High tension expected for first WEC duel of the season

The coming weekend, April 14 to 16, sees the Porsche LMP Team start the first out of nine rounds of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. The six-hour race at Britain’s famous Silverstone Circuit will be the first duel between the reworked Porsche 919 hybrid and the latest Toyota TS050 Hybrid. Porsche, world champions and Le Mans winners in 2015 and 2016 respectively, targets the defence of both titles. But in England the team expects a difficult start. In support of the aerodynamic strategy for the entire season, the Porsche 919 Hybrids will run at the Northamptonshire circuit with significantly less downforce than the fast bends of the challenging Grand Prix track realistically demand.

The eagerly anticipated first race for the 27-car field gets underway on Sunday at 12:00 hrs. Track action on the 5.9 kilometre long Formula One circuit can be followed live from basically all over the world.

The Porsche 919 Hybrid has been widely reworked for the 2017 championship. 60 to 70 per cent of the Le Mans prototype’s components are new developments. This goes especially for the areas of aerodynamics, chassis and combustion engine. However, the power train in principle remains the same. The innovative hybrid race car develops a system power of around 900 HP (662 kW) that comes from a compact two-litre turbo charged V4-cylinder (nearly 500 PS/368 kW) and two different energy recovery systems – brake energy from the front axle combined with exhaust energy. The combustion engine drives the rear axle while the electro motor boosts the front axle with an output of more than 400 PS (294 kW). The electrical energy that comes from the front brakes and the exhaust system is temporarily stored in a liquid-cooled lithium ion battery.

The newly assembled line-up of the Porsche LMP1 works drivers feel well-rehearsed after winter testing and the WEC Prologue in Monza (IT). Reigning world champion Neel Jani (CH) has the number 1 on the car he shares with Nick Tandy (GB) and Porsche newcomer André Lotterer (DE). The number 2 sister car belongs to the two New Zealanders, Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley, together with Timo Bernhard (DE).