Porsche returned to top flight endurance racing in 2014 with the 919 after a sixteen year sabbatical. Now, attracted by the unique challenges concerning efficiency, reliability and sustainability, Porsche found the World Endurance Racing once again echoed a hotspot of relevant and similar goals demanded by its production cars.
Billed as the most complex car the German manufacturer has ever built, the Porsche 919 is the first sports-prototype since the RS Spyder and the first sports-prototype built by Porsche to compete in a top category of sportscar racing since the Porsche LMP1-98. The name then is a progression from Porsche’s 917 from the 1970s and lightly references Porsche’s 918 hybrid production car.
Porsche’s 17th Le Mans Victory : LMP1 facts
- The winning team completed 395 laps (5,382,82 kilometres). This year’s race was only two laps short of the longest distance covered in Le Mans back in 2010.
• The average speed of the winning Porsche 919 Hybrid was 224.2 km/h.
• The highest top speed of a Porsche 919 Hybrid in the race was 340,2 km/h and done by Mark Webber on Saturday at 16:40 hrs.
• The Porsche 919 Hybrid recuperated and used 2,22 kWh (8 megajoule) per lap. If it was a power plant, a family home could be supplied with electricity for three months.
• The head count for the Porsche Team’s operational crew was 120 people.
• The Porsche Team made 90 pit stops, 30 per car.
• At 26 of these stops tyres and drivers were also changed.
• The longest distance covered with one set of tyres was 54 laps for all three cars. In car number 17 Mark Webber did this ultra long run, in car number 18 it was Neel Jani and in the number 19 prototype it was Nico Hülkenberg.
• 116 tyres in total were used by all three Porsche 919 Hybrids over the race distance.
- • A tyre on a rim weighs 19,9 kilograms. This means, just in relation to wheels, the mechanics moved 2,308.4 kilograms.
• The fastest pit stop, including a tyre and driver change, by the Porsche Team was 1:13.9 minutes.
• The fastest stop for refuelling was done in 51,3 seconds.
• In total all three Porsche 919 Hybrids spent 95 minutes and 36 seconds in the pits. The time for the second best crew entering three cars was over 130 minutes.
• 1,896 litres of fuel have been pumped into the winning car.
• The winning Porsche’s gearbox mastered 25,293 gear changes (up shift and down shift) during the 24 hours.
• The longest time behind the wheel of all nine Porsche LMP1 drivers was for Neel Jani with ten hours and ten minutes. In the winning car it was Nico Hülkenberg who drove most (eight hours, 52 minutes).
• Mark Webber lost the most weight of all nine drivers. When the race began he weighed 81.2 kilograms (including race gear and helmet), after his final stint the scales stopped at 78.2 kilograms.
• The drivers had 0.85 litres of drink on board for each stint. The drink bottle was changed at every refuelling stop.
• Almost no parts had to be changed during the race. After going off the track, the number 18 car had a new nose twice. On car number 19 at eight in the morning the team did a precautionary engine cover and rear wing change when it didn’t cost any time during a safety car period.
• During the 24 hours each Porsche 919 Hybrid had a refill of one litre of oil.
• For the best possible visibility each of the three prototypes had four tear-offs on the windscreens, which were removed one after the other.
• The highest ambient temperature during the race was 25 degrees Celsius at 16:00 hrs on Saturday. The coolest part of the race was at night between 03:00 and 07:00 hrs with 16 degrees Celsius.
• The highest cockpit temperature was 27 degree Celsius.
• The night was eight hours long with sunset at 21:59 hrs and sunrise at 05:59 hrs.
• 13.5 gigabytes of data per car have been transmitted to the pits during the 24 hours.
• The safety cars came out four times. Including the so-called slow zones – speed limits at certain parts of the track – the race was neutralized for a total of 195 minutes.
The formula for any evolution of race car, namely weight and rigidity, has predictably moved in opposing directions but the 2015 Porsche 919 is fitted with around 80% new parts and the weight trimmed to the regulation minimum 870kg.
Although astounding upgrades by their own right, the Porsche 919 differs mainly from its predecessor through its energy reserves. With 2014 rule stipulating that all LMP1 prototype cars must run a hybrid engine, this year the 919 moves from the 6 megajoule class to the highest of the energy recovery system allowed. The jump to 8 megajoule per lap culminates in more than a 30% increase in efficiency. With fuel flow limitations implemented from 2014 onwards, the engine is now more than capable of competing with the V6 Audis and V8 Toyotas with which it shares the class.
Porsche 919 takes full advantage of the somewhat lax engine configuration rules (which emphasize efficiency) to be powered by an unusual V4 2.0-litre turbo charged engine supported by two energy recuperation systems. The brave decision to radically downsize to a 4–cylinder engine allowed Porsche to develop a compact design. Cast from aluminum/magnesium materials it results in a lightweight unit that can be easily positioned for optimal weight distribution. Being a stressed member of the chassis is a boon for chassis rigidity.
The way in which the systems deliver the power is similar in principle to that of last year’s powerplant. The petrol engine drives the rear wheels to the tune of 500HP and the electric motors (good for 400HP) power the front wheels, thereby endowing the 919 with the properties of an all-wheel drive car. A liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery temporarily stores converted braking energy from the front axle as well as converted exhaust-gas energy. While this system shares many similarities to the Audi R18 e-tron and Toyota TS040, the Porsche 919 differs in terms of its second hybrid system. Instead of using a Toyota style rear MGU-K recovery system, Porsche opted to use a innovative exhaust gas recovery method. Due to its advanced turbo charger and MGU-K energy integration, the Porsche 919 is the only LMP1 car that can recover energy during any phase of operation.
Porsche clinched the 2015 manufacturers’ World Endurance Championship at the last round in Shanghai but will be aiming to do double the score with the driver’s championship. Follow SA Car Fan for all the live updates and exclusive stories taking place over the weekend
