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]
Force India Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg is the first person named to drive the factory Porsche team’s third 919 Hybrid at the 6 Hours of Spa and 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015.
It’s both rare and welcomed to see an active F1 driver taking part in categories such as the World Endurance Championship. We hope the 27-year-old German does well.
“Porsche and Le Mans—this combination probably attracts every race driver,” Hulkenberg said. “I’ve been a Porsche fan for a long time and have been watching their return to the LMP1 class closely.
“The desire grew to drive that car at Le Mans. I am very pleased the 2015 Formula 1 calendar allows for it and I’m grateful to my Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team’s generosity to let me go for it. Now it’s up to me to work hard to satisfy both commitments.”
Team Principal Andreas Seidl explains Hulkenberg will have a steep learning curve in the short-term switch from F1 to WEC and shared sentiments of gratitude towards Force India.
“Having caught the interest of another world class driver like Nico is validation for the job the entire Porsche LMP1 crew had done in our first WEC season,” Seidl said. “Now we will prepare Nico for his new challenges such as dealing with the traffic of the slower GT cars and racing into the Le Mans night.
“We’re looking forward to working with Nico and we want to thank the Sahara Force India F1 Team and team principal Vijay Mallya for loaning him to us.”
Porsche has announced it will run three cars in the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans (13–14 June). Further, in preparation for the 24 hour classic Porsche will also run its three car program prior to Le Mans at the 6 Hours of Spa (2 May).
All six current Porsche LMP1 drivers will remain in 2015, driving for the full WEC season, with no word yet on who will pilot the third car for its two races.
“Our decision to compete with a Porsche works team in the WEC’s LMP1 category proved to be the right one,” said Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board Porsche AG. “This is what we feel at every race.
“The highly demanding motorsport programme contributes directly to the development of future sports cars for the road. For the development and testing of future hybrid systems, you can’t ask for any harder test bench than the World Endurance Championship and especially the Le Mans 24 Hours.
“The same goes for the newly established Porsche LMP1 crew. More than 230 people had to grow together quickly to form a strong team. The human factor is not only crucial for the men at the steering wheel, but for the entire project—and this reflects very much the Porsche philosophy.”
Here’s a short and sweet photographic essay from the the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. There’s a lot of behind the scenes off-track imagery which somehow brings you closer to the action. The black and white images add to the documentary-like feel and the stop animation technique brings it all alive for those of us unable to be there.
The video has been published by Drive and the images are from Camden Thrasher.
Remember that seriously cool Porsche 917 we told you about last month. That’s right, it’s up for auction in a bit over a week. Turns out it has a very cool back story.
Actually, it also turns out the car may no longer be for sale. It’s not currently listed on the website of selling agent Gooding & Company; we’ve fired off an email to see what we can find out.
Anyway, returning to the background of 917-024. It was entered by Porsche in the 1969 Spa 1000km race. It tested at Le Mans, although never raced in anger. After Porsche was finished with it former factory driver Jo Siffert bought the car and then loaned it out for use in the legendary Steve McQueen film Le Mans. Siffert was also used during the making of the film for many of the driving scenes.
In 1970, after filming of Le Mans had finished, the car had reached the end of its useful life. Regulation changes meant the 917 was no longer able to be raced and back then there were no Goodwood Revival or Festival of Speed type meets of any merit to extend the car’s life.
Siffert was killed in a minor race meeting at Brands Hatch in 1971. His 917 remained with his estate until 1978 when it was bought by a French car collector. Unbelievably, by today’s standards, chassis 917-024 then sat in a barn, and idle, for 23 years.
In 2002 the car was discovered by Uwe Meissner, from German-based restorers Modena Motorsport. The 917’s owner had recently passed away and Meissner brokered a deal with the estate to sell it on and found a backer willing to buy and fund the required restoration project.
After the break you can see a short video on the car’s restoration. It was a no expense spared operation! We’ll let you know if we hear back from Gooding & Company, too.
[Source: Car Build Index | Thanks to Tiaan for the tip]
UPDATE 6 August: Here’s the from Gooding & Company: “The car has been withdrawn from the sale. Gooding & Company does not comment on property withdrawn from our auctions.”
