WEC – Audi confirms with the R18 ultra and e-tron

The sky was overcast above the Belgian Ardennes but the rain did not disturb Audi, which scored a quadruple at the 6 Hours of Spa. Benoît Tréluyer led the race at the wheel of the No. 18 R1 e-tron quattro but Loïc duval was faster with the R18 ultra n°3 which took the advantage until the finish. The hybrids were still keeping pace with the classics and the manufacturer with the rings was able to collect a lot of data in anticipation of the 24 Hours of Le Mans where the R18s will face for the first time the Toyota TS030.

“We celebrate a quadruple having learned a lot with the four cars which had different strategies with the tires”, explains Ralf Jüttner, technical director of Audi Sport Team Joest. “Our four prototypes finished with no technical problems. Audi's decision to opt for both concepts was the right one. The R18 e-tron quattro is a performance car but the R18 ultra also has its advantages. However, there are still little things to come for the hybrid. It was the first race for the hybrids and they finished in second and fourth place. I congratulate the winners Romain Dumas, Loïc Duval and Marc Gené but also Marco Bonanomi and Oliver Jarvis who did their first races with us without making the slightest mistake. »

Discover the analysis of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps carried out by our three special correspondents in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad and from Wednesday on newsstands.