Le Mans – Porsche ready for attack after Test Day

The eight hours of testing offered by the Test Day allowed Porsche to complete 193 laps with his two 919 Hybrids which demonstrated good reliability. The German team was able to complete its program without encountering major problems with its LMP1s which will have the difficult task of trying to secure a 17th victory in the Sarthe on June 15 for the Stuttgart manufacturer. “It was a productive day”, assured Andreas Seidl, the Team Principal of the team. “We arrived at Le Mans with many things to do and we were able to achieve our objectives without having any unpleasant surprises. The #14 team (Dumas-Jani-Lieb) focused on tire management in the morning while the #20 team (Bernhard-Hartley-Webber) worked on mechanical and aerodynamic settings. We exchanged roles in the afternoon. »

The Porsche n°14 managed to enter the top five with a delay of 1”678 on the reference time achieved by Sébastien Buemi on Toyota n°8 (3’23”014). “I was only able to have a few clear laps in the morning before the safety car came on track”, explains Romain Dumas, winner of the 2010 edition with Audi. “But it was much better in the afternoon and we were able to learn a lot. Our car still has a tendency to understeer and we will continue to work on this during race week. But both cars ran without problems and that was our first objective. »

The second 919 Hybrid was the slowest of the LMP1-Hs, however finishing less than two seconds behind the best time. It was notably at the wheel of the No. 20 that Mark Webber made his return to Sarthe. « I was really looking forward to driving this car here for the first time”, adds the former pilot Red Bull. “I have always appreciated this circuit which offers a long track. It was a big day for us coming here with the Porsche 919 Hybrid and it went well. First of all, I did my ten laps required for rookies (which concerns drivers who have not been to Le Mans for more than five years). We then quickly started working on the balance and settings of the car. We are constantly progressing and we have still learned many things. »

Discover the analysis of the Test Day of 24 Hours of Le Mans produced by our special correspondents in issue 1963 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version on all platforms, and on newsstands from Wednesday.