WEC / Le Mans – Porsche in dress rehearsal at Ricard

The six drivers who will make up the two trios (Mark Webber – Timo Bernhard – Brendon Hartley on the n°20 on one side and Romain Dumas – Marc Lieb – Neel Jani on the other on the n°14) entered by the German brand in 24 Hours of Le Mans 2014 took advantage of their presence at Paul Ricard to carry out new tests with the 919 Hybrid. In total, 4 km were completed by the two LM P756 prototypes which ran with their final livery, presented at the last Geneva Motor Show. The conditions encountered (night and low temperatures, light showers, etc.) allowed Porsche to refine its preparation, which was also marred by several technical problems. Pit stops have also been worked on.

“This test was very difficult for the whole team, explains Andreas Seidl, Team Principal. For the first time, we ran two cars at the same time, which was demanding in terms of logistics and team coordination. The other goal was to simulate a race weekend in order to prepare for the two six-hour races that are coming up. (Silverstone on April 20 and Spa on May 3, Editor’s note) It was a very important experience for us. The test taught us that we need to improve in terms of reliability. In terms of how the crew and drivers have worked together, we are heading in the right direction. The next two days of testing here at Paul Ricard, during the Prologue, will be used to refine the set-ups, as well as race-specific processes. »

Porsche will find for the first time in direct confrontation the Audi R18 e-tron quattro and the Toyota TS040 Hybrid, the Japanese which will be revealed tomorrow, the day before the first day of the Prologue of WEC 2014.

You can find our photo gallery of Porsche tests at Paul Ricard by clicking this link.