A word from Chris Reinke, Audi Head of LMP

Audi successfully defended its two titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) this year. You were responsible for the program as Head of WEC for the first time. Did you expect this success? “Something like this can’t be planned, but it was obviously our aim. And it’s a dream to have finished so many races in such a commanding way. These results reflect a convincing team performance which covers a much longer time span than one racing season.

The races are run over a period of seven months. But for us, this marks the conclusion of a much longer process of preparing a race car generation. Even though the current Audi R18 e-tron quattro was the ‘evolution of a revolution,’ the work in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm started long before the 2013 season. As a result, we were able to enter a well-engineered car together with Audi Sport Team Joest.”

The two driver squads presented themselves in a well-balanced form and each clinched three victories. How do you rate your share in this success? “Competition is good for business. Our competitor is strong and we decided not to strategically position our two cars but to let them compete against each other. This way, we’re driving the performance potential of each driver squad to the max. While they jointly competed for Audi they didn’t give each other the slightest break on track. That has paid off.”

No other motorsport discipline promotes technological innovation as much as the WEC does. Audi’s hybrid sports car has won ten of its 16 runs. How do you assess this ratio? “It makes us proud to compete against a manufacturer like Toyota that has great experience in the hybrid drive segment, and to win. Audi clearly positions itself with sustainable technologies such as e-tron or ultra lightweight – in production cars and in racing. On the race track, a success rate is the most objective measure. And this rate speaks a clear language.”

The spectators are now in for a winter break but your squad isn'’t... “There’s no such thing as a break. The development of a new project in parallel to a racing season demands a lot of energy. While the previous Audi R18 e-tron quattro is now starting its well-deserved retirement we’re concentrating all our energies now on the new project after the end of the season. The new regulations represent an unknown level of complexity. We can look forward to a thrilling season.”

Audi