Audi clinches tenth triumph at the Le Mans 24 Hours

Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer show strong nerves on the run toward victory

By Franck Drui

12 June 2011 - 17:10
Audi clinches tenth triumph at the (...)

At one of the most thrilling and dramatic 24-hour races in Le Mans history Audi-ultra-lightweight technology has prevailed. At the fascinating thriller which kept 250,000 spectators at the race track and millions in front of their TV sets watching in awe Marcel Fässler (Switzerland), André Lotterer (Germany) and Benoît Tréluyer (France) in the innovative Audi R18 TDI clinched the tenth Le Mans victory in total for the brand with the four rings.

The drama at the 79th edition of the world’s most famous endurance could hardly be surpassed. After Audi had lost two of its Audi R18 TDI cars as early as in the first third of the race due to accidents all hopes were pinned on car number "2” that had secured the pole position in qualifying for Audi. For 16 hours Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer were on their own in the battle against three factory-fielded Peugeot cars that left no stone unturned to keep Audi from taking victory.

On Sunday morning the four quickest vehicles were still within just a few seconds of each other at the front of the field. The lead kept changing, also on account of the different strategies. And Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer continually brought the performance advantage of their diesel sports car to bear which in the first year of the engine downsizing was clearly the fastest car in the field at Le Mans. At 3m 25.289s André Lotterer on the 229th race lap even managed to beat the fastest time set in qualifying.

The reliability of the new Audi R18 TDI was impressive as well. Across the entire race distance the vehicle designated as number "2” did not have to come in for a single unscheduled pit stop. Only a problem with the fuel tank caused a bit of a headache for Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and the Technical Director of Audi Sport Team Joest, Ralf Jüttner. The full 65-liter capacity could not be used. Consequently, André Lotterer had to achieve a sufficient lead for an additional refueling stop in the final phase – in extremely difficult conditions in drizzling rain at times which made the track extremely slippery.

Lotterer mastered this hurdle as well. After the final stop the German started his last stint with a seven-second advantage over the second-placed Peugeot. In the end he crossed the finish line after 24 hours being frenetically cheered by his team colleagues Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer and the entire Audi squad in first place with a lead of 13.420 seconds. For the three Audi drivers who had finished as the runners-up last year this marked the first Le Mans exploit – and the tenth for Audi.

"It was a fantastic triumph of Audi ultra-lightweight technology in extreme conditions,” commented Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Management Board of AUDI AG, who had watched the captivating race himself in the pits. "After we celebrated a record victory last year primarily thanks to reliability and efficiency, we not only had the most reliable but also the quickest car this year.” Management Board Member for Development Michael Dick said, "The team as well as the entire Audi squad did a first-class job that deserves great respect. This tenth Le Mans success of our brand was no doubt the one that required the toughest battle – which perhaps also made it the most valuable one. At the same time, albeit involuntarily, we proved that our engineers design very safe cars.”

Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller sustained no injuries in extremely severe accidents in the first third of the race. McNish in the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number "3” had taken the lead shortly before the end of the first hour when a GT car hit his left rear wheel in the "La Chappelle” section. The R18 TDI spun off the track, hit the track barrier in a heavy impact and rolled over. The Audi R18 TDI’s one-piece carbon fiber monocoque withstood the crash. McNish was able to climb out of the wreckage uninjured and returned to the race track after a precautionary medical check at the hospital.

Mike Rockenfeller had an even greater guardian angel when shortly before 11 p.m. while running on position two he was also touched by a GT vehicle on the left rear wheel while running at a speed of about 300 km/h. The Audi R18 TDI turned left and at 270 km/h hit the guard rails on the entrance to the "Indianapolis” turn. The carbon fiber monocoque developed and produced by Audi using a new type of technology withstood the impact. The front crash absorber and all other passive safety devices of the car fulfilled their purpose as well. Mike Rockenfeller was able to climb out of the wreckage. As a precautionary measure, last year’s winner spent the night in the hospital but was released again on Sunday morning.

"The safety standards at Audi are simply incredible and have saved my life,” said Mike Rockenfeller. "I’ve never had such an accident before in my career and hope I’ll never have such an experience again.” Allan McNish commented in a similar vain: "I want to thank the Audi designers for having developed a car that you can climb out of unharmed after such severe accidents.”

On clinching its tenth victory in 13 years Audi has added another impressive chapter to its success story at the Le Mans 24 Hours. After the first success of a TFSI engine in 2011, the first triumph of a diesel-powered car in 2006 and the first exploits with variable turbine geometry, VTG, last year Audi again triumphed with innovative technology. "Audi ultra technology has passed an extreme acid test this weekend,” said Head of Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich after the car had crossed the finish line. "If you pursue new paths this always involves a risk. But this risk has absolutely paid off. The Audi R18 TDI was in a class of its own at Le Mans 2011. Particularly due to the two extremely serious accidents this has been the most difficult Le Mans race for us in an emotional sense so far. That our team managed to keep the strong competition at bay for 16 hours with just one car is almost unbelievable. Everyone at Audi can be proud of this triumph. However, the news that Allan (McNish) and Mike (Rockenfeller) came out of these extremely heavy accidents so well is at least as important as that of the tenth Audi victory.”

