Marathon for men and machines

Porsche faces its second start in the top category, LMP1, of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans since its return in 2014.

919 Hybrid, Le Mans, 2014, Porsche AG

On June 13/14 the race, which is known as the world’s toughest endurance event, takes place for the 83rd time. On Wednesday and Thursday the qualifying sessions will run until midnight on the 13,629 kilometre long circuit, which mostly consists of what are normally public roads.

The three Porsche 919 Hybrids are the most innovative in the 56 car field and carry future technology for Porsche’s road going sports cars. The revolutionary technical regulations’ focus on efficiency for class 1 Le Mans prototypes (LMP1) attracted Porsche in 2014 to return to top level motorsport. The combination of a two-litre V4 turbo charged and petrol fuelled engine with two energy recovery systems (brake energy and exhaust energy) produces a power system of around 1000 HP.

Top speed of over 330 km/h

Because a high top speed of over 330 km/h is crucial on the ultrafast circuit in the West of France, the 919 has a special aerodynamic package for Le Mans. With this in place, the prototypes have less drag with reduced downforce at the crowning event of the FIA World Endurance Championship compared to the other seven six-hour races.

The drivers of the three different coloured Porsche 919 Hybrids have between them participated in the Le Mans race a total of 43 times. The red number 17 car is driven by Timo Bernhard (Germany), Brendon Hartley (New Zealand) and Mark Webber (Australia). The black number 18 car is shared by Romain Dumas (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Marc Lieb (Germany). The third Porsche, which is white, belongs to the trio of Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Nico Hülkenberg (Germany) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain).

Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber (l-r), Porsche 919 Hybrid (17), Le Mans 2015, Porsche AG
Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber (l-r) and the Porsche 919 Hybrid (17)
Marc Lieb, Neel Jani, Romain Dumas (l-r), Porsche 919 Hybrid (18), Le Mans 2015, Porsche AG
Marc Lieb, Neel Jani, Romain Dumas (l-r) and the Porsche 919 Hybrid (18)
Earl Bamber, Nico Hülkenberg, Nick Tandy (l-r), Porsche 919 Hybrid (19), Le Mans 2015, Porsche AG
Earl Bamber, Nico Hülkenberg, Nick Tandy (l-r) and the Porsche 919 Hybrid (19)

Related Content