Audi starts from second row in Bahrain

In the final qualifying session in Bahrain, Audi experienced an emotional roller-coaster. Initially, André Lotterer in the number ‘1’ Audi R18 e-tron quattro managed to set the fastest time before his lap was beaten by only 80 hundredths of a second. At the end of his two laps, he occupied second place in front of his team-mate Loïc Duval in the sister car designated as number ‘2.’

Marcel Fässler took over car number ‘1’ from Lotterer but on used tires was unable to counter the pace of the two fastest rivals. Allan McNish, who took over the cockpit from Duval, was running about a tenth of a second behind his team-mate on his two laps. As a result, the two hybrid sports cars from Audi Sport Team Joest qualified for grid positions three and four. In the aggregate of all qualifying sessions, Audi, in the 2013 season, achieved the top spot on the grid five times and challenger Toyota did so three times.

With track temperatures of 27 degrees centigrade it became clear in qualifying that the tires by partner Michelin will be decisive on the 5.412-kilometer track on Saturday. The spectators in Bahrain can look forward to a strategically exciting 6-hour race that promises a particular visual thrill in conditions of darkness from about 17:00.

The finale starts on Saturday at 15:00 local time (13:00 CET). The race can be watched on the internet by live streaming at www.audi-motorsport.com and www.fiawec.com. In Germany, a one-hour broadcast on Eurosport 2 will start at 18:00, followed at 21:30 by a 45-minute summary report on Eurosport.