Webber raced the first 100 minutes of the six hour day/night event at the same venue he finished twice on the podium as a Formula One driver, and got off the blocks in a tight tussle with the Audi team, which had him slide back to sixth before handing over to team mate Timo Bernhard.

The race then became chaotic, as torrential rain settled in, flooding the course, and the race was halted for around 45 minutes, and this did not help Webber's team's cause, as he raced the final 30 minutes to finish fifth.

But Webber was very happy with the result, with his car suffering only a minor boost technical problem, after mechanical issues hindered his last two races in Spa, Belgium, and Le Mans, France, where he finished with 12th and a crash-out respectively.

Webber's mum Dianne said Mark told her he was happy with the race in tough conditions.

"They're making improvements all the time, and they've got four races to go for the year now," Dianne Webber said.

"He was quite happy with how it went, but he said they have a lot more learning to do."

Webber had a three month break from racing between Le Mans and Austin, but with all of the preparation his team puts into each race, it was hardly a break at all.

On his website, he said during the northern hemisphere summer, his team had spent time making improvements to their vehicle, but he also endured personal fitness, travel, and even rode a 100-mile bike race in Colorado.

"I've got a lot of spare time, on paper!" he said on his website.

"We still keep busy doing stuff at the factory in Weissach [Germany]...I also entered the Leadville 100 in Colorado...bike races help me with the patience factor. You need to be focused on being in good shape right until the end."

Webber's team currently sits in 10th place on the FIA WEC rankings. Their next race will be the six hours of Fuji on October 12.