Audi’s 24 Hours of Le Mans 2014 conquest did not kickstart very well where their No.1 R18 e-tron Quattro was caught in not one but two accidents before the race itself. Couple that off with Toyota grabbing the pole position and Porsche’s return into the game, Audi will have to pull something from their sleeves to actually make it to the podium. But they did not win 12 endurance racing titles by simply giving up and on 3pm Sunday afternoon, Audi did it again as they clenched their 13th title in winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A contender in the LMP1 category, Audi was joined by Toyota and Porsche in the pursuit to dominate the infamous endurance race. And with Toyota securing the pole position in starting the race, the No.7 Toyota TS040 Hybrid driven by Kazuki Nakajima, Stephane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz even led the first half of the race, until it was plagued by some electrical problems, forcing it to retire.
The downpour over at the Circuit de La Sarthe had also claimed a victim where Audi’s No.3 car was badly damaged and was pulled out from the race. Despite facing a great challenge from the Porsches and the only Toyota left, the two Audi R18s surged through the race and went on winning the 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans with the No.2 Audi the trio of Fassler-Lotterer-Treluyer claiming first place followed by the No.1 Audi of Lucas di Grassi, Marc Gene and Tom Kristensen who finished three laps behind.
Toyota’s surviving No.8 TS040 Hybrid driven by Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Nicolas Lapierre finished the race behind the two Audis having completed 374 laps, securing the third position. Porsche did quite well for their first appearance with the 919 Hybrid. Fielding two cars for the race, the No.14 car encountered a fuel pressure failure that led to its retirement, which was followed by their No.20 car soon after.
