This afternoon took place the official presentation of Porsche's latest version at the WEC Prologue at the Paul Ricard circuit. The 2016 919 Hybrid will be looking to successfully succeed the 2015 version that dominated last season, including scoring a one-two at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the world champion title.

Though Porsche did not have to greatly overhaul its model like its adversaries over the winter, still it did not rest on its laurels. Work was done on the suspensions and the transmission, a weight increase to optimize ballast use, aerodynamic modifications, Andreas Seidl's crew tried to maximize what could be without compromising the quality and balance of the whole. "There is always room for innovation, confirmed the team manager during the presentation. We decided upon goals in terms of the development we could achieve. We will see at Silverstone at the opening round if it was enough or not!"

With more than 18,000 kilometers covered throughout the winter, the German manufacturer is going into the championship with confidence looking forward to Le Mans, its main objective of the year. "Because reliability is crucial at Le Mans and it is also one of the biggest challenges, the car is mainly developed in function of the 24 Hours. Even though we want to do well in the championship as well, Le Mans remains the climax of our program."

On this Thursday afternoon before the Prologue, a hint of curiosity on Porsche's part was noticeable in terms of the work done by Audi and Toyota. But manly the German outfit just seemed calm and strong, fully assuming its status as favourite.

Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO