WEC Le Mans race: Audi Sport quotes

Lucas di Grassi (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): “My third Le Mans and I made it across the finish line for the third time. Once I was second, once third and this time fourth. So, first is still missing. But that’s racing: sometimes you win, and at other times the others do. For me it’s important that you give everything. And we did that, no question. We can leave with our head held high because we delivered a fantastic race – even though we were defeated this time. But that makes us stronger and should motivate us to work even harder so that we can strike back in the next WEC races and at Le Mans in 2016.”

Loïc Duval (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): “Except for a few hours during the night, the Audi was the fastest car on track. But that’s not enough in such a tough competition. You also need a little bit of fortune and we didn’t have that today. Congratulations to Porsche on winning. ‘Well done and a big thank you’ also to our team. The mechanics really did everything to give us a car again that was capable of winning. Still, it wasn’t enough for Audi to clinch victory this time. We need to deal with that. At least, Audi was able to celebrate on podium once more.”

Oliver Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #8): “Following Loïc’s (Duval) accident, I thought our race was over early. But the mechanics from Audi Sport Team Joest sent us back out on track in an incredibly short period of time. A huge thank you for that. Still: finishing fourth when you’ve got the potential of at least clinching a podium is a disappointment. Congratulations to Porsche on winning. Next year, we’re going for revenge. For our trio this was the first joint Le Mans. We’ve become a really close squad here – we’re going to benefit from that in the coming races. I’m already looking forward to getting into the car again.”

Filipe Albuquerque (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #9): “After I didn’t get to drive in my Le Mans debut last year, I was even more excited about our run. For a long time, things were going really well for us. I felt like I was at home in our Audi and my team-mates did a fantastic job too. Up until the morning hours, we put the Porsche cars under massive pressure. Unfortunately, an issue with the hybrid system took away all our chances. I think it was obvious that, without these issues, we could have finished on podium.”

Marco Bonanomi (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #9): “Strictly looking at our driving performance, my team-mates and I are happy. When our car was running smoothly, we consistently battled for the lead. I’ve got to say: driving this great Audi was sheer pleasure. Unfortunately, like last year, Lady Luck wasn’t on board with us. Unfortunately, we’ve got to live with that. But at the end of the day, you could see what our driver trio is capable of. And that does make me very proud.”

René Rast (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #9): “A good race for me personally. Into the morning hours, we were running in the top group, sometimes even leading the race. Then we lost ground due to hybrid issues. That’s a shame, but that’s racing. Things weren’t going smoothly for the other two Audi cars either. Now, we’re looking ahead to the next races. I drove eight stints, learned a lot about the car, the tires. ‘Thank you’ also to my two mates – we’re a great team.”

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