Porsche has concluded its 2013 test programme with its new LMP1 race car at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Testing will resume in early 2014.
Mark Webber got his first chance to climb aboard the Porsche LMP1 racer. The Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team gave the Australian the green light to conduct these initial tests, despite Webber still being under contract. From 1 January Webber officially joins the Porsche factory team as a works driver and reinforces the already-signed driver line-up of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani.
Mark Webber:
“My first day in this fascinating project was an intense experience for me. I would like to thank Red Bull Racing for giving me the chance to join the project so early. This is a major and important step for us all. It allows me to integrate with the team quicker and to contribute to further developing the LMP1 race car. We have a long way to go and it involves a lot of hard work. I have no misconceptions about this.”
Head of Porsche LMP1 Fritz Enzinger:
“I’m delighted to have Mark in the team so early. Red Bull Racing has helped us considerably in allowing this!”
On the schedule of the final test for 2013 in Portugal were primarily suspension and tyre tests with partner Michelin. Previously, the Porsche LMP1 squad had pressed ahead with the development of the new race car on the Magny-Cours , Monza and Paul Ricard circuits, as well as on the Eurospeedway Lausitz.
Enzinger stated: “Between the roll-out of the completely new car in June and now we have made significant progress. Every single kilometre was important, providing us with new data that brought the development forward. The whole team has worked extremely hard and I would like to express my sincere thanks for this. Our efforts will continue unabated in 2014. Until the start of the season at Silverstone mid-April there is still a lot to do.”
Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche AG:
“We always knew it wasn’t going to be easy to return to top endurance racing after 16 years. Hence, our efforts in developing a competitive Porsche LMP1 race car are immense. Up to this point, our engineers in Weissach, the drivers, and the entire team have performed impressively. We are finding new approaches in the development, implementation and application of leading edge efficiency technologies. This also leads to further improvements of the entire hybrid technology in our production cars. Ultimately, our customers will benefit the most.”
