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, steered 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 this moment’s circumstances,” Lotterer instructed Motorsport.com.
“It’s a must to have a look at how the championship has come a great distance.
“Loads of producers have come, and so they haven’t come simply to take part – everybody has come to win.
“The competitors now and the Steadiness of Efficiency that ranges the sphere means the execution, operation and technique, doing the right job by way of the season, is what’s rewarded.
“I might say it’s fairly significant.”
Race winners #1 Audi Sport Group Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Marcel Fässler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer and #2 Audi Sport Group Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish crosses the road
Photograph by: Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Photos
Lotterer careworn that he wasn’t essentially choosing 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 totally different,” stated Lotterer, who’s leaving the PPM squad for subsequent season after Porsche’s determination to cut back its full-season driver line-up to 2 drivers.
“However we had 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 facility rival that season after it made a late determination to undertake greater than a restricted variety of improvement races, its authentic plan following Peugeot’s withdrawal shortly earlier than the beginning of the season.
Lotterer steered that the world title ought to 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 may handle a greatest end of fourth within the 92nd working of Le Mans.
“Beforehand in LMP1, Le Mans was the factor everybody wished; 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 extra 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 top 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 also be in touch with different producers.