World Endurance Champions Crowned in Vienna

Photo: FIA

Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb and Porsche collected their World Championships Friday evening in Vienna, as part of the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony.

The trio, who also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, were honored, alongside the second and third place overall finishers of the Drivers’ World Championship, as well as the GTE championship-winning Aston Martin Racing pairing of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen.

Porsche claimed the Manufacturers’ World Championship for the second consecutive year, following victories in six of the nine races, including two by the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid.

Both Dumas and Lieb were announced last week as not returning to the Porsche LMP1 squad next year, with the German manufacturer set to announce its revised lineup tonight at its awards dinner in Stuttgart.

Runner-up finishers in the 2016 championship, Audi’s Loic Duval, Lucas Di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis, plus the Toyota Gazoo Racing trio of Stephane Sarrazin, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway, were also recognized on stage.

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, meanwhile, was also in attendance, in his final event as Head of Audi Sport, prior to the transition to Dieter Gass next year.

A new-for-2016 award, the President’s Award, was given to quad-amputee Frederic Sausset, who became the first Garage 56 entrant to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a specially adapted Morgan LMP2 car.

“Frédéric Sausset has proved that with absolute determination and passion one can attain unbelievable results,” said FIA President Jean Todt.

“His participation in the Le Mans 24 Hours proves that any barrier, any obstacle can be overcome if the will to do so is strong enough.”

Champions in all FIA-sanctioned series, including Formula One, the World Touring Car Championship and World Rallycross Championship, were also honored.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John