Thriller in Japan

At the end of six hours racing, only 1.4 seconds separated first and second place in The 6 Hours of Fuji. The result for Audi was bitter sweet. Another podium, but in a race where the brand was dominant from qualifying and the vast majority of the race.

From taking pole position (the second for the 2016 season), to leading the race for five of the six hours, Audi was very much in command.

Race fans got to enjoy some of the best racing in this, round seven of the WEC season, with Audi, Porsche and Toyota all in contention and fighting for the precious points in the championship.

Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Oliver Jarvis in the #8 Audi R18 e-tron quattro produced a tremendous race, missing out on the top position by a whisker. 

“Our three drivers showed a brilliant performance,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “We battled up until the end. When Toyota, for the last stop, were able to benefit from the strategic advantage of pitting late, and chose not to change tires, they took the lead for the first time. Loïc Duval did everything to recover the top spot, almost making up a 12-second deficit. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough but, once again, we saw fascinating endurance racing.” 

Although not the desired result, the second place did serve to bring di Grassi, Duval and Jarvis to within 28.5 points of the championship lead and very much keep them in contention to take the title.

Fortunes were not so favourable to the #7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer. A technical issue with motor generator unit (MGU) of the hybrid system meant that the only way they could continue was for the Audi crew to remove the front drive shafts, but in doing so, the race Technical Stewards felt that the car no longer complied with the homologation rules, so Audi decided to retire the car.

“Obviously, that’s a real shame,” said Dr. Ullrich. “Because the squad demonstrated a tremendous spirit and did everything to make a central idea of endurance racing reality, which is to finish even under circumstances like these.” 

With only three weeks until the next round, the Audi team will take away valuable lessons from the Fuji race and aim to go one better when the WEC resumes in Shanghai on November 6.