Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer believes that successful the World Endurance Championship title this yr means greater than his 2012 triumph with Audi.
The German, who sealed the crown in Bahrain on Saturday with Porsche Penske Motorsport team-mates Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer, instructed that his second world crown conveys extra status than the maiden triumph secured within the inaugural season of the reborn WEC.
“There’s extra recognition for such an achievement in right now’s circumstances,” Lotterer informed Autosport.
“You need to take a look at how the championship has come a good distance.
“A variety of producers have come, and so they haven’t come simply to take part – everybody has come to win.
“The competitors now and the Stability of Efficiency that ranges the sector means the execution, operation and technique, doing the right job via the season, is what’s rewarded.
“I’d say it’s fairly significant.”
Race winners #1 Audi Sport Crew Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Marcel Fässler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer and #2 Audi Sport Crew Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish crosses the road
Photograph by: Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Pictures
Lotterer burdened that he wasn’t essentially selecting this yr’s Hypercar title with the Porsche 963 LMDh over his 2012 success with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 as a extra vital spotlight of his profession.
“I wouldn’t say it means extra to me, it’s simply completely different,” mentioned Lotterer, who’s leaving the PPM squad for subsequent season after Porsche’s determination to scale back its full-season driver line-up to 2 drivers.
“However we have been fairly dominant in 2012 and there wasn’t that a lot competitors if i’m sincere.”
LMP1 newcomer Toyota was Audi’s solely manufacturing unit rival that season after it made a late determination to undertake greater than a restricted variety of growth races, its unique plan following Peugeot’s withdrawal shortly earlier than the beginning of the season.
Lotterer instructed that the world title ought to now not be considered because the poor relation to victory at Le Mans.
Whereas Porsche received the drivers’ title this yr with Lotterer, Estre and Vanthoor, it might handle a finest end of fourth within the 92nd working of Le Mans.
“Beforehand in LMP1, Le Mans was the factor everybody needed; it was all about Le Mans again then, he defined.
He added that again within the early years of the WEC revival “you sort of thought you’d misplaced the season” with a failure to win at Le Mans.
He described successful Le Mans with co-champions Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler because the “heroic half” of a WEC marketing campaign in 2012 that included an additional two victories and 4 podiums.
That may be a reference to the Lotterer and his team-mates popping out on prime within the battle with the sister Audi pushed by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello regardless of the failure of hybrid system on their R18 early within the race.
Lotterer, 42, has no intention of retiring after shedding his PPM drive with the tip of his contract.
He revealed earlier than the Bahrain 8 Hours that he is in talks with Porsche about a possible new role and can be in touch with different producers.