Porsche faces the double challenge of the “Super Sebring”

“A real festival”, c’est ainsi que Thomas Laudenbach, vice-président de Porsche Motorsport, a qualifié le rendez-vous de Sebring. Pour la première (et unique) fois cette saison, Porsche va jouer sur deux tableaux dans les catégories reines de l’Endurance. On Friday, two Porsches will be at the start of the 1000 Miles of Sebring for the opening round of WEC. On Saturday, two other Porsches will be entered for the 12 Hours of Sebring, second round of the championship IMSA after Daytona.

Twice as much data… for twice as many problems?

Two events and 20 hours of racing: an unprecedented challenge for Porsche-Penske. “Our team will be put through a sort of stress test at Sebring, believes Urs Kuratle, director of the Motorsport department of the LMDh project. The teams from Mannheim, Mooresville and Weissach will do everything to win with our Porsche 963. Extremely difficult and exciting days await us in Florida. This will be the first time we meet our competitors in the Hypercar category in WEC. Our team can have an advantage: as we participate in both series with the same car, we can transfer a lot of information and data. »

The German-American structure will also have to structure itself during this crazy weekend around the two championships, while the team is still in a development phase, only a month after its first appearance at Daytona. “'Super Sebring' is probably the only opportunity to see the entire Porsche-Penske team in action at such a historic venue, explains Jonathan Diuguid, general manager of Porsche-Penske. To 24 Hours of Le Mans, in June, the factory team will field three Porsche 963s, and part of the IMSA team will not be present. We share our knowledge between the two teams. This knowledge transfer has several advantages, but such a bilateral program, so early in the season, also poses great challenges. (…) This is a huge task for a completely new team. »

Porsche eager to return to WEC

A challenge for the machines, for the teams, but also for the drivers. At Porsche, there are two participating in the 1000 Miles and the 12 Hours: Dane Cameron and Michael Christensen. “Motivation is at its peak, confides the Dane. For me, the 'Super Sebring' will be very demanding. I have to plan everything carefully so that I have enough time after each test session to talk to the engineers and my teammates. I also expect it to be a huge physical challenge. I hope it won't be too hot in Sebring. »

The two rounds on the Florida track will constitute a real test for the reliability of the Porsche 963s. In difficulty at Daytona (6th, 17 laps behind the winner), the German horses will have to resist an atypical and mechanically tiring track at Sebring. “After the failure at Daytona, we look forward to turning the enormous potential of the Porsche 963 into suitable results, adds Thomas Laudenbach. In WEC, we are delighted to join the big pack of Hypercars. At the season opener we are back to fight for the final victory after almost 50 years: Porsche against Ferrari, it's simply fantastic! », rejoices the vice-president of Porsche Motorsport.

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