AUTOS AND VEHICLES

WEC Missed Pole Position By A Tenth Of A Second

In qualifying for the final of the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship in Shanghai Allan McNish drove the second fastest lap.

McNish and Kristensen start from second place

In his first round in the Qualifying succeeded Allan McNish in the Audi R18, the e-tron quattro personal best: He needed the 5.451 kilometers long track of Shanghai 1.48,373 minutes. Only Toyota driver Alexander Wurz was later a tenth faster. Thus, Audi achieved a significant increase in the free practice sessions: The day before, the gap between these two teams in the second free practice be 1.1 seconds in the third free practice session in the morning, it was 1.6 seconds.

The second Audi R18 e-tron quattro start Sundays race from the third position. André Lotterer was the start number "1" after a small error in his first lap time 1.3 seconds behind the leader. Then he managed a remarkable comeback: On the same set of tires reduced his deficit to the German one full second to three tenths of a second.

At seasons end, the two driver teams thus achieved a balanced qualifying record: Four times was the number "2" in the internal team compared this year at best, four times the number "1". On five of the eight race weekends Audi conquered the pole position in the field.

With the start of the race on Sunday at 11:00 local time clock, the title fight goes into its final round: Fässler / Lotterer / Tréluyer have in table 16.5 points ahead of Tom Kristensen / Allan McNish. Both teams are fighting for the title in the championship.
Quotes after qualifying

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "Unfortunately we have missed the best time narrowly and taken places two and three after the previous free practice we have worked well and the distances significantly reduced I hope that on Sunday yet.. a small step to succeed. Because our goal is to win the final. "

Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): "The top three cars in the field are beginning to go simultaneously on time hunting the first round of Allan McNish was great I would hardly have thought it possible that we can achieve such a time... We were initially front. Alexander Wurz has the Toyota but improved by two tenths of a second, down one tenth ahead of Allan. André Lotterer had minor difficulties in his first round. Overall, the distances less than expected.s why I am confident that the race. "

Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 2). "Once we optimized our car during training in dry, damp and wet conditions for the race, it was just in qualifying for a fast lap while Allan has a real good time achieved. This was. on this route with their very different curves and an appropriate compromise when anything but easy "

Allan McNish (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 2): "It was a good qualifying and its nice to stand in the front row, the distance to Toyota is down low, the car was well balanced and I could use the tires perfectly.. . With our performance Im happy. Im happy for Audi Sport Team Joest and the fact that we fight to the end for the title. But I am also aware that the race is no easy task ahead of us. "

Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 1): "Third place is not a doomsday The residue of three tenths of a second is not so great We are now starting on the inside lane of the track, which in relation to the first corner is not bad.. . The race lasts for six hours. important is that our pace is right. Times are close.s why Im very confident. "

André Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 1):.. "Qualifying was okay - we were able to improve the car significantly compared to yesterday The distance to Toyota is not very big and I am confident for the race with my own performance, Im not quite happy, because I have made a small mistake at turn 14 and the wheel has blocked the front right. So I lost some time, as the tires were the best. "

Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro # 1): "Since Saturday morning, we have achieved a very good set of our car André Lotterer has in qualifying in his first round unfortunately made a small mistake under braking But qualifying is not as important.. . It is crucial that we have a good car for the race. And just then it looks.s why we are confident for tomorrow."

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