Photo : ADRIEN CLEMENT - XTREM PICS

 

For Kristensen-Duval-Di Grassi, second, victory came very close. Third, Buemi-Davidson-Lapierre came from far back, after the incident during the storm at the beginning of the race.

Tom Kristensen (No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driver, Audi Sport Team Joest, LM P1, 2nd): "Like all the others, we had some issues. The injectors had to be changed out, we had a flat tyre. Though the wheel ended up turning, it was necessary to return to the pit to change out the turbo. We are part of a big team, it's as simple as that. Lucas and I would like to give a nod to Loïc Duval, who could not compete in the race with us after the incident at the practice. It had to be difficult for him to watch the race at home. We would have liked to give him a fairy tale victory but we are happy with what we have accomplished."
Lucas di Grassi (No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driver, Audi Sport Team Joest, LM P1, 2nd): "Starting with Wednesday's practice, it has been a tough race. We were of course all worried about Loïc, but in the end he was doing well. Each time I come to Le Mans, I like the place, the circuit, the atmosphere, the public more and more…I am going from third to second place and I expect to continue coming back for a long time, because each time I do, I learn something new thanks to Tom and Loïc."
Marc Gené (No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driver, Audi Sport Team Joest, LM P1, 2nd): "I am sorry that Loïc could not be with us, he is irreplaceable. I did my best, the Test Day with Jota Sport (the winning team in the LM P2 class, which should have been Marc Gené's) allowed me to get to know the track again. I would have never believed I would reach the podium and when the engineers told me we were in the lead on Sunday morning, I was amazed."

Nicolas Lapierre (No. 8 Toyota TS040 Hybrid driver, Toyota Racing, LM P1, 3rd): "The storm was the key to the race. I was on the Mulsanne Straight on slick tyres, I lost control of the car and I tapped on the right. To return the car to the pit was unexpected. After a big shock like that, I crossed my fingers until the finish. We got back to a good pace. If we subtract the first two hours, we are satisfied with what we accomplished."
Sébastien Buemi (No. 8 Toyota TS040 Hybrid, Toyota Racing, LM P1, 3rd): "We are all disappointed, but nonetheless happy to earn some points in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). We took advantage of others' misfortune and issues."
Anthony Davidson (No. 8 Toyota TS040 Hybrid driver, Toyota Racing, LM P1, 3rd): "It was an epic race between three big manufacturers, Toyota, Porsche and Audi, who all lead the race. We are disappointed after being used to winning, but we will hold on to our lead in the championship. Anyone could have made this mistake."

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 15 2014, PODIUM.