WEC / Le Mans – Porsche completes 5 kilometers in Bahrain

Après une première saison prolifique, Porsche Team entend bien, en 2015, inscrire son nom au palmarès du Championnat du monde d’Endurance and 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 13-14). In recent days, in order to prepare as best as possible, the German manufacturer has taken over the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain. Despite relatively strong sandstorms, the test went perfectly, with no less than 5 kilometers covered by Romain Dumas, Nico Hulkenberg, Brendon Hartley, Marc Lieb and Mark Webber. For some, notably the first two mentioned, this was the first contact with the 2015 version of the 919 Hybrid.

“We carried out tire tests with Michelin, worked on the settings and aero and tried various adjustments concerning the differential and traction control, without forgetting the evaluation of the different hybrid strategies, underlined technical director Alex Hitzinger. It is very important to cover so many kilometers in order to discover and solve possible teething problems. We didn't encounter any issues that would cause us headaches. The sandstorms were disruptive and made it difficult for us to draw conclusions from the setup work we were carrying out. As conditions were more stable at night, we changed our work schedule and once drove until 2 a.m. This is the first time that we have been to a track allowing us to compare our data with those of last year and it has been very useful. The results are encouraging, but they do not yet have real significance. The other positive point comes from the fact that the five requisitioned drivers agree with the four who drove in Abu Dhabi that the handling of the 2015 car is better than that of last season. This was one of our development objectives. »

And team manager Andreas Seidl continues: “The most important thing is that this test showed us that we are working in the right direction. All the drivers are now familiar with the 2015 car and we were delighted to see that Mark Webber was back in top form after the big impact he suffered in the finale (in Interlagos, Brazil. Editor’s note). In addition to the technical aspects, we took advantage of this test to familiarize ourselves with the new mechanics and engineers who joined us following the decision to enter a third car at the 6 Hours of Spa (May 2. Editor’s note) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. »

“The next step is the approval of the car at the end of February, concluded Fritz Enzinger, vice-president of LM P1. Then we will make our final decision as to which class of ERS we believe will be most effective for us in 2015.”

Pour avoir une première idée, certes encore bien évasive, de la hiérarchie des forces en présence, et donc la première confrontation avec Audi, Nissan et Toyota, il faudra patienter jusqu’au 28 mars, premier jour du Prologue, sur le circuit Paul Ricard.