The Porsche 917, in Gulf Racing colours, is one of the coolest racing cars ever made. It was incredibly fast and that racing livery is as stunning today as it was over 40 years ago. The 917 even gave Steve McQueen a run for top billing in the movie Le Mans.
In mid-August when Gooding & Company holds its Pebble Beach auction you’ll be able to have your chance to buy this 1969 917-024. Once owned by Jo Siffert it was the first 917 to compete and it was also featured in Le Mans.
Start buying your lottery tickets!
Couldn’t sit down all day Sunday to watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Then fear not because here’s all the best bits put into a three minute video. It’s produced by Michelin so see how many times you can count their logo during the video!
There’s also a bonus clip with just under a minute of close action slow motion footage as well.
Porsche says it has already begun its journey to the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. For the less successful of us out there, Porsche also says it’s okay to be a loser. So long as you have a bloody good crack!
A few days on and Audi’s one-two victory at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans is no less remarkable. This year’s race was a true test of endurance and when the #2 R18 e-tron quattro (Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer) came in to have a new turbo fitted, the sweet taste of champagne would have been the last thing in mind.
Such was the attrition, with Toyota first, and then Porsche, falling by the wayside, that the adage of never giving up proved true and Audi’s thirteenth Le Mans win was the result.
A fantastic result for a team who knows how to win. Further illustrated with the second place finish for the #1 car (di Grassi/Gené/Kristensen). This car also needed its turbo replaced and such is the precision of the Audi crew that they were able to reduce the time in pit lane compared with the repairs to the #2 car.
Audi likes to brag about its efficiency, their pit guys showed that efficiency comes in many forms. Perhaps more than usual Audi’s mechanics have a real stake in this result and it was a thoroughly deserved win for Audi Sport Team Joest.
Race winner André Lotterer summed his team up best: “They know Le Mans and what needs to be done.”
Sometimes things have a funny way of working out. Right now it is understandable that Toyota is bitterly disappointed with its Le Mans fortunes. The team hoped and craved for so much more. And clearly were capable of delivering, too.
Yet, at season’s end the podium place picked up by the #8 TS040 Hybrid (Buemi/Davidson/Lapierre) could prove crucial in deciding the 2014 World Endurance Championship.
Of course, that means little for the crew of the #7 car (Nakajima/Sarrazin/Wurz), who leave with nothing other than the memories of dominating the race for 14 hours.
This was Toyota’s best shot at winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans since its return to the LMP1 category. It’s a shame for them and motorsport that things didn’t go their way.
Porsche’s return at Le Mans was a story of what could have been. For the #20 919 Hybrid (Bernhard/Hartley/Webber) the misfortune of others gave it hope that a fairy tale victory could be theirs.
When Mark took the wheel with around three hours to go spirits were incredibly high and race win was a real chance. At worst, P2 looked to be safe. Alas, less than 30 minutes later their race was over. We watched Mark sitting in the car helplessly while the crew worked to overcome a drivetrain fault and get him back on track. But it wasn’t to be.
The #14 car (Dumas/Jani/Lieb) had fuel flow issues in the first hour which quickly ended any hopes of a strong result. It took nine minutes to fix and the car rejoined towards the back of the field. From there, though, they had a good run for the majority of the race until a gearbox drama brought the car into the garage with a couple of hours to race.
Porsche did get the car back out to cross the finish line, but either the car only had enough steam to make it around for one lap or they made a rookie error with the timing. Due to the fact the car was in the pits for more than 90 minutes they needed to do one full lap (ie. not starting from pit lane) in order to be classified as a finisher.
So despite some very promising signs it was a bit of a bummer and no championship points for Porsche.
The #2 R18 e-tron quattro (Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer) has won an amazing thirteenth victory for Audi at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Providing a formation one-two finish the #1 R18 (Lucas di Grassi, Tom Kristensen, Marc Gené) came home in P2. While the #8 Toyota TS040 (Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre, Sébastien Buemi) finished third.
This was a true test of endurance and all three podium winners spent extended time in the pits with problems.
Porsche has much to be proud of but will be disappointed that neither of its cars were classified finishers.
We’ll have more, including a pictorial update in coming days.