Nurburgring WEC: Audi closes points gap on Porsche
The #2 Porsche of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb still leads the FIA World Endurance Championship points race after the 6 Hours of Nurburgring, but with a reduced advantage over the #8 Audi of Oliver Jarvis, Lucas di Grassi and Loic Duval.
Photo by: Porsche AG
With five rounds to go, Jani, Dumas and Lieb hold a reduced advantage of 33 points after their fourth place finish in Germany, as Jarvis, di Grassi and Duval gained back six points by coming second.
The best of the Toyotas - the #6 car of Stephane Sarrazin, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway - remains third, 11 points further back after a disappointing sixth place finish at the Nurburgring.
Third place and a bonus point for pole position for Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler in the #7 Audi keeps them in fourth place - albeit without usual teammate Benoit Treluyer, who was absent - ahead of the #13 Rebellion trio Alexandre Imperatori, Dominik Kraihamer and Matheo Tuscher.
The biggest movers are the victorious #1 crew of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber, who jump to eighth overall with their first win of the season.
Overall drivers' standings:
| Pos | Drivers | No./Car | Points |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romain Dumas |
#2 Porsche | 106 | 25 | 18 | 51 | 12 | |||||
| 1 |  Neel Jani |
#2 Porsche | 106 | 25 | 18 | 51 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Marc Lieb |
#2 Porsche | 106 | 25 | 18 | 51 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 |  Lucas di Grassi |
#8 Audi | 73 | - | 25 | 30 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Loic Duval |
#8 Audi | 73 | - | 25 | 30 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Oliver Jarvis |
#8 Audi | 73 | - | 25 | 30 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Stéphane Sarrazin |
#6 Toyota | 62 | 18 | - | 36 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Kamui Kobayashi |
#6 Toyota | 62 |
18 |
- | 36 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Mike Conway |
#6 Toyota | 62 | 18 | - | 36 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | Andre Lotterer |
#7 Audi | 51 | 1 | 10 | 24 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | Marcel Fassler |
#7 Audi | 51 | 1 | 10 | 24 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | Alexandre Imperatori |
#13 Rebellion | 36 | 15 | 15 | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 |  Dominik Kraihamer |
#13 Rebellion | 36 | 15 | 15 | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | Matheo Tuscher |
#13 Rebellion | 36 | 15 | 15 | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 | Benoit Tréluyer |
#7 Audi | 35 | 1 | 10 | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | Nicolas Lapierre |
#36 Alpine | 34 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | Gustavo Menezes |
#36 Alpine | 34 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 |  Stéphane Richelmi |
#36 Alpine | 34 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 |  Brendon Hartley |
#1 Porsche | 28.5 | - | 1.5 | 2 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 |  Mark Webber |
#1 Porsche | 28.5 | - | 1.5 | 2 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 | Timo Bernhard |
#1 Porsche | 28.5 | - | 1.5 | 2 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | Nick Heidfeld |
#12 Rebellion | 25.5 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0.5 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | Nicolas Prost |
#12 Rebellion | 25.5 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0.5 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 | Nelson Piquet Jr. |
#12 Rebellion | 25 | 12 | 12 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
However, thanks to the #1 car's Nurburgring win, Porsche extends its advantage over Audi in the manufacturers race by four points, with Toyota losing more ground in third place.
Manufacturers' standings:
| Pos | Team | Points | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porsche |
164 | 25 | 31 | 71 | 37 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Audi |
129 | 1 | 40 | 54 | 33 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Toyota |
97 | 33 | 10 | 36 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
In the LMP2 category, the #36 Signatech Alpine trio of Nicolas Lapierre, Gustavo Menezes and Stephane Richelmi have stretched out their advantage to 41 points with a third straight class win at the 'Ring.
Second place for the #43 RGR entry of Bruno Senna, Ricardo Gonzalez and Filipe Albuqerque meanwhile moves them up to second ahead of G-Drive men Rene Rast and Roman Rusinov, whose title ambitions have taken a hit with a non-score in Germany.
Trophy for LMP2 drivers:
| Pos | Drivers | No./Car | Points | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolas Lapierre |
#36 Alpine | 112 | 12 | 25 | 50 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Gustavo Menezes |
#36 Alpine | 112 | 12 | 25 | 50 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Stéphane Richelmi |
#36 Alpine | 112 | 12 | 25 | 50 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Bruno Senna |
#43 Ligier | 71 | 25 | 12 | 16 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Ricardo Gonzalez |
#43 Ligier | 71 | 25 | 12 | 16 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 |  Filipe Albuquerque |
#43 Ligier | 71 | 25 | 12 | 16 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 |  Roman Rusinov |
#26 Oreca | 65 | 16 | 11 | 37 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | René Rast |
#26 Oreca | 65 | 16 | 11 | 37 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | Pipo Derani |
#31 Ligier | 59 | 18 | 18 | 8 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | Ryan Dalziel |
#31 Ligier | 59 | 18 | 18 | 8 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 |  Chris Cumming |
#31 Ligier | 59 | 18 | 18 | 8 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | Nick Leventis |
#42 Strakka | 46 | 10 | - | 24 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | Jonny Kane |
#42 Strakka | 46 | 10 | - | 24 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - |
In the GT category, the points lead of the #66 Ford of Stefan Mucke and Olivier Pla is down to just two points after the Nurburgring, with the #71 Ferrari of Sam Bird and Davide Rigon closing the gap with their second place finish.
The #95 Aston Martin duo Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorenson are only a further three points behind, while victory for the #51 Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni and James Calado has moved them to within 28 points of the class-leading Ford.
Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas, who share the #83 Ferrari, lead the way in the GTE-Am class on an identical overall GT points total to the #51.
Cup for GT drivers:
| Pos | Drivers | No/Car | Points | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Mücke |
#66 Ford | 72 | 10 | - | 50 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Olivier Pla |
#66 Ford | 72 | 10 | - | 50 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Sam Bird |
#71 Ferrari | 70 | 26 | 26 | - | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 |  Davide Rigon |
#71 Ferrari | 70 | 26 | 26 | - | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 |  Marco Sorenson |
#95 Aston Martin | 67 | 15 | - | 36 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Nicki Thiim |
#95 Aston Martin | 67 | 15 | - | 36 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | Darren Turner |
#95 Aston Martin #97 Aston Martin |
61 | 15 | - | 36 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | Billy Johnson |
#66 Ford | 60 | 10 | - | 50 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 | Richie Stanaway |
#97 Aston Martin | 55 | - | 15 | 30 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 |
|
#97 Aston Martin | 45 | - | 15 | 30 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | Jonathan Adam |
#97 Aston Martin | 45 | - | 15 | 30 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 | Gianmaria Bruni |
#51 Ferrari | 44 | 18 | - | 1 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 | James Calado |
#51 Ferrari | 44 | 18 | - | 1 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | François Perrodo |
#83 Ferrari (A) | 44 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | Emmanuel Collard |
#83 Ferrari (A) | 44 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | Rui Aguas |
#83 Ferrari (A) | 44 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 | Richard Lietz |
#77 Porsche | 38 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 | Michael Christensen |
#77 Porsche | 38 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
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