Eleventh consecutive podium for Audi
Quotes after the race
Dindo Capello (Audi R15 TDI #7): “Up until the stupid problem with the helmet things were looking perfectly for us. We fought a fierce battle with Peugeot. It was really good fun because the car was very good to drive even in traffic. But then the nightmare started. At first I didnt have a clue as to what was happening. I had the feeling that the helmet was suddenly three sizes larger than before. We later found out that the E-Ject insert in the helmet had come loose. I was even lucky not to have had an accident since I was completely blind in one turn because the helmet slipped across my eyes. Even after so many years you can still experience something new. Im incredibly sorry for the team that we lost a better result due to such a mishap.” Tom Kristensen (Audi R15 TDI #7): “I think everyone will agree that the first 70 percent was a fantastic race. After our best time in the warm-up we certainly figured that wed have good chances even though we werent the fastest cars on the straights. And we were right. I was leading during my stints. But then there was the mishap with Dindos helmet. We had to stop under green and lost a lap plus the chance of being able to fight for victory up to the end. Thats racing. Ill just remember the first 70 percent of this race.” Allan McNish (Audi R15 TDI #7): “Petit Le Mans keeps producing exciting races. Today the fans got to see another great race. After the accident yesterday our guys did a fantastic job of rebuilding the chassis because the car was really good in the race. We were able to fight with the Peugeot cars. They were faster than us at some places and in a certain phase of the race, but the opposite was true too. Unfortunately we had to come in for an unscheduled pit stop and afterwards there were no more cautions that would have made it possible for us to make up the lost lap again. But on the whole we were completely competitive here today and probably gave Peugeot something to think about. Weve gained self-confidence and learned more things that well have to work on back home in Ingolstadt.” Marcel Fässler (Audi R15 TDI #9): “I had a good start and found a good rhythm in traffic. I saw that Allan (McNish) was a lot more aggressive, especially at the beginning. But youve got to develop a feeling for this first. For me the race was okay on the whole even though we were a bit unfortunate with the incidents. Weve still got to improve some more compared with our competition. But weve got a good base and know where to make some adjustments.” André Lotterer (Audi R15 TDI #9): “I was surprised by the Porsche braking slightly in the valley. I had to get out of the way and got onto the dirt. I hit the curbs with one wheel and then ended up in the grass. The front of the car was pretty heavily damaged in the process. Afterwards it was relatively difficult to get away from the hill. Fortunately, I made it. The team did a great and really fast job of repairing the car so we were at least able to finish the race. Still, Im very sorry that this happened. We would have liked to have fought for victory all the way through to the end.” Benoît Treluyer (Audi R15 TDI #9): “It was fun, I really enjoyed the track. Its a shame that we had this problem because the car was good. All three of us were very fast and could have achieved a good result. Traffic was really heavy. Just getting off the line by 50 centimeters could spell deep trouble. The mechanics did a great job of repairing the car so well and so quickly. Our R15 TDI was just as good after the accident as it had been before. The team is really tremendous. Its a shame it wasnt rewarded with the result it would have deserved.” Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): “Its really a shame for the team. After all this work it would have deserved a better result. Up to the midpoint it was a very open race. As expected, Peugeot was a little faster, but not that much. After each pit stop we came out on the track again in first place. Well done to our squad for that too! That was a really a strong showing. It made it possible for us to keep the race open. With car number 9 the crunch point of course was Andrés (Lotterer) accident. That was bad. But I take my hat off to them for clinching sixth place after all. With the other car the problem was in fact Dindos helmet. Ive never seen such a crazy thing happen before. Apparently, the new inflatable padding that is now required in the helmet was at fault. In any case, he couldnt see anything anymore. From that moment forward both Peugeot cars were one lap in front of us and were able to play with both cars under the yellow flags and we couldnt catch them any more. In the end we suffered a puncture after an incident of body contact to top it off, but that didnt affect the result any more.” Results
LMP1 manufacturers championship after 2 of 3 rounds:
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