A word from ... Lucas di Grassi

The Brazilian celebrated his first victory with Audi in round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Spa.

Together with Loïc Duval and Oliver Jarvis you achieved your first victory with Audi. Did you expect that at Spa?

In our sport, the rule applies that the race isn’t over until you’ve crossed the finish line. Sometimes you’re unfortunate or make mistakes yourself, but now and then it happens to others – that exactly was the case at Spa. We didn’t have the fastest car, but made no mistakes. After turn one, we were in third place and when a Porsche lost ground we were running in position two for a long time. When the leading Toyota retired, we were in front. After all, endurance racing is also about having staying power.

What did you feel on clinching victory?

It was a tremendous feeling, but this victory had been due for some time. In 2014, Tom Kristensen, Marc Gené and I were in a good position to win the Le Mans 24 Hours, but it wasn’t enough. The year before, at Sebring, we lost victory after 12 hours of racing by only 7.6 seconds. Now we clinched our first winners’ trophy. Hopefully, a lot more of them are going to follow.

You’re contesting the FIA WEC with Audi Sport and the FIA Formula E Championship with Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport. You’ve won three FIA Formula E rounds in the current season, and now have clinched victory in the WEC. Is this your year?

Being in contention for top results in both racing series with strong teams and great race cars means a lot to me. Competing in parallel is something I regard as a gain. For one, it’s about the methodology of managing a limited amount of energy. Even though the technological concepts differ from each other, they make similar demands on us as drivers. For the other, being among the best in both series sharpens your senses and competitive spirit. I’m sure the two programs help improve my own skills, which the teams in the two series I compete in benefit from.