“Ignition on, hybrid on” - on November 30 at 13:00 local time it will be the final call for the 2014 Porsche 919 Hybrid. That day the first Le Mans prototype since Porsche’s return to the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship will start the eighth and final round in São Paulo, Brazil. Once again the challenge is a six-hour race, and to find the best possible compromise of performance, efficiency and reliability for the most technically advanced hybrid car on the grid will be crucial.
919 Hybrid is the only LMP1 car that regains energy when accelerating
Along with the power from the two-litre, turbo four cylinder engine, the Porsche recuperates brake energy from the front axle and generates electrical power from the exhaust energy. The latter of the systems makes it the only LMP1 car that regains energy not only when braking, but also when accelerating. The driver trios of Romain Dumas (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Marc Lieb (Germany) as well as Timo Bernhard (Germany), Brendon Hartley (New Zealand) and Mark Webber (Australia) will have to go flat out for another six hours, every lap at sprint race pace.
Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1, says: “For Porsche a successful LMP1 debut season comes to an end in São Paulo. We can be proud of having achieved three pole positions and five podium finishes with such a complex race car in such strong competition. Even more important for the future: The way we improved race by race shows that we’ve got the structures right. This goes for the technical concept, as well as for the driver line-up and the operational side with a team growing so well together.
For further quotes, please have a look at the press release (Downloads)
GTE-Pro class: Victory in the manufacturers’ classification still possible
In the GTE-Pro class, one title is still up for grabs on the legendary Grand Prix circuit in the Brazilian megacity Sao Paulo – victory in the manufacturers’ classification. The Porsche Manthey team, which fields two Porsche 911 RSR in this strongly-supported category and raised the stakes in the bid for the championship after a double victory in Shanghai, is now keen to treat fans to a gripping season finale.
Sharing the cockpit of the 470 hp #91 Porsche 911 RSR on the 4.309-kilometre Grand Prix track in the Interlagos district are Porsche works drivers Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria). Sharing driving duties in the second 911 in the GTE-Pro class are their French factory pilot colleagues and Shanghai winners Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet. Two customer teams, Proton Competition with Porsche junior Klaus Bachler (Austria) and Prospeed Competition, tackle the GTE-Am class, also fielding the 911 RSR.
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Porsche Head of Motorsport, gives an outlook: “First and foremost we want to offer the Brazilian fans a great race and an exciting season finale. Even though there probably won’t be a great showdown in the fight for the championship because our chances of taking the title are pretty much theoretical after Bahrain, we’ll still put all our efforts into preparation. A great deal can happen in a six hour race, especially on such a challenging circuit. We’ll take on the challenge and, should there still be a chance for us, we definitely want to be ready.”
For further quotes, please have a look at the press release (Downloads)
Schedule
The six-hour race on the Autodromo José Carlos Pace takes off on 30 November at 13.00 hrs local time (16.00 hrs CET). TV station Eurosport airs the last 90 minutes of the race live from 20.30 hrs CET.
