Race report
WEC Fuji
Audi maintains its challenge for WEC title in Japan
Audi in second place of the standings after five of eight races
Edited: Oct 12, 2014, 10:16 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Ingolstadt/Fuji - Round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship marked the end of a superb string of results for Audi. Following two consecutive one-two victories and a total of five podium results since May, Audi Sport Team Joest had to settle for positions five and six at Fuji. As a result, the battle for the World Championship is intensifying as the lead of the standings has changed again three races before the end of the season. Audi, as the runner-up in the manufacturers classification, now trail Toyota by just 8 points, continues to maintain its challenge.
For the third time in succession, Audi is set on winning the WEC title. In pursuit of this aim, the squad from Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm scored 18 points in Japan in difficult conditions and remains within striking distance of the top. On the 4.563-kilometer circuit south-west of Tokyo that with its combination of a long start-finish straight and a narrow last sector that primarily rewards race cars with extremely powerful hybrid systems, Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen (BR/F/DK) managed to improve from grid position six to fifth place. A well-balanced driving performance and a favorably timed third pit stop in a yellow period helped them to do so.
We didnt achieve what we intended to do, although essentially, we didnt drive a bad race.
Lucas di Grassi
With car number 2 Audi Sport Team Joest had opted for different tactics. Following a brilliant beginning of the race, André Lotterer tried to use his first set of tires a second time beyond the first refueling stop. But the team stopped this attempt early as the lap times did not remain sufficiently consistent. Consequently, the German pitted again after just 17 instead of 35 laps which saved him an additional stop, however. The tires of the hybrid sports car kept picking up rubber from the track on lapping other participants, which caused the lap times to increase.
In spite of this, Audi scored 18 valuable points in the manufacturers classification on a track that did not suit the R18 e-tron quattro well. In three weeks from now, on November 2, the sixth race of the season will be on the calendar at Shanghai (China). On its largest single market, Audi achieved its sixth WEC victory of the season last year.
Quotes after the race
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): Congratulations to Toyota on victory in their home round. We managed a case of damage limitation in Japan because we continue to be in a promising position in the manufacturers world championship. It was foreseeable that wed be having a difficult time at Fuji. Still, our two driver squads and the whole team were not unsettled by this and scored valuable points for us in Japan.
Chris Reinke (Head of LMP): Our squad showed a flawless performance that applies to the team as well as to our drivers. We used different tactics with both cars in order to maintain our chances. In the end, this earned us 18 points that will still be very important in the battle for the title.
Ralf Jüttner (Team Director Audi Sport Team Joest): The positive thing about the race was that we made no mistakes. Strategically, we tried everything and all the pit stops were superb. But, unfortunately, the pit stops were the only aspect in which we were quicker than the competition. We didnt manage to get the tires to work optimally. In the Championship, we relinquished the lead at this juncture. Now were planning to attack in the coming round at Shanghai and to recapture the lead.
Lucas di Grassi (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): We didnt achieve what we intended to do, although essentially, we didnt drive a bad race. We gave everything from the beginning, had a good strategy and good pit stops too. Now weve noticed that there are still a few things left to improve. But, its a fact that there are some race tracks on which youre less competitive than on others. We mustnt be disheartened now but have to be better again in the next race.
Loïc Duval (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): We tried everything today. Principally, theres nothing we can fault ourselves for because we made no mistakes and had no technical issues whatsoever. We simply werent fast enough. But thats how racing is at times. Weve got to analyze this and improve before the next race.
Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): Congratulations to Toyota on their deserved victory. We traveled to Japan with great expectations. We were aiming to reward our numerous fans here with a nice result. But our love for Japan is equaled by the challenge for us to prevail at Fuji International Circuit.
Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): It was a difficult race for us because we werent able to keep the pace. On my first stint, it was very difficult to get into a reasonable rhythm. Somehow I didnt find the balance. Fortunately, the car clearly felt better later in the race. But on the whole Im not satisfied. We need to analyze the entire weekend, look ahead and strike back at Shanghai.
André Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): Its not a great result. Positions five and six are very unusual for us. Weve got to face the fact that we didnt have the potential this weekend. We did everything correctly in the race in every respect. Were going to learn our lessons from this and try and improve. The Championship remains open.
Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): It was a difficult race. Today, we werent fast enough for a place on the podium. We simply lost too much time to the competition in several places. But thats racing. Weve got to improve in order to be in contention at the front on a track configuration like this one as well. Now the preparation for the next race begins.
Race results
1 Buemi/Davidson (Toyota), 236 laps in 6h 00m 39.367s
2 Nakajima/Sarrazin/Wurz (Toyota) + 25.627s
3 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (Porsche) 1 lap
4 Dumas/Jani/Lieb (Porsche) 2 laps
5 Di Grassi/Duval/Kristensen (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) 2 laps
6 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) 3 laps
7 Canal/Pla/Rusinov (Ligier-Nissan) 17 laps
8 Bradley/Howson/Imperatori (Oreca-Nissan) 17 laps
9 Brundle/Ihara/Yacaman (Morgan-Judd) 20 laps
10 Mediani/Minassian/Zlobin (Oreca-Nissan) 21 laps
Audi
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Craft-Bamboo Racing takes maiden WEC podium
Next article Second place for Davide Rigon at the 6 Hours of Fuji
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Andre Lotterer
Genesis GMR-001: How Hyundai's new LMDh challenger was developed
WEC
WEC 7 mo
Genesis GMR-001: How Hyundai's new LMDh challenger was developed
Andre Lotterer “overdrove the car” while adapting to LMP2 at Le Mans
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Jun 12, 2025
Andre Lotterer “overdrove the car” while adapting to LMP2 at Le Mans
Andre Lotterer aims at rallying after "dream" test and "mind-blowing" passenger ride
WRC
WRC Jun 4, 2025
Andre Lotterer aims at rallying after "dream" test and "mind-blowing" passenger ride
More from
Team Joest
F1-level excess: How Manuel Reuter won the ITC title with Opel 30 years ago
DTM
DTM 17 d
F1-level excess: How Manuel Reuter won the ITC title with Opel 30 years ago
The epic finale to the Le Mans 'diesel wars' - 10 years on
WEC
WEC Jun 12, 2021
The epic finale to the Le Mans 'diesel wars' - 10 years on
The Le Mans-winning car that almost wasn't entered at all
WEC
WEC Jun 18, 2020
The Le Mans-winning car that almost wasn't entered at all
Latest news
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 3 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 3 h
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
4 h
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe