Category: WEC

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Porsche WEC

Porsche talks us through the 2014 LMP1 regs

Porsche 919 hybrid event

Mark Webber’s racing career doesn’t resume in earnest until late April when the 6 Hours of Silverstone takes place. That gives him plenty of time to get a handle on the LMP1 regulations for the 2014 WEC season.

That job a little easier for Mark, and the rest of us, with this brief video featuring Porsche’s Alexander Hitzinger, Director of Engineering LMP1.

Porsche has already let slip the 919 hybrid will feature a four-cylinder petrol engine, but they’re yet to confirm the approach to be taken with the Energy Recovery Systems. Hitzinger explains the options available.

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Audi WEC

Remember, Allan McNish is one lucky guy!

Allan McNish crash

Racing cars for a living means you’re automatically a lucky guy. But as we know, motorsport is dangerous and that fact was highlighted in spectacular fashion when Allan McNish crashed out of the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans in dramatic style.

We’re glad McNish was able to walk away from that wreckage totally unharmed. We’re also glad he managed to win Le Mans before he retired to finally erase any feelings of regret which may have been lingering since 2011.

You can relive the video of McNish’s accident after the break.

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Audi WEC

Allan McNish retires from competitive motorsport

Allan McNish

Reigning Le Mans winner Allan McNish has announced he will be retiring from motorsport. The Audi factory driver, who also shared the 2013 World Endurance Championship, with teammates Loïc Duval and Tom Kristensen, turns 44 on 29 December and said the time is right.

“I found the ideal moment for myself to bring an end to my LMP sports-prototype racing with Audi,” explained McNish. “Together with my teammates Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval I finished my most successful season in the sports car.

“Having also won the Le Mans 24 Hours, I can’t wish for more than what we’ve achieved this year. I can look back on a fantastic career that has left no aims unfinished and I’m looking forward to new challenges the future holds for me.”

McNish won Le Mans three times: 1998 (Porsche GT1-98), 2010 (Audi R10 TDI) and 2013 (Audi R18 e-tron quattro).

The likeable Scot, who raced in F1 with Toyota in 2002, goes with the blessing of Audi Motorsport and the best wishes of all motor racing fans.

“We appreciate and respect Allan’s decision to retire at the pinnacle of his career,” said Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. “At the same time, this is a parting that is particularly difficult for us. All of us are well aware of Allan’s racing successes.

“We regret that Allan will no longer be contesting any races for us but are happy that he will continue to be associated with Audi Sport and the Audi brand.”

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Porsche WEC

Porsche names its LMP1 car the 919 hybrid

Porsche 919 hybrid event

Porsche held its annual Night of Champions event over the weekend and with that came the news its 2014 LMP1 racecar will be called the 919 hybrid.

Also, as expected, 33-year-old Marc Lieb and 24-year-old Brendon Hartley were named as the final two drivers to form the six-man squad charged with the responsibility of returning Porsche to the LMP1 category.

Porsche 919 hybrid driver line up

Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG, stated: “We are very proud of our strong international driver line-up. Three of the six drivers come from our own Porsche driver squad, two were even Porsche juniors. This is something we are particularly proud of.

“The vehicle name 919 hybrid follows on from the tradition of the Le Mans-winning 917, but it is also with a view to the 918 Spyder, and acknowledges the company’s embarkation into the hybrid future.

“Maximum efficiency in energy consumption is the directive of the new WEC regulations for the works-entered class 1 prototypes – and that is also the direction for the automobile future.”

It’s not known publicly yet which drivers will share the two 919 hybrids, but looking at the lineup of the six should Porsche decide to go with height that could see Mark Webber share his car with Marc Lieb and Brendon Hartley. Which would leave the other 919 with a crew of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani. You’d be happy with that if you were Porsche, you’d think.

In other news Porsche now has a 51% stake in Manthey Racing, a team which has celebrated success at circuits around the globe, notably including 24 hour endurance race victories at Le Mans and the Nürburgring.

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Audi WEC

2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro revealed

2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro

Following its track test at Sebring earlier this week Audi has given us more information on its 2014 WEC LMP1 challenger, the 2014 R18 e-tron quattro.

Powered by a V6 TDI and dual hybrid systems Audi is keen to push its record of transferring race technology to the road. Technology we take for granted now, such as TFSI petrol engines, advanced diesel engines and LED headlights, are just some of the technologies Audi has taken from its LMP1 program to its production lines.

New regulations for the 2014 season have seen Audi further develop its R18 concept and motorsport boss, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, tells us the result is a shift in thinking: “The principles of the LMP1 regulations have fundamentally changed. The idea behind this is to achieve similarly fast lap times as in the past with considerably less energy. Making more out of less: a forward-thinking approach.”

More photos and a host of press material awaits after the break giving us a good run down of what to expect in the 2014 WEC season.

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Porsche WEC

Mark Webber has first drive of Porsche LMP1 car

Porsche LMP1 test with Mark Webber

Mark Webber’s Porsche career began in earnest overnight when had has first test in the 2014 LMP1 racecar at Algarve in Portugal. It was the last track outing for Porsche’s LMP1 car until early January and Mark said it was important to get some seat time as soon as possible.

“My first day in this fascinating project was an intense experience for me,” Mark said. “I would like to thank Red Bull Racing for giving me the chance to join the project so early. This is a major and important step for us all. It allows me to integrate with the team quicker and to contribute to further developing the LMP1 race car.”

Head of Porsche LMP1 Fritz Enzinger explains the team is advancing well, but acknowledges there is much more to do before their race debut in April.

