Audi bounced back to victory lane for the first time since Circuit of The Americas last year with Marcel Fassler, Benoit Tréluyer and Andre Lotterer becoming the latest names to be added to the impressive roll of honor on the base of the 110 year old Tourist Trophy at Silverstone.

The opening round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship was a classic with Audi, Porsche and Toyota all showing race-winning pace.

After the pole-winning Porsche of Mark Webber fell out with gearbox issues, the race eventually evolved into a battle between the No.7 Audi and the No.18 Porsche with Neel Jani at the wheel.

Even a late race stop-go penalty for Fassler in the dying minutes of the race was not enough to take Audi off the top spot. The Audi was penalized for exceeding track limits as the LM P1 machines sliced their way through traffic.

“I must say this (the battle with Jani) was one of the best fights I have had in my whole career and I really enjoyed this whole race today,” Fassler said.

“I have to say it was pretty fair from Neel who gave space and I think we raced well together. I must say it was a bit annoying him passing me on the straights like that! It was really a nice race to drive and I think what we showed today was great.”

While Porsche showed extreme straight-line speed, their pace was not enough to unseat Audi from first place.

“I definitely enjoyed the race with Marcel today, especially as I know we can trust each other driving side-by-side without actually touching,”Jani said.

“Obviously I couldn’t avoid smiling on the straights each time I went by him! I think at the beginning we struggled a little bit with brake temperature issues but we got it back under control and it started to get better and better and I could pick up the pace. For sure it was a great sportscar race and all three manufacturers are all very close. We have to push because it is a six-our sprint race.”

In LM P2 the Nissan-powered Ligier combination was the car to have with G-Drive Racing dominating with a 1-2 finish. American squad Patrón Racing ESM of Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel and David Heinemeier Hansson  finished third on the road but suffered a post-race penalty elevating Strakka Racing’s new Dome chassis into third place.

Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander scored a hard-earned victory in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari in the GTE Pro class while the AM victory went to Aston Martin Racing’s Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda and Pedro Lamy.