WEC / USC – Porsche Motorsport’s plans for 2015

After winning his first victory in WEC with the 919 Hybrid 6 Hours of Sao Paulo (Brazil), Porsche will arrive with solid pretensions in 2015. But the Stuttgart brand is present in multiple Championships and Categories and intends to maintain its level of commitment in competition. “We will stay on the floor and we will even shift gears”, assured Wolfgang Hatz, Head of Research and Development at the German firm.

“Motorsport is deeply ingrained in the Porsche brand. We test and develop technologies on all circuits around the world that delight our customers on the roads. Motorsport is the spirit of this company”, added Hatz. This lays the foundations for the next season where Porsche will still occupy an important place. Its biggest program will remain theEndurance with the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans where three LM P1s will be lined up.

Developments of the Porsche 919 Hybrid
Porsche has not made any additional announcement regarding its crews for the next WEC season in the premier class. The six holders (Romain Dumas, Mark Webber, Marc Lieb, Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard and Neel Jani) were reappointed and Nico Hülkenberg has already been confirmed on the third 919 Hybrid at the 6 Hours of Spa (Belgium, May 2) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 13 and 14). The German brand nevertheless stressed that the 2015 version of the 919 Hybrid would be “a distinct development” of the model used this year. Priority will be placed on more homogeneous performances depending on the different circuits on the calendar (cf: the WEC 214 file in the 1990 issue of AUTOhebdo still on newsstands).

Movement in GTE Pro
Porsche has confirmed that its two 911 RSRs will continue to compete against Ferrari 458 Italia and others Aston Martin Vantage V8 in GTE Pro. Patrick Pilet, Frédéric Makowiecki and Richard Lietz were retained while Michael Christensen arrives to replace Jörg Bergmeister. But the most important news was announced by Wolfgang Hatz. “The driver combination depends on who will be promoted from the GT drivers to drive our third LM P1. »

Earl Bamber made official
Earl Bamber has been named an official Porsche driver after winning this season's Supercup and Carrera Cup Asia. The 24-year-old New Zealander will join the USC squad which he discovered at Petit Le Mans (Road Atlanta, Georgia) while replacing the injured Richard Lietz.

Drivers for the 24 Hours of Daytona
Earl Bamber will be accompanied by Frédéric Makowiecki and Jörg Bergmeister at the 24 Hours of Daytona (January 24 and 25) while Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet and Marc Lieb will pilot the second 911 RSR. Porsche maintains two-car entry for the season to defend his GTLM Manufacturers’ title.