“Between the roll-out of the completely new car in June and now we have made significant progress,” Enzinger said. “Every single kilometre was important, providing us with new data that brought the development forward. The whole team has worked extremely hard and I would like to express my sincere thanks for this. Our efforts will continue unabated in 2014. Until the start of the season at Silverstone mid-April there is still a lot to do.”

Mark also understand the task at hand is a difficult one. “We have a long way to go and it involves a lot of hard work. I have no misconceptions about this,” he added.

Webber joins Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani as confirmed drivers for Porsche’s 2014 program. There will be six drivers in all and the remaining two will be named this weekend. It’s expected long-time Porsche works driver Marc Lieb and former F1 test driver Brendon Hartley will get the nod.

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Audi WEC

Audi previews 2014 LMP1 challenger

2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro

Audi has just released this image of its 2014 LMP1 racecar which will defend its WEC title and Le Mans crown. Clearly Audi has put all the good ideas into the car itself because it’s still called the R18 e-tron quattro. That’s despite some significant changes to the LMP1 category for 2014.

The new R18 is undergoing testing at Sebring International Raceway in Florida and full details of the car will be released on 18 December.

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Audi Motorsport boss, says the team is aiming to get some development miles into its new R18.

“The tests are mainly focused on achieving high mileage, coordinating the highly complex hybrid drive systems and working out an efficiency-optimized total package that has never before been as complex as this one,” Ullrich said.

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WEC

2014 WEC calendar confirmed

2014 Porsche LMP1

Next year the FIA World Endurance Championship is going to be all about Porsche. True, we can probably expect Audi and Toyota to take favouritism as the two most likely to the battle for the title. But when you consider Porsche has had the relative luxury of developing its 2014 LMP1 racecar without the demands of ongoing competition you’d not be surprised to see the 16-time Le Mans winners make a strong early showing.

No doubt the WEC will receive a huge upsurge in coverage here in Australia on the back of Mark Webber‘s return to top line sporstcar racing and we’ll be doing our best to play a part in that role.

Following the FIA’s approval overnight here’s the full calendar of events for the 2014 WEC season, which begins on 20 April with the 6 Hours of Silverstone. The jewel in the WEC crown is, of course, the 24 Hours of Le Mans which will take place on 14–15 June.

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Formula 1 Porsche Red Bull Racing WEC

Mark Webber starts with Porsche on Monday!

2014 Porsche LMP1

In his interview with Formula1.com Mark Webber was asked when he starts working with Porsche. “In January. Before that I will take some time off to detox from Formula One,” was his reply.

The lying scoundrel!

Here’s what his new boss, Matthias Muller, Porsche CEO told News Limited today: “We are very lucky that Mark will join us one day after the Formula One race in Sao Paulo.

“I met him last week when he had the seat fitting. We are very happy to have him.”

Mark is scheduled to have his first test in the 2014 Porsche LMP1 racecar next month and Muller knows the 16 time Le Mans winners will have a tough job ahead of them.

“Of course, we expect that we are competitive but we have to say that with Audi and Toyota we have strong competition. They have a lot of experience,” Muller added.

“We have a very fast car and a very good drivers’ team, so we have to see what happens. Of course, we want to be competitive and we will see during the race whether it is possible to win.”

Rumours suggest Brendon Hartley, former Webber protege and Toro Rosso test driver, could be joining Porsche’s Le Mans assault as well.

[Source: news.com.au]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing WEC

Mark Webber reflects on his F1 career

Mark Webber

Mark Webber spoke with the London Evening Standard recently about the end of his 210+ race Formula 1 career and the new challenge of Le Mans that awaits.

On forging a long career in F1: “When I left Australia I didn’t realise what I could do. Sure, you can do things differently here and there but I’ve had some incredible moments behind the wheel, racing the best guys in the best cars on the best tracks.”

On his near miss for the 2010 world championship: “I didn’t pick the best year to win the world title. It was one of the most special years in that world championship battle and I was in it to the last race. I can be proud of that.”

On the forthcoming F1 rule changes: “There’s huge change in Formula 1 next year and I’m not super stimulated by the changes. So it was great timing—it made the decision easy. I’ve enjoyed it, I’m done.”

On Sebastian Vettel: “Seb and I had our issues but it’s been a great leveller for me. There is no ideal team-mate, well, apart from one that you destroy but that’s only good for your ego. I’ve seen one of the best in the business operate so it’s challenging yet rewarding. I’d like him to have done it in a different period in my career!”

On Le Mans: “F1 was my absolute goal as that was the pinnacle but Le Mans is a classic, big race. It’d be nice to put that with Monaco. There’s a lot of classic, good guys to have won both. It’d be nice to win both, it shows your versatility—that you can do both.”

As usual Mark is open and honest, make sure you use the source link below to read the full article.

[Source: Evening Standard | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Porsche WEC

VIDEO: Porsche LMP1 puts wheels in motion

2014 Porsche LMP1 testing at Weissach

Porsche continues to build momentum for its return to top level endurance racing in 2014 with this video showing off its new LMP1 racecar. For Mark’s sake, let’s hope Porsche can build a better alternator than the Red Bull Racing-Renault combination.

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Porsche WEC

VIDEO: Porsche LMP1 engine development

Porsche LMP1 engine development

Porsche has checked in with this brief video to remind us a) that they’re German and b) that they’re busy working hard on Mark’s new car. That blurry thing in the middle of the screen cap above is their new LMP1 engine. They don’t want us to know how many cylinders they’re using, you see. Crafty buggers, hey.

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