Pos#TeamCarDriversTime / Gap
1 2 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST AUDI R18 TDI Marcel FÄSSLER / André LOTTERER / Benoit TRELUYER 355 laps
2 9 TEAM PEUGEOT TOTAL PEUGEOT 908 Sébastien BOURDAIS / Simon PAGENAUD / Pedro LAMY + 13.854s
3 8 PEUGEOT SPORT TOTAL PEUGEOT 908 Stéphane SARRAZIN / Franck MONTAGNY / Nicolas MINASSIAN + 2 laps
4 7 PEUGEOT SPORT TOTAL PEUGEOT 908 Anthony DAVIDSON / Marc GENE / Alex WURZ + 4 laps
5 10 TEAM ORECA MATMUT PEUGEOT 908 HDI-FAP Nicolas LAPIERRE / Loic DUVAL / Olivier PANIS + 16 laps
6 12 REBELLION RACING LOLA B 10/60 COUPE-TOYOTA Nicolas PROST / Neel JANI / Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN + 17 laps
7 22 KRONOS RACING LOLA ASTON MARTIN Vanina ICKX / Maxime MARTIN / Bas LEINDERS + 27 laps
8 41 GREAVES MOTORSPORT ZYTEK NISSAN Karim OJJEH / Thomas KIMBER-SMITH / Olivier LOMBARD + 29 laps
9 26 SIGNATECH NISSAN ORECA 03-NISSAN Franck MAILLEUX / Lucas ORDONEZ / Soheil AYARI + 35 laps
10 33 LEVEL 5 MOTORSPORTS LOLA COUPE-HONDA PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT Scott TUCKER / Christophe BOUCHUT / Joao BARBOSA + 36 laps
11 73 CORVETTE RACING CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6 ZR1 Olivier BERETTA / Tommy MILNER / Antonio GARCIA + 41 laps
12 36 RML HONDA PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT ARX 01 D Mike NEWTON / Tommy ERDOS / Ben COLLINS + 41 laps
13 51 AF CORSE SRL FERRARI 458 ITALIA Giancarlo FISICHELLA / Gianmaria BRUNI / Toni VILANDER + 41 laps
14 49 OAK RACING OAK PESCAROLO - BMW Shinji NAKANO / Nicolas DE CREM / Jan CHAROUZ + 42 laps
15 56 BMW MOTORSPORT BMW M3 GT Andy PRIAULX / Dirk MÜLLER / Joey HAND + 42 laps
16 77 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON PORSCHE 911 RSR (997) Marc LIEB / Richard LIETZ / Wolf HENZLER + 43 laps
17 76 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT PORSCHE 911 RSR (997) Raymond NARAC / Patrick PILET / Nicolas ARMINDO + 44 laps
18 80 FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORTS PORSCHE 911 RSR (997) Jörg BERGMEISTER / Patrick LONG / Lucas LUHR + 45 laps
19 40 RACE PERFORMANCE ORECA 03-JUDD BMW Michel FREY / Ralph MEICHTRY / Marc ROSTAN + 51 laps
20 50 LARBRE COMPETITION CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6 ZR1 Patrick BORNHAUSER / Julien CANAL / Gabriele GARDEL + 53 laps
21 70 LARBRE COMPETITION PORSCHE 911 RSR (997) Christophe BOURRET / Pascal GIBON / Jean-Philippe BELLOC + 54 laps
22 65 LOTUS JETALLIANCE LOTUS EVORA Jonathan HIRSCHI / James ROSSITER / Johnny MOWLEM + 60 laps
23 75 PROSPEED COMPETITION PORSCHE 911 RSR (997) Marc GOOSSENS / Marco HOLZER / Jaap Van LAGEN + 62 laps
24 66 JMW MOTORSPORT FERRARI 458 ITALIA Rob BELL / Tim SUGDEN / Xavier MAASSEN + 65 laps
25 35 OAK RACING OAK PESCAROLO - JUDD BMW Andrea BARLESI / Frédéric DA ROCHA / Patrice LAFARGUE + 67 laps
26 68 ROBERTSON RACING LLC FORD GT-DORAN David ROBERTSON / Andrea ROBERTSON / David MURRY + 70 laps
27 83 JMB RACING FERRARI F430 Manuel RODRIGUES / Jean-Marc MENAHEM / Nicolas MARROC + 83 laps
28 44 EXTREME LIMITE AM PARIS NORMA M200P - JUDD BMW Fabien ROSIER / Philippe HAEZEBROUCK / Jean-René de FOURNOUX + 108 laps
