In only the second year of their return, Porsche has added the Le Mans and WEC title double to their rich history. But now it faces an uphill task to stay at the front of the pecking order.
Whenever a manufacturer announces a return to the sport it has dominated during its glory days, expectations reach the stratosphere. More often than not, such high standards are hardly met.
But the ‘homecoming’ of Porsche into the premier class of World Endurance Championship (WEC) seems to be one anomaly. Right from the very beginning, Porsche were fighting for podiums and race wins.
In April 2014, the #20 trio of headline driver Mark Webber and teammates Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard secured a podium finish on 919 Hybrid’s debut. Several other rostrum appearances followed that season, culminating with a maiden win for the Weissach-based squad in Brazil.
But what followed in 2015 truly underlines what Porsche has achieved in such short span of time. The team’s third entry led home a one-two finish at Le Mans, marking their first win at the historic event since 1998. Porsche’s regular drivers carried on the form for the rest of the year, with the #17 car winning four races in a trot to seal the constructors’ title - first in nearly three decades for the popular sportscar brand - with one round still to spare.
Unlike some of their previous world championships, this one came against two formidable rivals in form of Audi and Toyota. Both have been racing in WEC since the inception of the series in 2012. As such, they are well versed with the complex hybrid technologies that form the heart of the LMP1 regulations.
Moreover, Audi has dominated the sportscar racing scene since the turn of the century, and continued to give Porsche a run for his money with regular updates to the R18 e-tron quattro.
Perhaps, a comparison with Toyota gives a better perspective of the leapways Porsche made over the winter to emerge as the distant frontrunner in 2015. The Japanese manufacturer won the previous year’s WEC title, with five victories in eighth races. This year, they are seen running several laps behind their German rivals, even when they are not affected by technical gremlins.
In the light of such cut-throat competition, Porsche has quite remarkably clinched Le Mans and the WEC title in only the second year of their programme.
Drivers’ title to be decided
By the time the December issue of AutoX goes to press, the drivers’ championship would have also been settled. Webber/Hartley/Benhard head into the Bahrain finale as the favourites. 2016 will be the last year for the current LMP1 current regulations, with teams given a new rule book for the year after. However, that doesn’t seem to be a deterrent for Toyota to introduce an all new car for 2016. An increased budget will further aid their recovery. Audi, too, has vowed to fight back with a heavily revised version of their R18 e-tron quattro, featuring increased electrical power. Porsche, therefore, can’t afford to rest on its laurels. For a single winning year isn’t enough for their return to be labelled as a success. Whatever the case might be, the stage is set for a three-way battle for Le Mans honours in 2016 – the perfect advertorial for the burgeoning WEC.
Ever since the demise of the World Sportscar Championship in 1993, a hole has been left on the international motorsport calendar. Several endurance racing series have emerged since then, but none has been as successful or popular as the WEC.
Organisers ACO (Automobile Club of the West), along with motorsport’s governing body FIA, have successfully woven a championship around Le Mans, with cutting-edge hybrid technology being one of the luring factors for the manufacturers.
Write your Comment