Photo : LAURENT CARTALADE / VSA

 

In 2014, for the first year of its return in the head class, Porsche entered two 919 Hybrids at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, and also in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) for the trios Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, Marc Lieb and Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, Mark Webber. The six drivers have already been confirmed by the German manufacturer, who, on the other hand, did not reveal the names of the three new drivers who will share the wheel of the third car.

This year, neither of the two cars was ranked after the 82nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as they experienced technical growing pains and failed to cover the minimum distance. On the other hand, at the next-to-last round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Bahrain, Porsche claimed two steps on the podium as the No. 14 Porsche 919 Hybrid's driver line-up, having started from the pole, finished second just ahead of its alter ego, the No. 20 car.

At private test sessions, the German manufacturer tested several drivers from its GT program. At Motorland Aragon in Spain, Richard Lietz - third in the LM GTE class this year in La Sarthe - Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy (who all three won the GTLM class at the 24 Hours of Daytona, opening round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship) slid behind the wheel of the 919 Hybrid. The Austrian, the French driver and the Brit were rewarded, as were Frédéric Makowiecki and Michael Christensen at the preceding test session in Magny-Cours.

Porsche will be in Brazil with two cars on Sunday for the final round of the 2014 WEC season, knowing the Constructors World Champion title is in play between Toyota, current leader in the standings, and Audi.

Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 2014, FREE PRACTICE. A third Porsche 919 Hybrid will be at the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015.