mercredi 24 septembre 2014

Audi, Toyota, and Porsche at 4th Round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)

Austin’s Circuit of Americas qualifying positions did not equal podium results.



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Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Sept. 24, 2014



#2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, eventual winner in Austin but not without drama.



The FIA World Endurance Championship season resumed for the fourth of eight races scheduled for this year, following the Le Mans 24 Hours.



The WEC qualifying format requires two drivers from each car to set a minimum of two flying laps each. The grid is decided by the combined average of each driver’s fastest two laps.



Toyota begins on top



Toyota Racing held a one-point advantage in the Manufacturers' World Championship while #8 TS040 Hybrid drivers Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi lead by 20 points the drivers' standings.



The #7 TS040 Hybrid has a revised driver with Mike Conway replacing Kazuki Nakajima, who has schedule conflicts with his Japanese racing commitments. The Englishman drives alongside Alex Wurz and Stéphane Sarrazin.



After the LeMans results, Toyota decided to continue using the TS040s high downforce aerodynamic package in which the #8 won the first race of the season, at Silverstone.



The 986 hp, AWD Toyota Hybrid System with 3.76 MJ of hybrid boost was on target to win at the 3.4 mile Circuit of the Americas course in Austin.



Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi in the #8 TS040 HYBRID with Nicolas Lapierre, claimed pole position by more than a second. That earned a bonus point which extended their lead in the drivers’ championship to 21 points.



The team celebrated its third pole position in four races this season, also earning a point which doubles its lead in the manufacturers’ standings to two points.






Audi’s Initial Disappointments



Audi started qualifying for round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Austin full of optimism. Following two best times set in the free practice sessions, the squad was well prepared for the final qualifying session. The failure of a lap trigger signal ruined any hope of a front row start.



Le Mans winner Marcel Fässler in the #2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro and Loïc Duval in the #1 sister car noticed irregularities on the first timed laps of the qualifying session. The Audi control systems for fuel consumption and the hybrid system were apparently receiving wrong signals that made optimal lap times impossible. As the reasons for the faulty lap trigger signal could not be found and corrected in the 25-minute qualifying session, Audi had to settle for grid positions [b]four[b/] for Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) and six for Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen (BR/F/DK).



As soon as the defect was corrected the Audi turbo diesel hybrid sports cars were ready.



In the first free practice at Austin, Marcel Fässler achieved the best time ahead of his team-mate Lucas di Grassi. In the third free practice, Loïc Duval was in front of Marcel Fässler. In dry weather in the first and third practice sessions and heavy rain in the second one, Audi was ready despite the high humidity, temperatures of more than 85 degrees F, on again/off again rain showers and the chance of thunderstorms.



Porsche



The hard charging Porsche brand brought their Porsche 919 Hybrid for the LMP1 racing action. With little fanfare, the #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid team with Dumas, Jani, and Lieb behind the qualified in the No. 2 position less than 1-second off the #8 Toyota TS040’s qualifying win.



The racing brand also took third spot with the #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid team of Bernhard, Webber, and Hartley.



Qualifying

  1. #8 Toyota TS 040 Hybrid

  2. #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid

  3. #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid

  4. #2 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro

  5. #7 Toyota TS 040 Hybrid

  6. #1 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro


Racing Action in Texas



Reversals of Fortune in heavy rain as Toyota experienced a very frustrating Six Hours of the Circuit of the Americas. Audis experience was that of perseverance leading to wins at the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.



Toyota and the TS040s



Heavy rain early in the race necessitated a recovery drive for the #8 TS040 Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi, who finished third and ending up with a 11-point lead in the drivers' standings.






The #7 of Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Mike Conway took sixth, meaning the team fell to second in the manufacturers' World Championship, 18 behind Audi at the halfway point in the season.



The race had begun very promisingly with the TS040 Hybrids taking control at the start; pole sitter Sébastien pulling out a substantial lead while Alex brought the #7 up to second place early on.



After Mike and Nicolas took over their respective cars close to the hour mark, a heavy rainstorm ensuded and changed fortunes dramatically. With both Toyota’s still on racing slicks, both aquaplaned off track, with the #8 getting stuck in the gravel.



After a delay of nearly an hour, during which the race clock continued to count down, the #8 car took the restart in fourth, with the #7 car in seventh. Both a lap down form the race leaders.



Sébastien in the #8 car began a determined pursuit of the podium places and a string of quick laps, including the fastest of the race, earned a third place which looked highly unlikely earlier in the race, while Alex took the flag in sixth.



Porsche’s 919 Hybrids



After qualifying second and third and leading the race for multiple laps in the early going, the two Porsche 919 Hybrids finished fourth and fifth.



Starting drivers Dumas and Webber lost ground in the early stages of the race. They were running fifth and sixth when they came in for their first pit stops. After the rain set in and the race flagged the #14 car was third in the race on intermediate tires. He soon took the lead, and after 105 laps handed over to Lieb who went out on slicks. After the final stop for fuel after 133 laps a loss of engine power forced him to drop back to fourth.



Bernhard in the #20 car was able to continue after the red flag. On lap 90 he was in fourth and handed over to Hartley. For the last 30 minutes Webber returned to the car and finished fifth.



The #14 car driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, was leading the race for a number of laps but suffered problems at the end and finished in front of its sister car. Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, and Mark Webber brought their number 20 car home in fifth place after an action packed fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).



Audi’s R18 e-tron quattros



Audi has celebrated the second consecutive one-two win in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Austin this past weekend. Following their victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer in the #8 e-tron Quattro prevailed again.



A sudden downpour and red flags after a series of spins created a Texas thriller. Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen in the #1 car completed Audi’s success by taking second place podium finish.



The race began in bright sunshine so Audi decided not to change from Slicks to intermediates or pure rain tires at the first pit stop. By doing so, their positions continued to climb.



One and a half hours into the race drizzling rain and soon after a downpour hit. Audi made a timely switch from slicks to wets on both cars with the #2 driven by Tréluyer taking the lead and Tom Kristensen in the #1 car taking third as Toyota and Porsche competitors slipped into the gravel just prior to the red flag.



About 50 minutes later, the teams resumed the race behind the safety car. Both Audi turbo diesel hybrid sports cars kept their rain tires on the wet track. Fifteen minutes later, Audi decided to switch car #2 to intermediates and onto slicks an hour later.



In the case of the #1 sister car, the team opted for a different strategy. They used rain tires until conditions became dry enough for slicks. This tactical option resulted in one less pit stop. However, Kristensen also had to first change to intermediate tires before being able to switch to slicks at the next pit stop. Following a recovery by Lucas di Grassi at the end of the race, the #1 car finished as the runner-up.



After six hours of racing, the #2 Audi driver trio prevailed with a margin of 53 seconds over their team-mates.






For Audi, this marked the 13th victory in 20 WEC races since the beginning of the World Championship in 2012. On achieving this most recent success and after four of eight races, Audi now leads the WEC manufacturers’ standings for the first time this year.



Round five on the WEC calendar will be held on the track at Fuji in Japan in three weeks from now.





Audi, Toyota, and Porsche at 4th Round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)

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