FIA WEC: Porsche tops Paul Ricard testing ahead of Audi and Toyota

By Johan Laubscher

The official ‘Prologue’ test days of the FIA World Endurance Championship concluded on Saturday. Porsche enforced its dominance at the test days by setting the fastest time in all five test sessions across the two days of testing.

Audi Sport Team Joest was present in France with its two new 2015 Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars. The #7 Audi was driven by Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Treluyer. Audi #8 had the trio of Oliver Jarvis, Loïc Duval and Lucas di Grassi behind the wheel. Porsche and Toyota were also at Paul Ricard, each with two cars. Nissan was absent from the official testing.

Friday saw Audi as the second fastest manufacturer and this result was repeated on Saturday.

Saturday morning’s session was topped by the #17 Porsche 919 Hybrid. The Audi cars finished second and third (#7 and #8), ahead of the #18 Porsche and the two Toyota TS 040 Hybrid cars (#2 and #1).

The final test session was held on Saturday afternoon. The #18 Porsche set the fastest time ahead of the #17 Porsche. Audi placed third and fourth (7# and #8) and Toyota rounded out the top six (#2 and #1).

The overall combined results from the two days of testing saw the manufacturers in LMP1-H finishing in pairs. Porsche stamped its authority in France with a 1-2 result, followed by the Audis and Toyotas.

Overall combined results for LMP1-H
1. #18 Porsche 919 Hybrid - 1:37.220
2. #17 Porsche 919 Hybrid - 1:38.552 +1.332
3. #7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro - 1:39.058 +1.838
4. #8 Audi R18 e-tron quattro - 1:39.354 +2.134
5. #1 Toyota TS 040 Hybrid - 1:39.949 +2.729
6. #2 Toyota TS 040 Hybrid - 1:40.819 +3.599

The results can be seen HERE.

Silverstone will be hosting the season opening six-hour race on 12 April.

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport