Porsche has won Le Mans a record 16 times. It’s return to the LMP1 category in 2014 brought with it a wave of nostalgia. Xcar ran with that and made this 25 minute video which they have declared is “the definitive history” of Porsche at Le Mans.
[Thanks to John for the tip]
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.
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.
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.â€
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.