WEC – Benoît Tréluyer: “An observation round”

La premier des huit volets du duel Audi-Toyota va se tenir ce week-end, à l’occasion des 6 Heures de Silverstone, manche d’ouverture du WEC. Outgoing champion in the company of the Swiss Marcel Fässler and the German André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer leaves with high morale, determined to win a second crown in a row as well as a third victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And this more than in mid-March, in the company of Marcel Fässler and Oliver Jarvis, he added the 12 Hours of Sebring to an already rich track record. " I am in good shape, he laughs. JI've done a lot of in-depth work and mentally I'm on top! I arrive at Silverstone well armed! With André and Marcel, we will do everything to keep number 1. We have won the championship once so we know we are capable of it. This is a big plus in terms of confidence. Last year, the circumstances were a bit unusual since we very often fought against the sister car. This year, the opponent is Toyota! »

Toyota which, although already extremely efficient at the end of last season, worked tirelessly during the winter to progress his TS030 Hybrid. But on the German side, if we expect a difficult season, we are also sure of its strengths. “At Sebring, we were not really able to measure the potential of the car, but we have our data, our references, continues Benoît Tréluyer. We know that the 2013 car performs better than the 2012, but it's up to us to learn how to use it well. Sebring showed that we have been working in the right direction and Silverstone should confirm this trend. Now, we must remain careful because this first meeting will be an observation round for everyone with teams not yet at 100% and the weather still unpredictable. During the winter, everyone worked in their corner, and everyone thinks they are doing well. Previously, the races which preceded the 24 Hours were considered a bit like full-scale testing sessions, which is much less the case today and which makes the task even more complex. We must work on reliability but also on pure performance because we cannot afford to abandon victory to our opponents. Now we also have to think about the championship, and not just the 24 hours? »

Last year, for his first visit to Silverstone, Benoît Tréluyer made a strong impression by taking pole position and victory.

All the teams and their crews, the circuits as well as the challenges of this new season of the world championshipEndurance can be discovered in the WEC 2013 Guide dated April 10, in AUTOhebdo n°1904, available now in digital version et in all kiosks.