Audi 1-2 at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans

  • Jun 17, 2014
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After a remarkable turn of events, Audi once again took top honours in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans Race

Audi wins 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans

Despite not having a phenomenal qualifying session, a tough fight in the race with the Porsche and Toyota, and to make things worse - issues with the turbocharger, Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer drove an extraordinary race to bring Audi its 13th 24 Hours of Le Mans win. It was the trio’s third and Audi’s fifth consecutive victory in the legendary race.

But it wasn’t all easy for Audi this time round. With Toyota taking pole and Porsche too proving to be in the run for the win, Audi seemed to be the underdogs in this year’s race; at least in the first half. But as the race progressed, Toyota was plagued with electrical issues which unfortunately put it out of contention for the title. Fortune favoured Audi as the Porsche 919 of Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Heartley that was in the lead on the 22nd hour suffered from issues with its drivertain. Audi then took the lead and an eventual victory in the 82nd edition of the endurance race.

Porsche at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans

Audi, Toyota and Porsche, each had a different approach to the energy recovery system that cuts fuel usage by up to 30 per cent. Porsche almost seemed to have nailed it with the 919, which had the edge in pace but it didn’t prove as reliable as the Audi. The No.1 Audi of Tom Kristensen, Marc Gene and Lucas di Grassi took the second step on the podium and that even after the car was completely wrecked and rebuilt a day prior to the qualifying session. The No.8 Toyota TS040 Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Nicolas Lapierre took the final spot on the podium.

Following a decent performance in qualifying, securing sixth place in the LMP2 class, Indian driver Karun Chandhok was forced to retire from the race. The Murphy prototypes team started off well with rookie Nathanaël Berthon behind the wheel and managed to maintain good pace as Chandhok and Rodolfo Gonzalez took the wheel after. But in his second stint Berthon reported some steering issue over the radio which couldn’t be fixed forcing the team to call it a day. 

Karun Chandhok at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans

Simon Dolan, Harry Tincknell and Oliver Turvey driving for the Jota Sport team won in the LMP2 class after going round the Circuit de La Sarthe 356 times. In the LMGTE Pro category Gianmaria Bruni, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander were the first to take the chequer. Aston Martin Racing with David Heinemeier Hansson, Kristian Poulsen andNicki Thiim won the LMGTE Am class.

54 cars were on the gird in the the 82nd edition of Le Mans, but after 15 retirements and three not being classified, only 36 took the chequered flag at the end of 24 hours.

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