Motorsport: Will Marcel Fässler make history at Le Mans?
The Audi drivers Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer form the most successful trio in the World Endurance Championship. On Sunday, they could make history at Le Mans. Most of the total of 180 drivers, who are spread across the 60 teams in teams of three, have been at Le Mans since last weekend. The excitement is mounting as the [...]
Most of the 180 drivers, who are divided into teams of three among the 60 teams, have been at Le Mans since last weekend. The excitement is mounting when the qualifying sessions are about the distribution of grid positions (TV live on Eurosport 1). It then reaches its climax on Saturday at 3 p.m. when the 84th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans gets underway. Marcel Fässler: "The tension builds for a week. You know, like a tennis player at Wimbledon, that you only have one chance a year."
The man from Schwyz, who turns 40 on May 27, has already won the race three times. As the first Swiss in the history of the race, which was first held in 1923, Fässler won at Le Mans in 2011 and followed it up the following year. The third triumph followed in 2014, and with second place in 2010 and third in 2015, Fässler already has six placings on the overall winners' podium. Always at his side were André Lotterer (34) and Benoît Tréluyer (39). Never before has the same trio managed to win this classic four times - so the Swiss, the German and the Frenchman could write another chapter in Le Mans history on Sunday.
The team has been working since its first
"Although we are completely different types in terms of character, it has worked since our first race together with Audi in 2010. After the first race at Sebring in 2010 we went to Miami and spent two days together. The chemistry was right from the start. But it's difficult to explain why this is so," muses Marcel Fässler. One reason is certain: they are not simply teammates like others, but friends. Only this won't be the deciding factor at the weekend. Marcel Fässler: "Each of the three LMP1 manufacturers is about equally strong, so reliability will decide. Whereas we at Audi have the disadvantage of only being able to do 13 laps on one tank of fuel because of the smaller amount of fuel that a diesel turbo is entitled to, whereas Porsche and Toyota can do 14. But when I see that all six factory cars had their problems in the first two 6-hour races, then you can still win if you don't lose too much time for repairs in the pits."
AutoSprintCH will once again offer a live ticker for the exciting race on Saturday and Sunday, so you can keep up to date with all the action at a glance.
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Photos: Audi Sport
