Audi drivers take it down to the wire for the Drivers' title
The ultra-successful German marque may have gathered enough points to win the manufacturers’ classification in the FIA World Endurance Championship as early as the 6 Hours of Silverstone, but the battle for the coveted Drivers’ title has gone right down to the wire. This weekend, at the 6 Hours of Shanghai on Sunday 28th October, two Audi driver teams will be racing for the World Champions’ title.
Double 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Marcel Fässler-André Lotterer-Benoît Tréluyer improved their chances of clinching the title when they brought their No.1 Audi R18 home in second place at the recent 6 Hours of Fuji. They are now 16.5 points ahead of their team-mates Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish in the No.2 Audi.
At the impressive 5.45 kilometre Grand Prix circuit at Shanghai, the Danish-Scottish duo will need to qualify on pole and win the final race of the 2012 season, with their team mates not finishing higher than fifth place, in order to secure the title. The Fässler-Lotterer-Tréluyer trio have won three times this year, and climbed onto the podium six times while their team mates have been less lucky.
Aside from the factory-fielded sports prototypes, motorsport fans in China can look forward to another highlight. The Audi R8 LMS Cup is holding rounds nine and ten together with the WEC finale at Shanghai. 16 drivers are battling for trophies and points in the company’s first one-make cup that has been held in China. Since 2011, the country has been the largest single market for Audi so there will be many interested customers and fans watching the races this weekend.
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport: "At Shanghai, we’re competing in a market that’s very important for Audi. The track there is new to all of us. A highly varied inaugural season of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is about to culminate in China. For us, it’s still about the title decision in the drivers’ championship which, after the early title win in the manufacturers’ championship, is crowning an exceptional endurance racing season for Audi. After the open race at Fuji, it’s guaranteed that we’ll be in for a thrilling finale."
Ralf Jüttner, Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest: "There’s only one weekend again between the round at Fuji and the finale at Shanghai - that’s putting another pretty heavy strain on the whole team. That’s why we decided not to fly back to Europe but to enjoy a couple of free days in Asia. Besides relaxing there we’re focused on fostering our team spirit. We’re very much looking forward to the race at Shanghai. In each of the past two years, we drove the season finale in China and have fond memories of the country."
Tom Kristensen, No. 2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro: “It’s been a tremendous season so far which started with victory for Allan (McNish) and me at the Sebring season opener. After the round in Japan, which meant a lot to me, we’re now ending the season in China. I’ll be driving a race for the fifth time in this country: twice I ran at Zhuhai in sports prototypes, contested a race with the DTM in downtown Shanghai and competed in the Race of Champions at the National Stadium in Beijing. For the WEC finale on the challenging Shanghai GP circuit, our wish is to achieve victory."
Marcel Fässler, No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, about Shanghai: "I remember Shanghai as a very nice track. I particularly like turn 1 because you enter it at high speed in sixth gear before it tapers down and you’ve got to downshift into second. I don’t know the second track sector yet because I’ve only driven on the short version previously. In the third section, there’s a long left-hander. It’ll be great fun with our Audi R18 e-tron quattro thanks to the high downforce. In the next sector, you’ve got to take a lot of momentum onto a small straight. A narrow left-hand turn is followed by a right-hand whose radius opens up. You enter it in second gear and then upshift all the way into fourth. The turn takes us onto the longest straight at the end of which you brake hard and downshift all the way into first. When exiting the right-hand turn, traction is important because on accelerating the car continues to follow the course of the turn. On exiting the last left-hander, you’ve got to take a lot of momentum onto the start and finish straight to achieve a good lap time."
Fiona Miller (quotes from Audi team press release)
Photo: OYAMA-CHO (SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN), FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, 6 HOURS OF FUJI, SUNDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2012, RACE. The drivers from the two Audi R18 e-tron quattros will be battling for the World Champions title.
