and to Le Mans." The gripping duel between Marcel Fassler and Porsche driver Neel Jani across many laps in which the two Swiss overtook each other several times per lap, was particularly impressive.

For the number '8' sister car, a top result seemed to be within reach as well. But two repair stops in which the rear bodywork had to be replaced following contact with a rival and the fixings of the front hood subsequently had to be fastened, cost Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval and Oliver Jarvis about seven minutes and, as a result, all chances of clinching a podium place. After starting from the second row, the Brazilian-French-British trio had to settle for fifth place. "A fantastic day for Audi, but obviously the three of us are somewhat disappointed," said Oliver Jarvis. "Still, we have positive impressions: a thrilling race and the first victory for our new R18 e-tron quattro – this whets our appetite for the WEC season."

Fans will not have to wait long for the next appearance of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. In just three weeks from now (May 2) round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship will be held at Spa-Francorchamps (B). For Audi, the race on the famous circuit in the Ardennes marks a ‘dress rehearsal' for the season's pinnacle event, the Le Mans 24 Hours. To prepare for Le Mans, Audi Sport Team Joest will be fielding the third hybrid sports car, designated as number '9,' that will be driven by Filipe Albuquerque (P), Marco Bonanomi (I) and Rene Rast (D).

More than 45,000 spectators witnessed a fascinating FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season opener at Silverstone. The victorious Audi R18 e-tron quattro covered a record distance of 201 laps in the race. Quotes following the start of the season.

QUOTES

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "The whole squad worked hard last winter, so it's great to have clinched this victory in the season opener at Silverstone. The race showed that we managed to get a very good car off the ground, which provides us with a good base for the season. This was a tremendous start for the WEC and the battles we saw were absolutely impressive. I don't think it's possible to deliver more thrilling motorsport than this. Tonight we have a reason to celebrate but we're already looking ahead: there's still a lot of work to be done for the next race at Spa and the season's pinnacle event at Le Mans."

Chris Reinke (Head of LMP at Audi Sport): "The season opener was a spectacle from the first to the last minute – awesome! But we expected this environment. There are three manufacturers on the grid who are bound and determined to win. All three of them worked hard last winter. The result is a very close field that's going to put extreme demands on us throughout the season. Obviously, our victory at Silverstone was a tremendous step and important confirmation for everyone involved: for the team in Neuburg and Neckarsulm that worked hard last winter and for the team that effectively prepared for this race. We delivered a strong performance throughout the weekend and had so much potential in our R18 e-tron quattro that in the end it couldn't even be stopped by a questionable decision by the stewards of the meeting."

Ralf Juttner (Team Director Audi Sport Team Joest): "This was an awesome race! We knew that it would be very close. But today we saw a 6-hour sprint race. Absolutely crazy! Normally, you have a few quieter stages in between. But this time, there was so much happening that you could never relax. At the beginning, we lost a lot of time behind the Toyotas – but it was okay – despite the stop-and-go penalty. I was less concerned about the time loss than about Marcel (Fassler) having to pit twice in succession, which causes the tires to cool down, and Marcel was subsequently struggling with that. We realized that the Porsche would get past us if it got too close on our heels. But Marcel did a great job of managing our advantage."

Marcel Fassler (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #7): "As often as Neel (Jani) and I overtook each other is something that I'm sure has rarely ever been seen in a sports car race. It was a very fair fight that was fantastic for both of us. Neel sent me a text right after the race confirming this. There wasn't a lot of space between our cars at times but we never touched and always left each other some room. Unfortunately, that's something that doesn't happen a lot anymore. Of course you could also see where the Porsche has its strengths. On the straights, I had to defend myself with my hands and feet and in traffic I was never fortunate enough to have a GT car between us as a buffer. As a result, he always managed to pass me on the straights pretty easily. Still, it was fun. It was also a pleasure to watch my two team-mates. It was a great weekend. Our victory is fantastic and we had the fastest car. This shows that our people in Neuburg and Neckarsulm did a superb job in winter."

Andre Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #7): "It was an incredibly exciting race – in the cockpit as well as while watching my two team-mates on track: great advertising for the WEC and for Audi. For us, it's fantastic to come home with a victory after a longer period of time. Audi Sport has made use of all its resources for the update of our R18 e-tron quattro. We had the fastest car at Silverstone, that's why we won. We've got to live with being slower on the straights. That means we've got to overtake on the straights and then try and get away quickly to keep from being overtaken again on the straights. I managed to do that well at Silverstone. I also believe that our car is the most enjoyable one to drive. It simply hugs the track."

Benoit Treluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #7): "I remember my first race weekend here well. It was in 2012 and I clinched the pole position, in front of the local hero Allan McNish of all people. It's always good to return to a track with such fond memories. Today was a perfect day. Everyone was sorted, extremely focused and working together on achieving the big aim. It was simply fantastic. Now we've got our first victory in our pocket and are going to give everything to take this positive energy and team spirit with us to Spa."

Lucas di Grassi (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): "I have a very special relationship with Silverstone because I lived in Oxford and subsequently in London for a long time and did a lot of testing and racing here. The place has so much tradition, which I really like. This weekend was incredible: so many fans and such a thrilling race at the beginning of the season is a perfect start of a new WEC year. Congratulations to the organizers on this superb event. From a sporting perspective, we saw how close this year will be. That's good for Audi because we welcome challenges."

Loic Duval (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): "For me, winter was a bit too long, so I'm happy that the season has finally started. When you think of the UK you often think of bad weather and difficult conditions, but this time we had a fantastic race day with many fans. We arrived with high expectations but obviously a few question marks as well because you never know where you stand compared with the competition. We were immediately well sorted in the first practice session. The weather was looking good during the race but the strong wind could even be felt in the car. Audi won, that's our main goal. Of course I'd have liked to mount the podium too but fortune was not on our side today."

Oliver Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): "The days before my first full WEC season and the race weekend itself were a fantastic experience. Working together with Lucas (di Grassi) and Loïc (Duval), to learn and to contest the season opener with them was great fun. Saturday night we all went to sleep with a smile because we had a good qualifying session and extracted the maximum from our car. Sunday wasn't quite as perfect. I wouldn't want to call it misfortune because we weren't completely impeccable ourselves. Fifth place isn't what we'd expected, but there are many positive aspects as well: Audi won, so that the hard work of the whole squad last winter paid off. This weekend was my home race but, strangely enough, I raced on this track just once in the past nine years – I've actually got more experience at Oschersleben than at Silverstone."

Race results (Top 10)

1 Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) 201 laps
2 Dumas/Jani/Lieb (Porsche) +4.160s
3 Davidson/Buemi/Nakajima (Toyota) +14.816s
4 Conway/Sarrazin/Wurz (Toyota) -1 lap
5 di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) -4 laps
6 Rusinov/Canal/Bird (Ligier-Nissan) -16 laps
7 Yacaman/Derani/Gonzalez (Ligier-Nissan) -17 laps
8 Dalziel/Sharp/Heinemeier Hansson (HPD-Honda) -18 laps
9 Leventis/Watts/Kane (Dome-Nissan) -23 laps
10 Bruni/Vilander (Ferrari) -29 laps