Audi has won the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship with a stylish 1-2 finish at the Six Hours of Silverstone
The #2 R18 e-tron Quattro shared by Allan McNish, Loic Duval and Tom Kristensen took the lead of the WEC season opener from the #1 Fassler/Treluyer/Lotterer car with five minutes remaining in an event characterised by mixed conditions.
Despite opening the season in style, the event was not entirely drama free for the reigning champions, with the #1 car suffering from an energy-retrieval system problem during Lotterer’s stint and the sister car spinning in the hands of McNish, whilst the Scot tried to avoid a wayward Aston Martin in the race’s closing stages.
The Toyotas of Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin and Wurz/LaPierre, despite starting in first and second positions on the grid, finished in third and fourth and a lap down after completing a total of 196 laps.
The Japanese manufacturer was expected to continue where last season ended, with the quickest and most tyre efficient car. However, it seems the decision to start with a 2012 car may have been short sighted, as the two TS030 HYBRID cars could not keep pace with the 2013 Audi, as some ten minutes into the race, the McNish/Duval/Kristensen car had easily taken the lead of the race after they suffered with tyre issues.
The LMP1 category was rounded out with the two Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota B12/60s finishing in fifth and sixth, the Heidfeld/Prost/Jani car heading the sister Belicci/Becchi/Cheng machine home.
Antonio Pizzonia, Tor Graves and James Walker claimed victory in LMP2 for Delta-ADR ORECA-Nissan ahead of the OAK Morgan Nissan of Olivier Pla, Alex Brundle and David Heinemeier Hansson.
Aston Martin claimed victory in the GT Pro class, with the #97 Vantage GTE of Stefan Mucke, Darren Turner and endurance returnee Bruno Senna winning ahead of the AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Toni Vilander and series debutante, ex Sauber F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi.
The second Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Frederic Makowiecki and Pedro Lamy completed the final step of the podium in third.
It was also a good day for the British marque in the GT Am division, with Cristoffer Nygaard, Kristen Poulsen and Allan Simonsen claiming victory ahead of the Larbre Corvette of Patrick Bornhauser, Julien Canal and Fernando Rees on the company’s 100th year of competition.
The #2 R18 e-tron Quattro shared by Allan McNish, Loic Duval and Tom Kristensen took the lead of the WEC season opener from the #1 Fassler/Treluyer/Lotterer car with five minutes remaining in an event characterised by mixed conditions.
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| The No. 2 Audi at the Six Hours of Silverstone (Photo: Audi) |
Despite opening the season in style, the event was not entirely drama free for the reigning champions, with the #1 car suffering from an energy-retrieval system problem during Lotterer’s stint and the sister car spinning in the hands of McNish, whilst the Scot tried to avoid a wayward Aston Martin in the race’s closing stages.
The Toyotas of Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin and Wurz/LaPierre, despite starting in first and second positions on the grid, finished in third and fourth and a lap down after completing a total of 196 laps.
The Japanese manufacturer was expected to continue where last season ended, with the quickest and most tyre efficient car. However, it seems the decision to start with a 2012 car may have been short sighted, as the two TS030 HYBRID cars could not keep pace with the 2013 Audi, as some ten minutes into the race, the McNish/Duval/Kristensen car had easily taken the lead of the race after they suffered with tyre issues.
The LMP1 category was rounded out with the two Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota B12/60s finishing in fifth and sixth, the Heidfeld/Prost/Jani car heading the sister Belicci/Becchi/Cheng machine home.
Antonio Pizzonia, Tor Graves and James Walker claimed victory in LMP2 for Delta-ADR ORECA-Nissan ahead of the OAK Morgan Nissan of Olivier Pla, Alex Brundle and David Heinemeier Hansson.
Aston Martin claimed victory in the GT Pro class, with the #97 Vantage GTE of Stefan Mucke, Darren Turner and endurance returnee Bruno Senna winning ahead of the AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Toni Vilander and series debutante, ex Sauber F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi.
The second Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Frederic Makowiecki and Pedro Lamy completed the final step of the podium in third.
It was also a good day for the British marque in the GT Am division, with Cristoffer Nygaard, Kristen Poulsen and Allan Simonsen claiming victory ahead of the Larbre Corvette of Patrick Bornhauser, Julien Canal and Fernando Rees on the company’s 100th year of competition.