Andre Lotterer breaks into top eight following WEC triumph

29 October 2012

 

Newly crowned FIA World Endurance Champion Andre Lotterer reached an all-time high of eighth in the Castrol EDGE Rankings following the Shanghai season finale.

His team-mates and fellow champions Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer also gained ground, gaining a collective 15 places.

Fassler made the strongest progress, vaulting 10 spots to 13th – just three of his own personal best.

He trails Lotterer only by virtue of the latter’s combined efforts in Formula Nippon both this season and last.

Treluyer meanwhile gained five places and moved to an all-time high of 25th.

His gap to Lotterer is the result of Lotterer’s entry into, and success in, this year’s ILMC round at Zhuhai and the Spa 24 Hours.

All three finished above their main WEC rivals and Audi stablemates Allan McNish (31) and Tom Kristensen (35).

The pair had been in contention for the crown right up until the chequered flag flew at the Shanghai finale.

As Audi’s main stable of drivers all gained ground, so too did the pairing of Alexander Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre, who helped Toyota to its third win of the season.

The duo remain lower in the Rankings due to the fact Toyota’s competitive debut came mid-way through the season at Le Mans.

Despite that, both drivers were able to break into the top 100 as Toyota’s TS030 HYBRID almost as soon as it hit the tarmac.

Lapierre finished the higher of the two, soaring 47 spots to an all time high of 70th.

It is only the second time in his history that he has cracked the top 100.

That was also true for Wurz, who reached his own all-time high of 77th following a 53-place rise.

Wurz’s massive progress also allowed him to jump Toyota team-mate Kazuki Nakajima, whose WEC role has been interrupted by commitments elsewhere, most notably in Super GT.

The 27-year-old former F1 pilot dropped three spots to 78th as a result of missing Shanghai.

That is some way short of his all-time high of 41st, achieved at the start of 2009 in what proved to be his final season in F1 with Williams.

The AUTOSPORT World Driver Rankings are based on drivers' measurable performance over the last 12 months, including everything from their grid position to fastest laps. For further information on how the AUTOSPORT World Driver Rankings scores are calculated, click here.