Audi e-tron quattro takes pole position at Le Mans
Posted 15th June, 2012 in Audi, Motorsport | Leave a comment
The innovative R18 e-tron quattro of André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer and has provided Audi with pole position for this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours; a first for a car with hybrid drive.
Lotterer achieved a time of just 3m 23.787 seconds – two seconds quicker than last year’s fastest qualifier – in the #1 car, with Loïc Duval a mere 0.291 seconds behind him in the #3 R18 ultra for the crew including Romain Dumas and Marc Gene. Toyota’s Anthony Davidson spoilt the chance of a one-two-three, meaning Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen had to settle for fourth spot (3m 25.433s) in the #2 R18 e-tron quattro he’s sharing with Dindo Capello and Allan McNish.
“Clinching pole at Le Mans is a cool feeling. Of course a lot can happen in the race but our performance does show that we’ve got a strong car in our R18 e-tron quattro. So my thanks go to the squad that has been working hard for this for a year,” said an ecstatic Lotterer.
Qualifying results
1 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) 3m 23.787 s
2 Dumas/Duval/Gené (Audi R18 ultra) 3m 24.078s
3 Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin (Toyota) 3m 24.842s
4 Capello/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) 3m 25.433s
5 Wurz/Lapierre/Nakajima (Toyota) 3m 25.488s
6 Bonanomi/Jarvis/Rockenfeller (Audi R18 ultra) 3m 26.420s
7 Leventis/Watts/Kane (HPD Honda) 3m 29.622s
8 Prost/Jani/Heidfeld (Lola-Toyota) 3m 29.837s
9 Belicchi/Primat/Bleekemolen (Lola-Toyota) 3m 31.866s
10 Bourdais/Minassian/Ara (Dome-Judd) 3m 33.066s
[Source: Audi Motorsport]
