WEC: Porsche confirms LMP1 programme up to 2018

Porsche will continue racing in the future with the 919 Hybrid, at least until the end of the 2018 season. That was the decision of the Porsche AG board, which agreed to extend the LMP1 programme. Porsche returned to endurance racing with LMP1 prototype in 2014 and achieved 17th victory at famous 24h Le Mans race this year.

Porsche’s current prototype 919 Hybrid is very important to the German manufacturer. With its groundbreaking concept – a downsized turbo engine (2.0 V4) and powerful energy recovery systems, combined with an extreme lightweight design, it is the racing car which serves as a research laboratory for future sports car technology.

“Motorsport is an important part of Porsche’s brand identity – but not an end in itself. Racing has got to help the technology of future road going sports cars. It was the revolutionary efficiency regulations that convinced us to return to top-level motorsport for the 2014 season. That we have managed to take the crown jewels of endurance racing in only our second year, with a one-two result in Le Mans in 2015 with our highly innovative and complex 919, is an outstanding testimony to the people in the Weissach research and development centre. The competition bears fruits and we see further potential for future synergy between the racing and road car programmes. This is why we have extended the programme,” said Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG.

Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development, underlined this: “Porsche sets bench marks in the WEC. The two-litre V4-cylinder turbo charged petrol engine with a performance of over 500 hp is the most efficient combustion engine we have built so far. We are the only ones able to generate eight megajoule of electrical energy per lap in Le Mans from our two energy recovery systems. It is easy to detect that the challenge provided by the sport pushes our engineers to extreme performances.”

In 2015 World Endurance Championship season Porsche is currently leading in manufacturers’ standings ahead of Audi and Toyota. Next race is 6 Hours of Nurburgring and it’s scheduled for this weekend. Porsche will race with two 919 Hybrids. Drivers in #17 car will be Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley while #18 will be driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb.