The FIA World Endurance Championship WEC is currently one of the most exciting series in motorsport: Audi drivers Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) start the sixth round of the season in Japan on October 11 with a ten-point advantage. Two other events follow before the end of November. The title race in the sports car series remains open.
The championship leaders from Audi continued their series of podium finishes in September. Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer have mounted the podium at every race since April 2015, and took two race wins at the beginning of the season. No other LMP1 driver squad has taken five consecutive podium finishes. Most recently, start number ‘7’ clinched second place in Austin ahead of the sister car driven by Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis (BR/F/GB)
The track at the foot of Japan’s highest mountain is particularly challenging. The Fuji Speedway is the only track on which the Audi has not won during the first three years of the FIA WEC. The near one and a half kilometer start-finish straight sees speeds of more than 300 km/h. An extremely slow first corner follows. Corners 2 to 4 are very fast, and are followed by a slow chicane.
Four of the six Audi drivers have special relationships with the land of the rising sun. Benoît Tréluyer spent 12 years of his career driving here, André Lotterer has competed regularly in Japanese races since 2003 and has a home in Tokyo. Loïc Duval was in action on the island’s tracks between 2006 and 2014, and Oliver Jarvis contested a season of his career here in 2007 and 2014. Duval, Jarvis and Lucas di Grassi underlined their potential most recently in the WEC races at the Nürburgring and in Austin with good performances in qualifying and the races, and mounted the podium for the first time this season two weeks ago.
