PORSCHE TEAM (DEU)

Vice president LM P1: Fritz Enzinger
Technical director: Alexander Hitzinger
Bases: Weissach and Flach (GER)
www.porsche.com

2015 FIA WEC results:

World endurance Manufacturers Champion  LM P1 (344 points - 6 victories)

FIA WEC results  2016:
6 Heures de Silverstone : 1e Dumas/Jani/Lieb (FRA/CHE/DEU), Porsche 919 Hybrid n°2 ; Abd, Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (DEU/NZL/AUS), Porsche 919 Hybrid n°1.
6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps WEC : 2e Dumas/Jani/Lieb (FRA/CHE/DEU), Porsche 919 Hybrid n°2 ; 27e Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (DEU/NZL/AUS), Porsche 919 Hybrid n°1 (8e LM P1).

In 2014 Porsche made its comeback to top-level motor racing with the 919 hybrid which uses avant-garde technologies. The German manufacturer entered two cars for the full FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Le Mans 24 Hours, which was obviously the high point of this eagerly-awaited return. Porsche has forged a legend in the Sarthe that is the envy of car manufacturers everywhere with 16 outright victories since 1970, the year of its first overall win with the fabulous 917 prototype.

Sixteen years after its last success with the 911 GT1 98 driven by Aiello-McNish-Ortelli that beat Toyota, Matthias Müller, President of the Porsche AG Steering Committee, explained why the make chose endurance and its revolutionary regulations to return to top-class motor sport: “it’s not the quickest car that’s going to win, but the one that makes the best use of a given quantity of energy. It’s a challenge that the whole car industry has to face. The 919 hybrid is going to play the role of a high-speed research laboratory. It’s the most complex racing car that Porsche has ever built!”
Porsche recruited numerous engineers to renew with victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The team entrusted with the new LM P1 has increased from 5 to over 200 people under the responsibility of Fritz Enzinger, the LM P1 programme vice-president. Since the launch of the project in 2011 baptized ‘Mission 2014, the return,’ Porsche has built a new complex entirely devoted to the 919 in Weissach in Germany where all the make’s sports cars have been developed. The new LM P1 regulations give the engineers vast scope to exercise their imagination in the creation of avant-garde technologies based on hybrid systems. Porsche has opted for a small cubic capacity engine, a choice which, linked to lightweight cars, is a strong driving force for the German manufacturer in its vision of the development of the future generations of sports cars that have forged the make’s reputation and success.

The first 919 hybrids with their original livery using part of the slogan “Porsche Intelligent Performance” was unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2014 alongside the new Porsche 911 RSR (see LM GTE Pro category), which will continue to defend the make’s colours in the GT category run by Porsche Team Manthey.

 

     

     On 12th June 2013 the 919 Hybrid turned a wheel for the first time on the Weissach test track. Porsche started from a clean sheet and had to create everything: machines, material, components, driver simulator, etc. The 919 was designed in record time under the eagle eye of technical director Alexander Hitzinger and a team of more than 100 engineers. Since the end of 2013 the Porsche team multiplied test sessions and simulations at Magny-Cours, Monza, Paul Ricard, the EuroSpeedway, Lausitz and Portimao. Two other tests were carried out in Bahrain and Sebring in 2014 to ensure that the cars would line up for the first two races of the FIA WEC in the best possible conditions before the 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours.

     Andreas Siedl, the Porsche team manager, was able to count on two former Porsche Juniors who had won the Le Mans 24 Hours, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, to create the core of his driver line-up for the 919 hybrids. Swiss Neel Jani was recruited in the summer of 2013 followed by high media profile signing Australian Mark Webber in the autumn. After the December tests young New Zealand hotshoe Brendon Hartley, and Marc Lieb, another official Porsche driver, who had scored numerous victories for the make in GT, in particular at Le Mans, were enrolled in the LM P1 programme. “A very strong team,” as Wolfgang Hatz, the research and development manager in Porsche AG, which was following every step of the project, pointed out.
The little 2-litre V4 turbo engine in the 919 Hybrid developed by Porsche and equipped with a turbine harvesting the thermal energy of the exhaust gases was a major innovation in the LM P1 category. In comparison Toyota and Audi decided to increase the cubic capacity of their engines to lower the rev limit at which the optimal power output was available. The second hybrid system of the 919 Hybrid harvested and released the energy on the front drive train. A liquid-cooled lithium ion battery pack stored the energy recovered by the two hybrid systems so the 919 Hybrid gave its driver 4-wheel drive in the acceleration phase.

     Porsche’s choice proved very competitive, in particular at Spa where one of the 919 Hybrids set pole and then led the race before falling back. While Porsche stated that 2014 was a learning year, the German firm is a natural born competitor and had every intention of getting involved in the battle for victory in the Sarthe between Audi and Toyota, two manufacturers who could count on their experience in the LM P1 category in the Le Mans 24 Hours. It was obvious that Porsche was well prepared as proved by the 1053 pit stop simulations (refuelling, tyre changes) carried out in 2013! However, it wasn’t enough and although the two 919s were very quick they ran into several problems that prevented them from scoring a good result even if, towards the end of the race, the one driven by Bernard-Webber-Hartley took the lead briefly before its engine failed. The other car of Dumas, Lieb and Jani was classified in 11th place.

The team’s continuous hard work eventually paid off with a win at the last race of the season in São Paulo. It was a fitting reward and encouraged them to burn the midnight oil during the winter months to develop the 2015 challenger. Up to 90% of the 919 Hybrid’s parts were changed between 2014 and 2015 to iron out issues such as weight, unreliability and excessively worn tyres.

     The beginning of the 2015 season didn’t live up to expectations. The 919 Hybrids performed well at both Silverstone and Spa, taking the first line on the grid, but Audi won both races. Having shone in the qualifying sessions at Le Mans, with Neel Jani setting a new course record, Porsche pulled off a flamboyant 17th Le Mans win with its three most novice drivers, Bamber, Hülkenberg and Tandy. Only Tandy had driven at Le Mans before, in the GT class. Dumas, Jani and Lieb had brake trouble throughout the race. However, Bernhard, Hartley and Webber came in second, making the race a particularly memorable one for Porsche. The goal was to win within three years. Mission accomplished after two.

The 2015 season continued in a similar vein, with the German constructor taking pole position and first place at every WEC race and therefore logically clinching both constructor and driver (Bernhard/Hartley/Webber) world championship titles. Thanks to the innovative concept of the 919 Hybrid, unlike Audi and Toyota, Porsche had no need to develop a completely new car for 2016. The new season began with a win for Dumas, Jani and Lieb at Silverstone, albeit by default, following Audi’s disqualification. However, the reigning world champions were forced to retire after Brendon Hartley crashed spectacularly. He fortunately walked away unscathed but the car was in no state to resume the race.

     At Spa, the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid took pole position yet finished last. Timo Bernhard sustained a puncture and handed over to Mark Webber after the repairs, only for Webber to suffer the same problem. The gearbox mechanism was damaged as a result, meaning a long spell in the pit. Despite the setback, the crew managed to limp to the finish and bank a few precious points. The other car’s hybrid system was found to be faulty on the sixth lap, yet although it was not as fast as its opponents, it was not involved in any race incidents and finished second. Dumas, Jani and Lieb therefore retain the lead in the championship. Next stop, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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