Ralf Jüttner (Team Director Audi Sport Team Joest), Loïc Duval, Lucas di Grassi,Tom Kristensen, Audi#1, André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler, Benoît Tréluyer, Toyota#8 – Sèbastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre,
Sun 21st Sept 2014– The #2 Audi Sport Team Joest crew of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer picked up from where they left off at Le Mans by taking a well-judged victory in the fourth round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship at COTA today.
The 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour winners took the chequered flag 53.016s ahead of the #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driven by Tom Kristensen, Lucas Di Grassi and Loic Duval, making it a very good day for Audi Sport Team Joest.
Completing the podium was the pole sitting #8 Toyota TS 040-Hybrid, driven by Sebastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Nicolas Lapierre. They still lead the drivers points table albeit with a reduced margin now of 11 points, ahead of Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer.
It was a thrilling 6 hours of frantic endurance racing with the first hour featuring some incredible lap times from pole setter Sebastien Buemi in the #8 Toyota. He rapidly pulled away from the chasing pack, even surviving a spin.
However, when a localised heavy rain storm descended on the track many cars spectacularly skated off the circuit and with standing water on parts of the circuit the red flag flew.
Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2 (Audi Sport Team Joest),
With both Toyota’s and the #20 Porsche having suffered excursions off track just before the red flag was waved to temporarily stop the race in the interests of safety. After a delay of nearly an hour, during which the race clock continued to count down both Audi R18 e-tron quattros and the #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid then engaged in a battle for supremacy at the front of the field.
Each took turns leading the race, with Jani driving particularly impressive stints in the mid portion of the race to out the #14 Porsche in contention.
Ultimately though it was the #2 Audi that benefitted most from double stinting its tyres in the opening 90-minutes and completing the race without any mistakes and with slick pit stops. The drivers also benefitted from a ‘weather spotter’ at the top of the distinctive COTA tower on the infield of the circuit.
LMP1-L
The #12 Rebellion Racing team of Nicolas Prost, Nick Heidfeld and Mathias Beche took an easy victory in the LMP1-L class after a trouble free run. The sister #13 Rebellion R-One-Toyota was forced to retire in the penultimate hour.
Claiming second place on its debut was the #9 Lotus entered CLM P1/01-AER. After an initially difficult weekend Christophe Bouchut, James Rossiter and Lucas Auer rewarded the hard work of the Romanian entered squad by taking the chequered flag.
LMP2
LMP2 saw a tremendous race with all four of the five entries entrants leading the race and being in with a chance of victory at various stages.
The KCMG Oreca-Nissan led in to the first corner, but most importantly also out of the last too, but it had to fight every metre of the way to secure an historic first win for the Hong Kong registered team. Richard Bradley, Matt Howson and Tsugio Matsuda were delighted with their victory, fighting back after a mid-race spin by Matsuda when he attempted to wrest the lead from Mediani’s #27 SMP Racing Oreca-Nissan.
SMP Racing had a mixed day, with a solid second place for the #27 car but a retirement for the all-Russian #37 entry after damage from an on-track incident. The runners-up position for Nicolas Minassian, Maurizio Mediani and Sergey Zlobin, ensured that the Zlobin further extends his lead at the top of the driver standings to 27-points.
Completing the podium in the LMP2 class was the Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX 038-Honda after an impressive race which saw it lead at two separate stages, in the hands of Ryan Dalziel.
The G-Drive Ligier JS P2 Nissan of Olivier Pla, Julien Canal and Roman Rusinov were delayed after contact with Mediani. The team worked well to repair the car and it took 10-points for fourth position.
50,334 fans enjoyed a memorable Lone Star Le Mans weekend with some thrilling action once again provided by the FIA World Endurance Championship. The next round takes place on 12th October at Fuji Speedway in Japan.
ASTON MARTIN TAKES GTE DOUBLE AT COTA
The LMGTE categories of the FIA World Endurance Championship never fail to deliver when it comes to tension and on-track excitement and today proved to be no exception. In the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, Aston Martin Racing’s No.97 Vantage V8 of Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke won the Pro class for the first time this year after a hard-fought battle with Porsche, while the British marque also took a 1-2 in the Am class to complete a fantastic day.
A small sprinkle of rain on the grid before the start of the Lone Star Le Mans event proved to be minor compared to the heavy storm which hit the track just over 90 minutes into the race. With numerous cars skating off the track, a decision was made to suspend the race for 55 minutes and, when it was re-started, several laps were completed behind the safety car while the track continued to clear of standing water. Green flag racing resumed at 7:40 pm and went without interruption to the chequered flag.
Aston Martin Racing’s No.97 was always in contention for the victory from the moment that Mücke overtook the pole-sitting AF Corse Ferrari at the start of the race. Both he and Turner performed brilliantly through day into night, surviving the torrential weather conditions through careful driving. A particularly scintillating battle took place between the Aston Martin and the Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSRs with the lead changing hands time after time in the final hour. The No.92 911 RSR of Frederic Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet took second place nine seconds behind the leader, with the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander another nine seconds behind in third place having lost time in the wet while on slick tyres.
At one stage it looked as though Porsche would take a 1-2 in class but the No.91 911 RSR of Jorg Bergmeister and Nick Tandy was delayed for two laps with a starter problem following a pit stop, and the No.71 sister AF Corse Ferrari was also delayed due to alternator issues. The Aston Martin Racing No.99 of Alex MacDowall/Darryl O-Young/Fernando Rees finished sixth in class, while the No.65 Corvette Racing C7.R of Jordan and Ricky Taylor/Tommy Milner had a particularly tough introduction to FIA WEC racing. Caught in the pits as the red flag fell, the regulations required that the team sit and wait for clearance to exit which caused both frustration and delay for Team America.
Also taking its first win of the year – and a first ever FIA WEC victory for Canadian Paul Dalla Lana – was the No.98 Vantage V8 he shared with Pedro Lamy and Christoffer Nygaard. The trio headed a 1-2 in the class for the British manufacturer as the Silverstone and Le Mans winning No.95 of Kristian Poulsen/David Heinemeir Hansson and Richie Stanaway came home in second place. This class too had its share of ups and downs, and one of those to ultimately benefit from the re-started race was the No.88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR of Christian Ried, Klaus Bachler and Khaled Al Qubaisi whom led the field away and eventually came through the six hours to finish on the podium in third place.
50,334 fans over two days witnessed the Lone Star Le Mans event and witnessed the sights and sounds of international sportscar racing at its best. Circuit of The Americas first race into the night should not be remembered for the rain but for some great racing and some great winners.
