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Porsche's first WEC victory with 919 Hybrid

03 Dec 2014|1,203 views

At final race of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Sao Paulo, Porsche scored its first victory with its 919 Hybrid under some dramatic circumstances.

The risk of not changing tyres to save time paid off for Neel Jani as he went on to win the race

Lieb started from second in car #14, but lost one place to a Toyota on lap one. After breathtaking attempts to get the position back, after 37 laps he handed over the car, which was still lying in third, to Jani.

The Swiss continued to attack the Toyota, they swapped places, but when Jani handed over to Dumas after 76 laps the car was still third. Dumas only got by when the Toyota had contact with another car on lap 88.

On lap 105 Dumas had to pit early because of a right rear puncture. Lieb got behind the wheel again and took the lead after 119 laps when sister car #20 suffered problems. Lieb pitted after 144 laps to hand the car back to Dumas. After 183 laps Jani took over with the car lying second. At his final pit stop after 222 laps he stayed in the car and took the risk not to change tyres to save time, allowing to win the race.

At the same time as the team achieved the biggest success of its debut season, it had its greatest shock when Mark Webber had an accident with less than half an hour to go before the end of the six-hour race

As for car #20, Bernhard started from pole position and was leading by 12 seconds when he handed over to Webber after 38 laps. Webber stayed in the lead of the race, despite some trouble in traffic, and handed over to Hartley at the end of lap 79. For the Kiwi and car #20, the dream to win the race was over soon as an unidentified problem cost some engine power.

After 119 laps Hartley handed over to Bernhard, who continued in third. During a full course yellow after 153 laps, Hartley got behind the wheel again. After 193 laps Webber took over again, with the car having meanwhile dropped back to sixth place. He had his last pit stop after 227 laps and a heavy crash in the fast last corner of the track when the race was on its 239th lap with less than half an hour remaining.

The Australian, who shares the LMP1 race car with Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Brendon Hartley (New Zealand), was not badly injured but was transferred to a hospital in Sao Paulo for further checks. The race finished behind the safety car with Neel Jani at the wheel of the winning car.

The Porsche Team has achieved its maiden win with the innovative Porsche 919 Hybrid in the final race of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship in Sao Paulo with the driving trio of Romain Dumas (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Marc Lieb (Germany).

Lieb started from second in car #14, but lost one place to a Toyota on lap one. After breathtaking attempts to get the position back, after 37 laps he handed over the car, which was still lying in third, to Jani.

The Swiss continued to attack the Toyota, they swapped places, but when Jani handed over to Dumas after 76 laps the car was still third. Dumas only got by when the Toyota had contact with another car on lap 88.

On lap 105 Dumas had to pit early because of a right rear puncture. Lieb got behind the wheel again and took the lead after 119 laps when sister car #20 suffered problems. Lieb pitted after 144 laps to hand the car back to Dumas. After 183 laps Jani took over with the car lying second. At his final pit stop after 222 laps he stayed in the car and took the risk not to change tyres to save time, allowing to win the race.

As for car #20, Bernhard started from pole position and was leading by 12 seconds when he handed over to Webber after 38 laps. Webber stayed in the lead of the race, despite some trouble in traffic, and handed over to Hartley at the end of lap 79. For the Kiwi and car #20, the dream to win the race was over soon as an unidentified problem cost some engine power.

After 119 laps Hartley handed over to Bernhard, who continued in third. During a full course yellow after 153 laps, Hartley got behind the wheel again. After 193 laps Webber took over again, with the car having meanwhile dropped back to sixth place. He had his last pit stop after 227 laps and a heavy crash in the fast last corner of the track when the race was on its 239th lap with less than half an hour remaining.

The Australian, who shares the LMP1 race car with Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Brendon Hartley (New Zealand), was not badly injured but was transferred to a hospital in Sao Paulo for further checks. The race finished behind the safety car with Neel Jani at the wheel of the winning car.