WEC – Audi rejoins the title race in Austin

The No. 2 Audi of Benoît Tréluyer, Marcel Fässler and André Lotterer won its second consecutive victory after the 24 Hours of Le Mans by winning the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas (Texas). The Ingolstadt manufacturer even signed a new double with the n°1 of Lucas di Grassi, Loïc duval and Tom Kristensen after playing it safe by immediately putting on wet tires when the deluge hit Austin. The brand with the rings finds itself at the top of the Manufacturers' Championship for the first time with 18 points ahead of Toyota after this event whose podium is identical to that of the last double clock tower in Sarthe.

“It was a very difficult race. Heavy downpours trapped some cars and our decision to switch to wet tires first played a crucial role in our double.", comments Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. “But our pace also counted for a lot. Everything went wonderfully: we had a good car, the drivers drove very well and the stops were quick. It's great to see things remain positive after Le Mans. »

The Audi Motorsport team could have a smile as its drivers also repositioned themselves in the title race. If the crew of Toyota No. 8 (Davidson-Sarrazin-Buemi) remains in the lead after having taken the last step of the podium in Austin, the triple winners of the Sarthe event are 13 points behind the leaders. “A lot has happened”, confirms Benoît Tréluyer. “The #8 Toyota was very fast at the start of the event as they always are. But we had a good pace and we were following them closely. We took the lead when the downpour arrived and caused the race to be interrupted. I was able to control my lead and pace afterwards. I didn't take too many risks and I'm satisfied with my stint. André and Marcel also rode very well. Like at Le Mans, we had no contact with a competitor. This is one of the key factors this year to take the top step of the podium. »

The crew of the R18 e-tron quattro n°1 also has no reason to be ashamed of its performance since Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Tom Kristensen are 24 points behind the Championship leaders thanks to their second place where they finished less than a minute behind the winners after being slowed down by a less effective tire strategy. “Audi could not have envisaged a better result. Our car went for victory this weekend but there were too many accidents with the rain and the red flags. We also lacked success and our strategy did not completely work,” adds Loïc Duval.

Discover the analysis of the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin carried out by our special correspondent in issue 1979 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and on newsstands from Wednesday.