In an authoritative 1-2-3-4 finish Audi win again at last at Spa-Francorchamps. The German marque had not won the event since 2004, with the victory of the Herbert-Davies duo in the R8.

LM P1

If an Audi victory was predictable after the domination of German machines in Free Practice, the crew of Dumas Gene and Duval were not obvious favourites. With the arrival of rain this morning, many observers thought the e-tron quattro would be unstoppable.At the start of the race they were right, since the prototypes #2 and #1 shot ahead in that order. But with the track drying out, the #3 R18 ultra (non-hybrid) seized command. 

Audi recruit last winter, the French driver Loic Duval scored his first win with his new employer. Better yet: Marc Gene, replacing Timo Bernhard at short notice, won on his debut with the manufacturer. The Spaniard, who won at Spa last year with Peugeot, won this race for the third time in his career. Fässler-Lotterer-Tréluyer, Jarvis-Bonanomi and Capello-Kristensen-McNish completed the full house for Audi ..

1. n°3 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST (Audi R18 Ultra) / Dumas (FRA) Duval (FRA) Gené (ESP)
2. n°1 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) / Fässler (CHE) Lotterer (DEU) Tréluyer (FRA)
3. n°4 AUDI SPORT NORTH AMERICA (Audi R18 Ultra) / Jarvis (GBR) Bonanomi (ITA)

LM P2

In LM P2, the race was marked by two accidents causing as many safely car periods. At 18:15, the Norma-Judd went off at Eau Rouge and hit hard into the tyre wall. The driver, Philippe Hazebrouck, was shaken but unharmed. The result will be difficult for the team Extrême Limite Aric who have an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in six weeks. A few minutes before this event, a clash between Perez Companc (Oreca-Nissan) and Tracy Krohn (Italia Ferrari 458) at La Source had already caused the intervention of two safety cars.

However, Simon Dolan and Sam Hancock kept out of trouble. They took the Zytek-Nissan of team Jota to class victory. John Martin, Robbie Kerr and Tor Graves in the Oreca-Nissan finally finished second in class, a good result for the Alan Docking Racing team (ADR) which is back in endurance racing this year (in the 80s, they supported the manufacturer Mazda).

1. n°38 JOTA (Zytek Z11SN - Nissan) / Dolan (GBR) Hancock (GBR)
2. n°25 ADR-DELTA (Oreca 03 - Nissan) / Martin (AUS) Kerr (GBR) Graves (GBR)
3. n°48 MURPHY PROTOTYPES (Oreca 03 - Nissan) / Hughes (GBR) Firth (GBR)

LM GTE Pro

After a breathtaking final lap, Marc Lieb kept his Porsche less than a second ahead of Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni! The German manufacturer, who had not won any race in ILMC last year, can celebrate this victory. The Bruni-Fisichella and Melo-Makowiecki,  Ferraris, completed the podium. Disappointment though for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage which was withdrawn after a gearbox problem.

1. n°77 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON (Porsche 911 RSR) / Lietz (AUT) Lieb (DEU)
2. n°51 AF CORSE (Ferrari F458 Italia) / Fisichella (ITA) Bruni (ITA)
3. n°59 LUXURY RACING ( Ferrari F458 Italia) / Makowiecki (FRA) Melo (BRA)

LM GTE Am

Narac, Armindo and Pons and Ried, Roda and Ruberti completed a great day for Porsche. Perazzini, Cioci and Griffin took third place for Ferrari.

1. n°67 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT (Porsche 911 RSR) / Armindo (FRA) Narac (FRA) Pons (FRA)
2. n°88 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON (Porsche 911 RSR) / Ried (DEU) Roda (ITA) Ruberti (ITA)
3. n°81 AF CORSE (Ferrari F458 Italia) / Perazzini (ITA) Cioci (ITA) Griffin (IRL)

Julien Hergault

Photo : CIRCUIT DE SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS WEC, 5 MAY 2012. Audi R18 Ultra #3.