Photo : Audi Motorsport

 

The reigning World Champions Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and  Benoit Treluyer, qualified in pole position, but were unlucky with debris impairing the engine intake duct of their R18 e-tron quattro. Hoping for an improvment in the weather, they took advantage of the second caution period for repairs. But the rain became heavier and the presence of the safety car on the track prohibited overtaking. Coming 26th at the finish, Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer are now 40.75 points behind. Loïc Duval, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish could still be caught but after the 6 Hours of Shanghai on November 9, they may well be the champions.

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "We’d very much have liked to offer a great race to the many enthusiastic Japanese fans. Unfortunately, the weather today prevented this. Nobody can be blamed for this. And that the race was ultimately stopped was the only reasonable decision – safety always takes top priority."

Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 2 Audi Sport Team Joest, LM P1): "I’ve driven many races before at Fuji. It’s always been one of the most difficult race tracks in rain. The clouds hang in the mountains for a long time, there’s fog and poor visibility."

Loïc Duval (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 2 Audi Sport Team Joest, LM P1): "I’ve often driven in Japan. There have been a lot of races that were canceled in such weather conditions. Our cars are not drivable in such heavy rain. It’s as though you were in a boat."

André Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 1 Audi Sport Team Joest, LM P1): "We floated in our cars instead of driving them. There’s simply nothing you can do. Neither our cars nor the tires have been designed for such conditions. In addition, we suffered a bit of misfortune today but such weekends exist as well."

Allan McNish (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 2 Audi Sport Team Joest, LM P1): "Our cars are designed for driving in dry conditions. But even if we had driven, there wouldn’t have been many cars left after a few laps."

Jean-Philippe Doret/ACO - Translated by Tony Light/ACO

(According to press information from Audi Motorsport)

PHOTO : OYAMA (Prefecture of SHIZUOKA, JAPAN), FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, 6 HOURS OF FUJI, October 20, 2013. The complete Audi team celebrated its second manufacturers' title in Japan.