Audi claimed this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship title for manufacturers following a victory and third place finish at the Six Hours of Silverstone.
The German squad used their better efficiency to claim victory over Toyota in a closely fought encounter last weekend. The Le Mans winning pairing of Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer once again enjoyed success in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. It wasn’t quite as easy for the second car however, as a puncture denied Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen a second place finish in the ultra.
The winning Audi only required six pit stops – two less than Toyota, and it was a remarkable victory considering the car had to serve a stop and go penalty for contact with a GT class Ferrari 458 in the early stages of the race. Despite the penalty costing the eventual victors just over half a minute, they would still win by 55 seconds at the end of the race.
With the constructor’s championship already wrapped up, focus now turns to the driver’s title. Following their victory at Silverstone, Fassler/Lotterer/Trluyer now enjoys a slender 4.5 points advantage over former leaders McNish and Kristensen.
Despite a puncture for the ultra, the Danish-Scottish duo were able to hold off Rebellion Racing to claim third place, and were only nineteen seconds behind the Toyota Hybrid at the end of the race, thanks to a late safety car period.
The next World Endurance Championship race will take place in Brazil in just three weeks’ time. McNish and Kristensen can look forward to being joined in the car by former Formula One driver Lucas di Grassi at Interlagos as they aim to take the championship lead back from the sister car.