Round six of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship at Shanghai International Circuit was always going to be challenging for Benoît Tréluyer and his Audi Sport crew-mates André Lotterer and Marcel Fässler. That certainly proved to be the case, but fortunately for the Le Mans-winning trio their guardian angels were watching over them throughout Sunday’s race (November 2).
While the laps ticked by, the #2 Audi kept a watching brief as the sister #1 car and #14 Porsche fought an intense scrap for third. With a podium finish up for grabs the stakes were high. Following a strong start from Lotterer, Benoît struggled slightly with his tyres and was running fifth. Something needed to change if they were to make further progress.
“At this point our engineers Leena [Gade] and Justin [Taylor] pulled a brilliant idea out of the hat: a splash and dash ahead of schedule to cover the possible appearance of a safety car,” beamed Benoît afterwards. “In the end there was no caution period, but Marcel was in clean air and thus able to lap at a faster pace before the other cars made their final stops. Once the pit-stop phase had shaken out we got the undercut and were ahead of our team-mates in the other R18 e-tron quattro.”
Though the podium proved just out of reach, their fourth-place finish was a fitting reward for Leena and Justin’s vision, as well as the efforts of the whole #2 crew which worked tirelessly to find innovative solutions and overcome their deficit at the Chinese track.
“Our R18 felt alright, but we nevertheless struggled because this circuit does not fit our car concept very well. As for tyre management, we fared better than at Fuji but still couldn’t double-stint them. We tried several things on the car during practice and the mechanics did a tremendous job; they worked flat out to give us the perfect machine. Last but not least, their quick and efficient work during the pit-stops ensured the car was refuelled and the tyres changed in record time. These guys are just amazing and I’d like to congratulate every one of them. Bravo!
“We were covering decent stints behind the wheel; we even outpaced our rivals in sectors one and two, before losing ground in the third sector with its long back straight. In the end, fourth place was probably the best result the team could have hoped for in normal conditions.”
The Chinese event saw the 2014 Le Mans winners’ chances of a second WEC Drivers’ title dwindle. Though still mathematically in contention, it would take a significant upset for the Audi trio to reclaim the crown they won in 2012.
“We would need our friends aboard the #8 Toyota to not finish the next two races while we win both,” explained the Frenchman. “It’s the same situation in the Manufacturers’ standings, but we refuse to give up no matter what. At Le Mans we bet on reliability and the gamble paid off handsomely, while at COTA we still managed to win despite only starting from fourth position. We may not look so good in qualifying but we have a knack for being there or thereabouts come the race.”
Bahrain plays host to the next WEC round in two weeks’ time (November 13-15) and will see Benoît and his crew-mates putting their faith in a local ally: the heat.
“This is definitively one of our strengths,” said an already-fired-up Tréluyer. “When temperatures rise the Audi-Michelin combination can extend tyre performance, so we’ll enter the event with a decent shot at a strong result. We will also encounter similar weather conditions in Brazil for the season finale. Fuji and Shanghai were always going to prove difficult for us, so at least they’re now out of the way!”
Along with his Audi Sport team, the Frenchman left China with his heart and mind full of hope, as well as renewed positive thoughts and prayers for Jules Bianchi and his family.