The German marque has just completed one last endurance test before the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The cars covered 8,247 kilometres, roughly one and a half times the distance usually covered at Le Mans, on the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain. “We’ve done our homework and ticked all the boxes”, says Seidl with a smile of satisfaction.
“The programme was a mix of day and night endurance and performance tests”. “We have no particular headaches, yet we know how difficult it will be.”

The first two rounds of the World Endurance Championship were tough, although the team did end up with a win at Silverstone following Audi’s disqualification. So this last test was important from a technical and an operational point of view. “We set a certain number of technical targets and also in terms of how we want the team to progress. Despite our success, we remain a young team and even though the general design of the 919 Hybrid is the same as the one that won last year, it is still natural to watch out for areas where we can improve."

While Seidl plays down the disadvantage of only running two cars instead of three, he refuses to be over-optimistic. “On our part, there is the utmost respect for what Audi and Toyota have achieved this winter. We set out our objectives, we have fulfilled them and we think we are ready. Last year, we hit hard with three cars. This year, we put one aside because it was not necessary. At Le Mans it doesn’t pay to be conservative anymore. It’s flat out from the first hour to the last."

J.-Michel Desnoues - Translated from French by Emma Paulay

PHOTO: STAVELOT (BELGIUM), WEC 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, RACE. Andreas Seidl all smiles after Porsche’s satisfactory endurance tests.