The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is turning onto the finish straight. Three quarters into the season, the title race is extremely close. Before round seven at Shanghai on November 1, Audi is separated from the top spot in the standings by only a single point. In six countries on three continents, the fastest teams have covered 10,850.584 kilometers in races since April – a distance equating to about one fourth of the earth’s circumference. The difference between the drivers from Porsche and Audi in the standings amounts to a single point. 52 points are yet to be awarded this season.
The three race drivers are jointly competing for Audi in their sixth year, currently driving the number ‘7’ Audi R18 e-tron quattro. With a track record of ten victories since 2012, they are the most successful WEC drivers of all time. The Swiss, the German and the Frenchman are the only driver combination to have mounted the podium at every round in the current season and were leading the World Championship for five races.
The number ‘8’ Audi impresses with its performances as well. Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Oliver Jarvis are driving together for the first time in 2015 and have continuously been increasing their form curve during the course of the year. In the second half of the season, they have regularly been battling for podium places and at Austin mounted the podium for the first time. Most recently, at Fuji, Loïc Duval managed to set the fastest race lap.
While Audi’s WEC drivers are competing in the penultimate round of the season, a thrilling title decision is expected in the supporting program at the same event, as the Audi R8 LMS Cup is holding its finale at Shanghai. Alex Yoong from Malaysia and Congfu Cheng from China are heading the standings tied on points in the Asian racing series for identical Audi GT3 sports cars.
