Audi : maintains lead of the standings in WEC home round at the Nürburgring

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Eva-Maria Veith
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Audi maintains lead of the standings in WEC home round at the Nürburgring

• Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer lead the standings

• 62,000 spectators at German premiere of the FIA WEC

• Fourth place for di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis

Ingolstadt/Nürburg, August 30, 2015 - Advantage maintained: The Audi drivers Marcel Fässler (CH), André Lotterer (D) and Benoît Tréluyer (F) remain the leaders of the standings halfway through the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season. The 2012 World Champions achieved third place in the 6-hour race at the Nürburgring in front of a large crowd, defending their 17-point advantage in the drivers' classification.

Audi remains in front: After the fourth of eight rounds, Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer continue to lead the standings - as they have ever since the season opener in April. In the German debut of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Audi had to admit defeat for the first time in a 6-hour race this year. The Audi driver trio in car number '7' had started from position three, maintained second place for a long time but in the end finished behind two Porsche sports prototypes. "In the hot temperatures of nearly 30 degrees Celsius we weren't as competitive this time as we were at the beginning of the season," André Lotterer said, summing up the race. His team-mate Marcel Fässler added: "The important thing was to maintain an advantage in the standings." Following the fourth podium result in four races, Benoît Tréluyer said: "Even though we weren't battling for victory for a change, we managed to clinch a podium and to score important points in the process."
In the sister car, number '8,' Lucas di Grassi (BR), Loïc Duval (F) and Oliver Jarvis (GB) showed a superb performance. In the last hour of the race, Di Grassi was battling for second place with Porsche driver Marc Lieb for a long time, but ultimately saw the checkered flag in position four.
"We'd have liked to have battled for victory in our home race in front of a large crowd as we did at the beginning of the season," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang
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Ullrich. "But we had to accept that Porsche were stronger today. In the standings, our drivers have maintained a remarkable advantage. This means we can expect a thrilling second half of the season."
Chris Reinke, Head of LMP at Audi Sport, added: "In Audi's home round, we competed in front of an impressive crowd of fans. It was great to see how popular the LMP sports cars are in Germany. That was perfect advertising for the FIA WEC. For the remaining races, we're going to leave no stone unturned to continue to optimally support our drivers in the battle for the WEC title. The title is far from having been decided."
In three weeks from now, round five of the season is coming up. In the U.S. state of Texas, the FIA WEC will be held for the third time, on September 19 - Audi won both of the two previous rounds at Austin.

Race results

1 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (Porsche) 203 laps
2 Dumas/Jani/Lieb (Porsche) -1 lap
3 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) -1 lap
4 Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) -1 lap
5 Buemi/Davidson/Nakajima (Toyota) -3 laps
6 Conway/Sarrazin/Wurz (Toyota) -4 laps
7 Bradley/Howson/Tandy (Oreca) -18 laps
8 Bird/Canal/Rusinov (Ligier) -18 laps
9 Derani/Gonzalez/Yacaman (Ligier) -19 laps
10 Hamilton/Ragues/Webb (Morgan) -19 laps
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In 2014, the Audi Group delivered approximately 1,741,100 cars of the Audi brand to its customers. The company achieved revenue of €53.8 billion and an operating profit of €5.15 billion in 2014. Audi operates globally in more than 100 markets and has production facilities in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Győr (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Bratislava (Slovakia), Martorell (Spain), Kaluga (Russia), Aurangabad (India), Changchun and Foshan (China) as well as Jakarta (Indonesia). The brand with the Four Rings will start producing cars in Curitiba (Brazil) this year and in San José Chiapa (Mexico) in 2016. Wholly owned subsidiaries of AUDI AG include quattro GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy) and sports motorcycle manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy). The company currently employs approximately

80,000 people worldwide, thereof around 58,000 in Germany. Total investment of about €24 billion is planned from 2015 to 2019 - primarily in new products and sustainable technologies. Audi is committed to its corporate responsibility and has anchored the principle of sustainability for its products and processes in its strategy. The long-term goal is CO2-neutral mobility.

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