Audi put on a show at the 12 Hours of Sebring

Les 12 Heures de Sebring auront logiquement été dominées par les Audi R18 e-tron quattro qui se sont livrées un duel sans merci pour la victoire. Le succès de n°1 de Benoît Tréluyer, Marcel Fässler et Oliver Jarvis fut d’autant plus savoureux que l’écart avec la n°2 d’Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen et Lucas di Grassi s’est limité à 7 »679 au drapeau à damier, la Lola B12/60 Coupé-Toyota n°13 du Rebellion Racing pilotée par Heidfeld-Jani-Cheers failing in five rounds. The No. 18 R2 e-tron, which featured the new features of the 2013 version, was slowed at the start of the race following a severe one-minute penalty imposed for a collision with a GT.

The Ingolstadt manufacturer offers its 11th victory and its eighth double in 14 participations, before the event will be contested next year in the new United SportsCar Racing Championship (union of ALMS and Grand-Am) which will no longer accept LMP1s. “What a perfect finale”, rejoices Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Audi sporting director. “I'm delighted with this double, our cars were fighting until the finish and put on a fantastic show. »

Benoît Tréluyer, driver of the victorious crew at Sebring alongside Marcel Fässler and Oliver Jarvis, is particularly satisfied with this special victory for Audi. “We won the last LMP1 race at Sebring and we are very proud of it”, comments the Frenchman. “The spectators certainly enjoyed this exciting race where we gave 100% to beat the sister car. For us, the American dream comes true. I thank Marcel and Oliver for this superb weekend. André (Lotterer) is usually part of the crew and I'm sure we would have been on the top step of the podium with him as well. » As for the British newcomer to the crew, he won his second consecutive success after the category victory won at the 24 Hours of Daytona in an R8 Grand-Am. “What a start to the season! It's not even a dream anymore, it's more than that. Winning with Audi at Daytona was already an extraordinary experience, but a victory in my first event at Sebring is more than I could have hoped for. A huge thank you to Audi and to Marcel and Benoît, they were the best teammates I could have had. »

Discover the report of the 12 Hours of Sebring produced by our special correspondent in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad, PC and Mac, and from Wednesday on newsstands.