Tag: 919

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Porsche WEC

Webber to race with Bernhard and Hartley

Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley

Mark Webber will race with German Timo Bernhard and Kiwi Brendon Hartley in 2014, according to Autosport.

It’s an interesting mix and certainly the pairing of Webber (182cm) and Hartley (184cm) makes sense as both men are relatively tall. Although, Bernhard (172cm) is quite a bit shorter and will require a seat insert you’d imagine.

That leaves Marc Lieb (182cm), Romain Dumas (174cm) and Neel Jani (172cm) to drive the other 919.

Porsche isn’t expected to officially confirm these lineups until the press conference to launch the 2014 WEC season and 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place.

Meanwhile, testing for the 919 hybrid has resumed. Webber, Bernhard and Dumas were in Bahrain last week putting a pair of cars through their paces. One of the cars is brand new, while the other is the 2013 car.

[Soure: Autosport]

UPDATE: Semi-official confirmation of this news from the GT Porsche twitter account can be seen after the break.

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Porsche WEC

Mark Webber previews his 2014 season

Porsche LMP1 test with Mark Webber

The beginning of 2014 is unfamiliar for Mark Webber in that he’s still got a few weeks left of being able to slam down a few Tim Tams before he needs to be at his racing weight. He explains that and more in Q&A interview on his official website:

Your new season with Porsche will start soon. In F1 the focus of your training was on the neck strength and being as light as possible, how does your training change for the sports car series?
MW: “This is my first season for probably five or six years when I haven’t needed to be on weight by February! Even though we will be doing some pre-season testing with Porsche, the preparation for F1 was different; I had to be on weight right from the start of pre-season testing and my weight control had to be extremely disciplined.

“But, don’t think for one moment I’m going to be overweight in sports cars! I’ll be back at my F1 weight for the start of the championship in April but the WEC season is much shorter with only eight races, so I don’t need to be in that tight weight window for as long as I was in F1. My training regime has changed a bit too; you do quite a lot of specific training for F1; for example, neck training to deal with the high G-forces whereas in sports cars because the lap times are a bit slower, I won’t quite have the load on the body that I used to. Of course, there are lots of things from my training in F1 which are completely adaptable in sports cars, i.e. heat control in hot environments as was the case at some races in Formula One so there are a lot of things I learnt in F1 which I will carry across.”

Follow the source link for the full interview.

[Source: markwebber.com]

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Porsche WEC

Doesn’t he look dashing!

Mark Webber, Porsche factory driver

Porsche has updated its Mission 2014 microsite with bios for all six of its LMP1 factory drivers. This gives us one of the first chances to see Mark Webber in his new racing suit. And doesn’t he look smart. Mum and dad will be so proud!

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Porsche Video WEC

Timo Bernhard talks safety and the Porsche 919

Timo Bernhard

Porsche factory driver Timo Bernhard takes a few minutes to give us a brief overview of the safety features for the LMP1 category and, of course, the his new car Porsche 919 hybrid.

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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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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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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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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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Porsche WEC

Porsche continues LMP1 development

2014 Porsche LMP1

Porsche continues to work hard on its 2014 LMP1 program. It’s only just over two months since we got our first glimpse of Mark Webber’s new wheels and already Porsche says it’s “been completely redesigned”.

Webber’s new teammates, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani have all enjoyed time behind the wheel of the LMP1, with Jani the latest to experience some track time.

Keen to push the racing to road philosophy Porsche says the new LMP1 rules for the 2014 season, which promote fuel efficiency through hybrid technology, will translate to their production models in the future.

Porsche board member Wolfgang Hatz is aware of the proud history the company has with Le Mans, and says they are ready to embrace the challenges ahead. “After 16 years, we once again want to be a works team in the top category with the LMP1 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014. It is also our aim to contest the entire WEC season”, said Hatz.

“Porsche’s legacy of success in long-distances races really spurs us on, but also increases the level of expectation placed on us. However, we are happy to rise to this challenge.”

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Formula 1 Motorsports Porsche Red Bull Racing WEC

OFFICIAL: Webber to race for Porsche in 2014

Mark Webber, 2014 factory Porsche driver

Mark Webber: factory Porsche driver. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think.

Sure, it’s not the most surprising news—over a year since it was first mentioned—but it’s now official that Mark Webber has been signed to drive for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 2014 on a multi-year deal.

Whether multi-year translates to the five-year deal mentioned in April, or a more circumspect two–three year deal is not certain at this stage.

Mark has been a Porsche enthusiast for many years and his expertise and setup skills developed in Formula 1 should be a great boost to Porsche as it prepares for its 2014 LMP1 program.

“It’s an honour for me to join Porsche at its return to the top category in Le Mans and in the sports car World Endurance Championship and be part of the team,” Mark said. “Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level.

“I’m very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula 1. Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world.”

Porsche will run a minimum of two cars for the WEC series, with three likely for Le Mans. Other drivers confirmed for Porsche are Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, and Neel Jani.

Now that Mark’s F1 future is known the race will be on to see who replaces him at Red Bull Racing. Will it be Kimi Raikkonen or one of the Toro Rosso drivers, Daniel Ricciardo or Jean-Eric Vergne?

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Motorsports Porsche

An early look at the 2014 Porsche LMP1

2014 Porsche LMP1 testing at Weissach

On the day Sebastian Vettel extended his deal with the Red Bull F1 team it is quite fitting that the first official photos of Mark Webber’s new car have been published by Porsche today.

Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard was at the wheel for the first test session in the 2014 Porsche LMP1, which took place at the company’s Weissach test facility. Although the timing of the run, so close to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is coincidental Porsche says.

“We are well on schedule,” says Fritz Enzinger, who heads up the LMP1 program for Porsche. “Our newly formed team has worked with utmost concentration on getting this highly complex vehicle on the track as soon as possible. This allows us a few additional weeks for more testing and further development. From 2014, the regulations are primarily based on efficiency. This makes the competition amongst engineers more interesting and presents us with completely new challenges.”

Highlighting its commitment to the chase for outright success at Le Mans and in the World Endurance Championship, Porsche says it has assembled a team of 200 employees to help achieve its goals.

“I’m very proud that I was the one to take our baby through its first paces today,” said Bernhard. “Already now the car feels great. I look forward to testing the vehicle in the coming weeks and months with my friend and colleague Romain Dumas.”

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