Audi gives hybrid technology victory at Le Mans! 18.06.2012: Audi’s 11th victory will go down in history from several points of view! With four cars the German manufacturer

Audi’s 11th victory will go down in history from several points of view! With four cars the German manufacturer was the logical favourite for a follow-on win after its 2011 success. However, the road that led to this fresh success in the great endurance classic was a much tougher one than expected for the four driver line-ups as there were so many pitfalls along the way.


The firm from Ingolstadt finally achieved its goal in front of some 240 000 spectators in what was an extremely exciting weekend. Lotterer-Tréluyer-Fässler at the wheel of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro continued where they had left off in 2011 and scored the first win by a hybrid car in the history of the race!
 
 

LM P1: Toyota gives Audi a scare!

After André Lotterer beat all his rivals to pole with a time that was almost two seconds quicker than last year, Audi could look forward to this race with a certain serenity, as with four tried and tested driver line-ups and cars the German manufacturer enjoyed numerical superiority over its new rival in the Sarthe – Toyota!


The Japanese manufacturer did not disappoint on its return to top-level racing. After a promising performance in practice the Toyota TS030 hybrids revealed encouraging potential and took the lead in the early evening. But it was just at that exhilarating moment that the Japanese team’s race from hell began!


Anthony Davidson’s terrifying accident when overtaking a Ferrari caused a long neutralisation period after which the second Toyota driven by Kazuki Nakajima dashed Toyota’s hopes by tagging the innovative Nissan DeltaWing. After these two retirements it looked like a doddle for Audi.


But this was without taking into account numerous twists: no. 3’s off in the evening, the clash between no. 1 and one of the Corvettes on Sunday morning, no. 4’s electrical glitches and no.2’s violent collision with the guardrail around midday when it was in the lead - none of the German cars was spared.


Thanks to the skills of its mechanics the Ingolstadt team managed to overcome all these obstacles and André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler spent the least time at their pit of the four crews.


The three drivers, who had come first in last-year’s contest after a thrilling battle with Peugeot, showed that it is possible to win a race averaging almost 230 km/h while respecting the environment thanks to using a certain amount of non-polluting energy.


The Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota came home first of the petrol-engined runners in fourth place overall after a fault-free race.


LM P2: On its Le Mans debut Starworks Motorsport gives Honda victory!


Starworks Motorsport, a newcomer to the Endurance scene, did not really imagine winning on its Le Mans debut! In a category where suspense reigned, the first third of the race was dominated by the Sarthe-based team, Oak Racing, with the no. 24 Morgan. After that things turned in favour of the American team Starworks, which was spared the misfortune that hit its French rival, in particular a large number of punctures.


Starworks took up the lead in LM P2 in the tenth hour where it stayed till the finish. Vincente Potolicchio, Ryan Dalziel and Tom Kimber-Smith at the wheel of their Honda Performance Development managed to avoid all the pitfalls of a race in which the casualty rate among the baby prototypes was the highest in all categories this year.


French constructor Oreca had the most entries in LM P2 and its three cars filled the next four places behind the winning HPD.


LM GTE Pro: Ferrari dominates Corvette and Porsche

The LM GTE Pro category always leads to a closely-fought battle because of the top-class quality of the teams and mainly professional drivers, and this year was no exception. Four manufacturers Porsche, Aston Martin, Corvette and Ferrari all entered works cars to win this prestigious category.


After the start of the race in which the AF Corse driver line-up of Fisichella-Bruni-Vilander fought off the attacks of the Corvette, victorious in 2011, in the hands of Gavin-Milner-Westbrook, the latter took over first place in the early evening. It looked like the Anglo-American squad was heading for victory, but this was without counting a few misadventures during the night: the loss of a wheel followed by an off at Mulsanne and then a series of pit stops for various repairs.


While Porsche had a fraught race in the category, and Aston Martin put on an encouraging performance, Ferrari reaped the benefits of its rivals’ mishaps and filled the first two places in the category just before half distance with the no. 51 AF Corse Ferrari in the lead followed by the no. 59 Luxury Racing F458 Italia.


Ex-F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella teamed up with Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander and gave Amato Ferrari’s team sweet revenge on its previous year’s misfortune in the Sarthe when the Italian squad came close to victory.


LM GTE Am: Larbre Competition wins an all-French duel!

The battle in the 80th Le Mans 24 Hours went down to the wire in this category. The no. 79 Flying Lizard Porsche led in the opening stages until an off in the early evening dashed the American team’s hopes. Battle was then joined between the two French squads Larbre Competition with the no. 50 Corvette and IMSA Performance’s no. 67 Porsche.


It lasted almost 20 hours, and just a few kilometers from the chequered flag Pedro Lamy in his Corvette overtook Anthony Pons and the ex-F1 Portuguese driver, who teamed up with Patrick Bornhauser and Julian Canal, finally scored his first Le Mans victory on his 13th outing in the Sarthe!


Bornhauser, and Canal (from Le Mans), who were both in the winning Corvette last year, gave Jack Leconte’s squad its third win on the trot after that of the Saleen in 2010. This was the cherry on the cake for the team based at the Val de Vienne circuit.


IMSA Performance victorious in 2007 put on a creditable performance, but as always in motor racing there was only one winner and perhaps a problem with a defective light bulb stymied the team from Normandy’s chances.



WEC: battles at every level


The 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours was the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Double points were awarded to the teams in a race four times the duration of the others. While Audi and Ferrari strengthened their lead in LM P1 and LM GTE Pro respectively, the battle for the drivers’ title is hotting up.


Fässler, Tréluyer and Lotterer are now dead-heating for second place only 6.5 points behind the leaders, Capello, Kristensen and McNish. Rebellion Racing (LM P1), Starworks Motorsport (LM P2), AF Corse (LM GTE Pro) and Larbre Competition (LM GTE Am) are in first place in the respective teams’ classifications.


The fourth round of the championship will take place at Silverstone on 26th August.


Suspense was the watchword for the 80th Le Mans 24 Hours and the race lived up to its promise. Despite uncertain weather conditions some 240 000 spectators flocked to the world endurance capital to see a battle that many will remember for ever because of the multiple twists and turns.


The large number of sideshows put on by the ACO this year like the successful Shaka Ponk concert (over 12 000 spectators), attracted a crowd of motor sport fans to enjoy an event that is more varied and entertaining than ever.

- ACO also photo