Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer believes that winning the World Endurance Championship title this year means more 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, suggested that his second world crown conveys more prestige than the maiden triumph secured in the inaugural season of the reborn WEC.
“There is more recognition for such an achievement in today’s circumstances,” Lotterer told Motorsport.com.
“You have to look at how the championship has come a long way.
“A lot of manufacturers have come, and they haven’t come just to participate — everyone has come to win.
“The competition now and the Balance of Performance that levels the field means the execution, operation and strategy, doing the perfect job through the season, is what is rewarded.
“I would say it is quite meaningful.”
Race winners #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Marcel Fässler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer and #2 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish crosses the line
Photo by: Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images
Lotterer stressed that he wasn’t necessarily picking this year’s Hypercar title with the Porsche 963 LMDh over his 2012 success with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 as a more significant highlight of his career.
“I wouldn’t say it means more to me, it’s just different,” said Lotterer, who is leaving the PPM squad for next season after Porsche’s decision to reduce its full-season driver line-up to two drivers.
“But we were quite dominant in 2012 and there wasn’t that much competition if i am honest.”
LMP1 newcomer Toyota was Audi’s only factory rival that season after it made a late decision to undertake more than a limited number of development races, its original plan following Peugeot’s withdrawal shortly before the start of the season.
Lotterer suggested that the world title should no longer be viewed as the poor relation to victory at Le Mans.
While Porsche won the drivers’ title this year with Lotterer, Estre and Vanthoor, it could manage a best finish of fourth in the 92nd running of Le Mans.
“Previously in LMP1, Le Mans was the thing everyone wanted; it was all about Le Mans back then, he explained.
He added that back in the early years of the WEC revival “you kind of thought you’d lost the season” with a failure to win at Le Mans.
He described winning Le Mans with co-champions Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler as the “heroic part” of a WEC campaign in 2012 that included a further two victories and four podiums.
That is a reference to the Lotterer and his team-mates coming out on top in the battle with the sister Audi driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello despite the failure of hybrid system on their R18 early in the race.
Lotterer, 42, has no intention of retiring after losing his PPM drive with the end of his contract.
He revealed before the Bahrain 8 Hours that he is in talks with Porsche about a possible new role and is also in contact with other manufacturers.