The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain was the venue of the multi-day trial designed to set up systems, test tyres and optimise the interaction between the V8 Turbo engine and the hybrid components as per the regulations. Newly hired Porsche works drivers Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron took part in the exercise.

“The successful tests in Barcelona were an enormously important step,” said Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomas Laudenbach. “During our first laps on our test track in Weissach, it was critical to ensure that the basic functions of the LMDh prototype worked. In Spain, we saw the entire scope of development: endurance runs, setup work and, very importantly, the optimisation of the interaction between all partners involved in this project. I found it very impressive how quickly the employees from Porsche, Penske, Michelin, Multimatic and others came together as a unit,” he added.

“We completed the first tests on a ‘real’ racetrack and managed to more than double the previous mileage of the new Porsche LMDh to over 2,000 kilometres,” said Urs Kuratle, Head of the Hypercar programme. “Including our partners, more than 70 people were at the track. From an organisation viewpoint, that was another challenge. We’ve made major progress not only with the car but with the operational cooperation and processes within Porsche Penske Motorsport. But we still have a long way to go before we’re where we want to be.”   

“We made great progress from day to day during these tests,” enthused Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. “The feedback from the drivers, the engineers and the team was consistently positive. We’re the first to put an LMDh vehicle through its paces in test mode. This gives us the chance to systematically sort out every aspect over the coming weeks and months and to take on the competition in 2023 with the best possible preparation.”

Porsche will continue its development programme with the new hypercar at various racetracks in Europe and North America. In the autumn, the car will be homologated before its first race outing in January 2023 at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

DRIVER REACTIONS

Felipe Nasr: These were my first laps in the car – a terrific experience. Although the car is brand new, we managed to cover a lot of kilometres. We could even begin the setup work and tyre tests. My impression of the vehicle is positive and I’ll leave Barcelona with a smile. I was very much looking forward to these first runs. Now I got the chance to finally work with the Porsche Penske Motorsport team, take the wheel and step on the gas. It was a very special experience for me and makes me excited for everything to come in the future.

Dane Cameron: I climbed into the car for the first time a good fortnight ago in Weissach. That was primarily about functional tests. The progress that’s been made up to our first laps at Barcelona is impressive. During the test days, we made consistent progress. Each day we managed to cover more mileage and the performance improved noticeably. Of course, at this early development stage, it’s not about pushing to the very limit. On the contrary: our approach is very conservative. Based on this, my impression is extremely positive, because there is still an incredible amount of potential to further improve our new car.

See the photo gallery below for pictures from the test.