Test at the ring completed

In preparation for the first outing of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC on the Nürburgring, several teams have conducted tests on the storied race track in Germany’s Eifel region. So has Porsche.

Porsche 919 Hybrid, WEC-Test, Nürburgring, 2015, Porsche AG

A two-day test at the Nürburgring was a taster of the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) to be held on August 30. The Porsche Team was running a Porsche 919 Hybrid on Monday and Tuesday, sharing the 5.137 kilometre circuit with an impressive field of 19 other WEC cars. It was the prototype’s first time on track since its glorious overall win at the 24 hours of Le Mans on June 14. The works drivers at the wheel of the test car were Timo Bernhard (Germany)/Brendon Hartley (New Zealand) on Monday and Romain Dumas (France)/Marc Lieb (Germany) on Tuesday. Together the four drivers covered 1,275 kilometres.

After three out of eight World Championship rounds, Porsche is leading the manufacturers’ championship with 140 points ahead of Audi (124) and Toyota (71).

That's how it went for Porsche Team Manthey

The team is based in Meuspath just a stone’s throw from the Nürburgring. With the Porsche works drivers Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Richard Lietz (Austria), the outfit made the most of the opportunity on Monday and Tuesday to setup the Porsche 911 RSR for their home race. The German team tested the cars with the starting numbers 91 and 92 that are campaigned in the GTE-Pro class of the WEC.

For the 911 RSR, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car and characterised by lightweight design and sophisticated aerodynamics, the testing began on Monday in typical Eifel weather conditions with rain and sunshine. Although Tuesday stayed overcast, the challenging Grand Prix circuit remained dry. The team was able to complete its comprehensive testing as scheduled.

Also taking part in the Nürburgring tests were the Porsche customer squads Dempsey Proton Racing with drivers Patrick Dempsey (USA) and Marco Seefried (Austria) as well as Abu Dhabi Proton Racing with the former Porsche Junior Klaus Bachler (Austria), Christian Ried (Germany) and Khaled Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi). Both teams field the Porsche 911 RSR in the GTE-Am class of the WEC.

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