WEC – Loïc Duval: “Consolidate our lead in the championship”

Winners of 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, Loïc duval, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish moved to the top of the general classification of the World ChampionshipEndurance on the evening of the arrival of the Le Mans classic. At the same time, the three men took a good lead over their close pursuers, namely their stablemates Marcel Fässler, Benoît Tréluyer and André Lotterer. However, second in the 6 Hours of São Paulo, the trio of the No. 18 Audi R2 e-tron quttro saw their lead shrink by seven points to fall to 22. This weekend, the three men will be keen to regain somewhat their distances. “Our objective will be to recover the points we lost in Brazil and consolidate our lead in the championship in order to protect ourselves going into this second half of the season” assures Loïc Duval.

Yes, but in Brazil, no one has been able to judge the real potential of Toyota TS030Hybrid equipped with its high support aerodynamic package. The Frenchman therefore knows that he will also have to be wary of the Japanese LM P1. “Audi has won every race since the start of the season and intends to continue doing so, continues the native of Chârtres. But, it is clear that our main opponent has proven to be more competitive since the adoption of its new aerodynamic package. Therefore, the fight promises to be close. The United States has done pretty well for me so far with a victory at Sebring in 2011. (on the Peugeot 908 entered by Oreca. Editor’s note) and a second place in my first race with Audi in 2012. Following on from Interlagos discovered three weeks ago, I am going to tackle a new route. We prepared as best as possible by training on a simulator. The other important parameter to take into account will be the heat. Since the start of the championship, we have experienced rather cool temperatures, in Europe and in Brazil. This time, you can expect to compete in the hottest race of the year. Consequently, we will have to learn to manage the new tires developed by Michelin for these new conditions. »

Loïc and all the competitors of the WEC will be on deck tomorrow at the Circuit of the Americas, with two collective testing sessions scheduled before the first two free practice sessions on Friday.