Sixth podium place in succession for Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer

Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer ultimately achieved a podium result for the sixth race in succession. Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis finished in fourth place. “At Fuji, we were clearly more powerful than before even though, unfortunately, the results do not reflect this,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “In qualifying, we reduced our gap by about one second and in the race Loïc Duval managed to set the fastest lap. Unfortunately, we weren’t lucky with our tire choices today.”

In the standings, Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer were holding the top spot for 181 days since the beginning of the season. Following Fuji, they now lie second with a one-point deficit. With two rounds to go in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), suspense is at an all-time high. “Fuji showed that we’re developing our car in the right direction,” said Chris Reinke, Head of LMP at Audi Sport. “Our improved aerodynamics is paying off. Now it’ll be crucial to make optimum use of this progress at Shanghai in three weeks from now and subsequently in Bahrain. We continue to have good chances of clinching the title.”

Race results

1 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (Porsche) 216 laps

2 Dumas/Jani/Lieb (Porsche) +14.306s

3 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) –1 lap

4 Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) –2 laps

5 Buemi/Davidson/Nakajima (Toyota) –2 laps

6 Conway/Sarrazin/Wurz (Toyota) –13 laps

7 Beche/Prost (Rebellion) –13 laps

8 Kaffer/Trummer (CLM) –17 laps

9 Bird/Canal/Rusinov (Ligier) –18 laps

10 Capillaire/Chatin/Panciatici (Signatech) –18 laps