Audi R18's Performance at the FIFTH Round of the FIA World Endurance Championship

Ingolstadt/São Paulo, September 16, 2012 – In the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at São Paulo, the Audi R18 had to admit defeat for the first time this season. The Le Mans winners Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, and Benoît Tréluyer in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro finished as the runners-up behind Toyota and in front of their team-mates Lucas di Grassi, Tom Kristensen, and Allan McNish in the Audi R18 ultra. This ended an Audi string of sports car victories which had begun in March. The next round of the WEC championship will take place on September 28-29 on the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, marking the first-ever WEC event to take place in the Middle East.

Race Summary

With a 4.5-point advantage, the Le Mans winners traveled to the South American round and left with 7.5 points more added to their tally than their immediate rivals. At the fifth of the season’s eight races, the two sportscar concepts and the driver teams of Audi fought a remarkable battle yet again.

Key Race Highlights

• Allan McNish initially ran in second position ahead of Benoît Tréluyer.
• After nine laps, Tréluyer overtook McNish.
• Tom Kristensen spun after taking over from McNish but made a remarkable recovery.
• Kristensen cut his deficit in half before the end of his stint despite a caution period.

Lucas di Grassi's Debut

Lucas di Grassi took over the R18 ultra from Kristensen and showcased a commanding performance on his debut for Audi. He drove without making any mistakes throughout the weekend and skillfully handled the traffic. At the beginning of the final stint, he achieved the fastest race lap for Audi, finishing third in his first endurance race with his team-mates, just 14 seconds behind the sister car.

Championship Implications

The podium result ultimately provided 15 valuable points for Kristensen and McNish in the battle for the title. The gap between the two leading Audi driver teams at the top of the standings saw a minor increase, but with 78 points yet to be awarded in the three remaining races in Bahrain, Japan, and China, the title win in the drivers’ championship remains completely open. Notably, Audi already secured an early win of the manufacturers’ championship in the fourth round at Silverstone three weeks ago.

Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA

Race Results

1. Wurz/Lapierre (Toyota) - 247 laps
2. Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) - + 1m 00.778s
3. di Grassi/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R18 ultra) - + 1m 14.679s
4. Prost/Jani (Lola-Toyota) - 5 laps
5. Belicchi/Primat (Lola-Toyota) - 7 laps
6. Leventis/Watts/Kane (HPD-Honda) - 7 laps
7. Potolicchio/Dalziel/Sarrazin (HPD-Honda) - 13 laps
8. Lahaye/Nicolet/Pla (Morgan-Nissan) - 16 laps
9. Kaffer/Minassian/Perez Companc (Oreca-Nissan) - 17 laps
10. Brabham/Chandhok/Dumbreck (HPD-Honda) - 17 laps