Photo : D.R. - PORSCHE AG

 

The two Porsche 919 Hybrids secured a provisional one-two in the early laps of the race. Romain Dumas in the #14 car started from pole position and was leading the race for 21 laps before the sister car took over. Brendon Hartley in the #20 started third on the grid and improved to second when a Toyota pitted during an early safety car period. On lap 22 he successfully passed Dumas in the sister car and was leading until his first pit stop after 33 laps. However, only one lap later he had a puncture and dropped down to sixth. The New Zealander and his team mates Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard kept that position until the chequered flag.

Andreas Seidl (Team Principal): “A pole position and a podium on the same weekend is a new achievement for us, and it is good to see the number 14 car’s crew up there for the first time after they have been unlucky a few times. Bad luck today struck car number 20. Without that puncture we would have come third and fourth. Also it is positive that again we didn’t have any technical problems.”

Romain Dumas (Porsche 919 Hybrid #14, Porsche Team, LM P1, 3rd): “My stint was great. I had a good start and was able to stay in P1 for the first 21 laps. The car was running well in the beginning and I was leading from my teammate Brendon, although he was on different tyres because we wanted to evaluate the differences. The car was working very well, but towards the end we were lacking performance. However, the others couldn’t overtake us because we are so quick on the straights.”

Neel Jani (Porsche 919 Hybrid #14, Porsche Team, LM P1, 3rd): “I am very happy we finally managed to get on that podium after it had seemed to be within reach several times. In the beginning I had to fight understeer, but then the car’s balance recovered and I was able to defend against the Audi. At the very end of the race it was all about bringing the car home safely in P3 without taking too much of a risk, and this luckily worked out.”

Marc Lieb (Porsche 919 Hybrid #14, Porsche Team, LM P1, 3rd): ”I did the middle stints and I’m quite satisfied. It went well and the lap times were quite consistent. I managed to maintain the gap to the Audis and didn’t lose time to the Toyotas. I even came a little bit closer, but they’re just too quick for us to be able to get them.“

For more stories about Porsche's Le Mans saga, please visit Mission 2014 - Our Return.

(Based upon Porsche press information)

Photo: SHANGHAI (CHINA), SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT, 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI, SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2014, CHEQUERED FLAG. Marc Lieb, Neel Jani and Romain Dumas (left to right) celebrate their first podium finish at the wheel of the Porsche 919 Hybrid.