- --------- --------- ------------------ DNF
29 16 PESCAROLO TEAM PESCAROLO JUDD Emmanuel COLLARD / Christophe TINSEAU / Julien JOUSSE + 50 laps
30 55 BMW MOTORSPORT BMW M3 GT Augusto FARFUS / Jörg MULLER / Dirk WERNER + 79 laps
31 74 CORVETTE RACING CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6 ZR1 Oliver GAVIN / Jan MAGNUSSEN / Richard WESTBROOK + 144 laps
32 81 FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORTS PORSCHE 911 RSR (997) Seth NEIMAN / Darren LAW / Spencer PUMPELLY + 144 laps
33 48 TEAM ORECA MATMUT ORECA 03-NISSAN Alexandre PREMAT / David HALLYDAY / Dominick KRAIHAMER + 155 laps
34 63 PROTON COMPETITION PORSCHE 911 RSR (997) Horst FELBERMAYR Jr / Horst FELBERMAYR Sen / Christian RIED + 156 laps
35 13 REBELLION RACING LOLA B 10/60 COUPE-TOYOTA Andrea BELICCHI / J.Christophe BOULLION / Guy SMITH + 165 laps
36 61 AF CORSE SRL FERRARI F430 Pierguiseppe PERAZZINI / Marco CIOCI / Sean Paul BRESLIN + 167 laps
37 59 LUXURY RACING FERRARI 458 ITALIA Stéphane ORTELLI / Frédéric MAKOWIECKI / Jaime MELO + 172 laps
38 71 AF CORSE FERRARI 458 ITALIA Robert KAUFFMAN / Michael WALTRIP / Rui AGUAS + 177 laps
39 88 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON PORSCHE 911 RSR (997) Nick TANDY / Abdulaziz AL FAISAL / Bryce MILLER + 186 laps
40 42 STRAKKA RACING HONDA PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT ARX 01 D Nick LEVENTIS / Danny WATTS / Jonny KANE + 211 laps
41 60 GULF AMR MIDDLE EAST ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE Fabien GIROIX / Michael WAINWRIGHT / Roald GOETHE + 214 laps
42 39 PECOM RACING LOLA B11/40-JUDD BMW Luis PEREZ-COMPANC / Matias RUSSO / Pierre KAFFER + 216 laps
43 89 HANKOOK - TEAM FARNBACHER FERRARI 458 ITALIA Dominik FARNBACHER / Allan SIMONSEN / Leh KEEN + 218 laps
44 58 LUXURY RACING FERRARI 458 ITALIA Anthony BELTOISE / Pierre THIRIET / François JAKUBOWSKI + 219 laps
45 64 LOTUS JETALLIANCE LOTUS EVORA Oskar SLINGERLAND / Martin RICH / John HARTSHORNE + 229 laps
46 57 KROHN RACING FERRARI F430 Tracy KROHN / Niclas JÖNSSON / Michele RUGOLO + 232 laps
47 24 OAK RACING OAK PESCAROLO - JUDD Richard HEIN / Jacques NICOLET / Jean-François YVON + 236 laps
48 1 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST AUDI R18 TDI Timo BERNHARD / Romain DUMAS / Mike ROCKENFELLER + 239 laps
49 5 HOPE RACING ORECA SWISS HY TECH-HYBRID Steve ZACCHIA / Jan LAMMERS / Casper ELGAARD + 240 laps
50 62 CRS RACING FERRARI F430 Pierre EHRET / Roger WILLS / Shaun LYNN + 271 laps
51 15 OAK RACING OAK PESCAROLO - JUDD Guillaume MOREAU / Pierre RAGUES / Tiago MONTEIRO + 275 laps
52 79 JOTA ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE Sam HANCOCK / Simon DOLAN / Chris BUNCOMBE + 281 laps
53 20 QUIFEL - ASM TEAM ZYTEK 09 SC Miguel AMARAL / Olivier PLA / Warren HUGHES + 307 laps
54 3 AUDI SPORT NORTH AMERICA AUDI R18 TDI Tom KRISTENSEN / Rinaldo CAPELLO / Allan McNISH + 341 laps
55 007 ASTON MARTIN RACING ASTON MARTIN AMR-ONE Stefan MUCKE / Darren TURNER / Christian KLIEN + 351 laps
56 009 ASTON MARTIN RACING ASTON MARTIN AMR-ONE Harold PRIMAT / Adrian FERNANDEZ / Andy MEYRICK + 353 laps

Endurance

Search

Motorsport news

Pics

Videos