Porsche 919 Hybrid prototypes for Le Mans: impressive in test run

The new Porsche 919 Hybrid showed a lot of promise in a recent test at the prologue to the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Circuit Paul Ricard, which covered a total of 4,188 kilometers.

At the presentation of the new prototype, Porsche announced the switch to the highest energy recovery category of 8 megajoule, a feat no other manufacturer has done before.

A three-color concept for Le Mans was also unveiled. Porsche will start with a white, a red and a black 919 Hybrid.

At the other seven World Championship rounds, all the cars will be white.

At the two-day Prologue, which has established itself as a joint test and fan event to kick off the season, the two works driver trios were on duty: Timo Bernhard of Germany, Brendon Hartley of New Zealand and Mark Webber of Australia, as well as Romain Dumas of France, Neel Jani of Switzerland and Marc Lieb of Germany.

After every session, a Porsche 919 Hybrid was on top of the time sheets.  Jani set the overall fastest lap time of the Prologue in 1.37,220 minutes.

In bright sunshine and mild ambient temperatures, it was only some very strong winds that hampered testing.

Fritz Enzinger, LMP1 vice president, summed up after the first meeting of the entire WEC field: “For sure we have got a very fast car. But we are also leaving Paul Ricard impressed by the performance of the competition on longer runs.“

Team principal Andreas Seidl said: “All LMP1 cars have made huge progress compared to 2014. Such a step from Year 1 to Year 2 was to be expected, considering how new and how open these regulations are. For us, it was important to practice and double-check all procedures with two cars and all drivers before the first race. All the drivers managed a good mileage and had the chance to again familiarize themselves with the traffic in daylight and at night. Despite the heavy winds on day one, we’ve almost ticked off our entire program.”

“It was good to meet the competition at the Prologue, and we were able to identify areas which we need to improve. I think the Silverstone circuit might suit others better than us. The various car concepts have individual strengths, but nevertheless the competition is very tight and exciting. In 2014, the Silverstone six hours was the first race of our learning season. This year, I have a top position in the World Championship in my mind, ” said Bernhard.

“We have improved in all areas, but the others have as well. It will be very close racing in Silverstone. I love racing there. In 2014, this was my first event as a Porsche works driver and we got a podium straight away. I am a big fan of Copse Corner. It is a very high-speed corner, and you have to be quite brave,” said Hartley.