Porsche "well prepared" for Nurburgring high-downforce debut
Le Mans 24 Hours winner Porsche believes it is well-prepared for the debut of the latest version of its 919 Hybrid in this weekend's Nurburgring World Endurance Championship round.
Photo by: Nikolaz Godet
The German manufacturer described the first test of its 2017 LMP1 challenger in high-downforce configuration as "very positive".
The car, which incorporates a new nose and rear bodywork, completed 1800km at Barcelona at the end of June with Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber driving.
Porsche LMP1 team principal Andreas Seidl said: "After winning Le Mans, we went straight to a very positive three-day performance test in Barcelona.
"Our new high-downforce aero looks good; now it has to prove its performance on the race track. We feel well prepared for the six-hour race at the Nurburgring."
Porsche opted to contest the first two rounds of the WEC at Silverstone and Spa in April and May respectively with its low-downforce Le Mans aero package.
New rules for 2017 have limited each factory P1 team to just two aerodynamic configurations per season and Porsche chose to focus its resources on the Le Mans car ahead of the 24 Hours.
Toyota went for the opposite strategy and claimed back-to-back victories at Silverstone and Spa with the high-downforce version of its TS050 Hybrid.
Andre Lotterer, Nick Tandy and Neel Jani will get the first taste of the high-downforce 919 during free practice at the Nurburgring on Friday.
Victory for Bernhard, Hartley and Bamber in the double-points Le Mans WEC round has given them a 17-point lead in the drivers' championship over Toyota trio Sebastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Why Porsche doesn't expect another WEC domination at Imola
Porsche: “Not all teams treated equally” after da Costa Formula E Misano DSQ
How Porsche made the perfect start in WEC despite late drama in Qatar
2024 NASCAR at Dover schedule, entry list, and how to watch
The plot twist that gave Arrow McLaren’s Ward his first win as team principal
WRC looking to add F1-style team radio to TV broadcasts
Formula E’s new Gen3 Evo car breaks cover
How rain and strategy spelled disaster for Ferrari in WEC Imola 6 Hours
Why Peugeot had no choice but to revamp its radical Le Mans Hypercar
How motorsport is embracing the opportunities of AI
The experiment WEC could revisit to magnify its boom period
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments