André Lotterer (Porsche): "We must not let ourselves be distracted"

La Porsche No. 6 must finish the job. With a 35-point lead over the Classic Ferrari for sale #50 of Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina as they approach the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the final round of the 2024 FIA season WEC On Saturday, November 2, the trio formed by André Lotterer, Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor is in an ideal position to win the world title among Drivers.

« In the worst case, where Ferrari takes pole and wins, we will have to finish at least eighth, Lotterer sums up on the official FIA WEC website. But we must not get distracted, a lot can happen in an eight-hour race. We are in a good position, but there is still work to do. »

However, out of the question for the triple winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Audi (2011, 2012 and 2014) to approach the final of the World ChampionshipEndurance too cautiously. If we drive relaxed and we encounter a technical problem, we would have had more room to maneuver to solve it if we had attacked. In Endurance, there is no mentality that consists of taking more or less risks. You must not take unnecessary risks, nor spoil the performance of the car, nor make mistakes. »

With two wins and three second places this season, the #6 Porsche is assured of finishing champion even if the #50 Ferrari and the #XNUMX Toyota No. 7 (Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, Mike conway), the only two other cars mathematically able to challenge for the title, were tied on points with the German prototype. Nicklas Nielsen also summed up the situation perfectly at the Ferrari Finali Mondiali last weekend: to hope for the world title, his crew must win in the kingdom of the two seas. The same goes for the Toyota No. 7.

The title will be all the more important for Lotterer as the 8 Hours of Bahrain will be his last race with Porsche. The news has broken: I am leaving the Porsche Penske Motorsport team for 2025, shared the soon-to-be 43-year-old pilot (November 19) on his Instagram account. This is the end of a WEC journey that started in 2017, but I am really looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities that await me, but first, let’s stay focused on the last race in Bahrain. We have a world championship to win with Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Porsche! » And thus leave the German manufacturer through the front door.

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