With his popularity sky high in the Land of the Rising Sun, Loïc Duval enjoyed tremendous support at 2014’s fifth FIA World Endurance Championship round, the 6 Hours of Fuji, on October 10-12. That’s not to say things went to plan for the Audi Sport driver and team-mates Tom Kristensen and Lucas di Grassi, although they’re already looking to quickly bounce back.
It’s only natural for Duval to consider Fuji’s event as a second home race after living in Japan for seven years, during which he claimed the Formula Nippon (now Super Formula) and Super GT titles in 2009 and ‘10 respectively. It came as no surprise, therefore, to see numerous custom-made banners featuring his name lining the former grand prix circuit.
“Besides Le Mans, Fuji’s atmosphere is second to none,” explained Loïc, who also carried a “Forza Jules” sticker on his helmet in support of injured compatriot Jules Bianchi and his family. “The autograph queues were endless. Japanese fans are definitely the most devoted; they even turn up with die-cast models of cars we’ve completely forgotten about! André [Lotterer], Benoît [Tréluyer] and myself have a special relationship with Japan after spending a significant amount of our careers here. Needless to say, we always receive fantastic support whenever we compete in this country.”
Afterwards – despite being in high demand from the most passionate of fans – the reigning world champion couldn’t shake off the underlying disappointment of finishing fifth alongside Kristensen and Di Grassi, especially in front of Fuji’s adoring crowd.
“With the threat of Typhoon Phanfone looming over us, we were dreading that we’d experience a similar situation to last year when only 16 laps were completed in torrential rain,” admitted Duval. “Despite the dry weather, we were unable to secure the result we wanted. Our strategy was excellent and although we came very close to splitting the two Porsches, Fuji didn’t suit our R18 e-tron quattro overall. Indeed, it’s the only current World Endurance Championship venue where Audi have yet to win. Of course, we’ll work hard to resolve this next year.”
However, the Frenchman’s immediate focus will be on finishing the season strongly, beginning with the 6 Hours of Shanghai on October 31-November 2. “The aim is to elevate Audi back into the Manufacturers’ Championship lead,” insisted Duval. “The circuit should suit us better, yet we know we’ll face stiff competition from our rivals. The team had a fantastic race in China 12 months ago. Allan [McNish], Tom and myself secured the title, while the sister R18 claimed victory.”
Needless to say, Loïc will be hoping for a repeat performance next weekend in a country which is commercially vital for Audi: China is the Ingolstadt manufacturer’s number one market, accounting for 30% of its total sales.
*Thank you very much