24 Hours of Le Mans - Happy Birthday to André Lotterer (Audi)!

 

Photo : ADRIEN CLEMENT/XTREM PICS

 

For four years, his success in endurance is indistinguishable from that of his two teammates – and mainly friends – Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer. The trio formed in 2010 after André Lotterer finished seventh at his first 24 Hours of Le Mans in a private Audi R10 TDI. After a second place in 2011, the trio Fässler-Lotterer-Tréluyer has won three of the last four editions, each time under circumstances that command respect: in 2011, after having clinched the pole, Lotterer passed under the checkered flag with only a 13-second lead on the Peugeot of Sébastien Bourdais-Pedro Lamy-Simon Pagenaud, at the end of a stunning chase which began on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. In 2012, he had to do battle with the sister car of Dindo Capello-Tom Kristensen-Allan McNish (13 wins in La Sarthe to their credit at the time!). In 2014, after a turbo-compressor replacement, he snatched up to four seconds a lap from the Porsche 919 Hybrid to take back the lead.

Lotterer has also had a good career in Japan still going strong to this day: his titles in Super Formula (single-seaters, then called Formula Nippon) and Super GT (in 2006 and 2009) series have made him a star in Japan, just like his accomplice, Tréluyer, also crowned in the two disciplines. Last August, Lotterer even competed in his first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Belgium with Caterham…somewhat at home since he grew up near the Spa-Francorchamps circuit! At only 33 years of age, the record of the Germano-Peruvian driver is already very bright, and there is no doubt more wins – and records? – await him at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) of which he won the driver title in 2012…with his favourite teammates, Marcel and Benoît.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), DOWNTOWN, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, FRIDAY JUNE 13 2014, DRIVERS' PARADE. After the frenzied popularity of the Drivers' Parade, André Lotterer (center) and his two friends Benoît Tréluyer (at left) and Marcel Fässler (at right) went on to feel the elation of a third victory in La Sarthe two days later.