The 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) roars into life at Silverstone this Sunday, 17th April and with it begins Porsches title defence.
More than 500 Club members will be joining us at the home of British Motorsport to watch the Porsche 919 hybrid, with its innovative powertrain concept, make its 2016 race debut.
This year the two-litre V4 turbocharged petrol engine with two different energy recovery systems, has been significantly developed for even more efficiency. Although the 2016 regulations stipulate an eight per cent lower fuel consumption, the 919 almost equalled its lap times from the previous year at the official WEC Prologue in Le Castellet.
For the six-hour race on the demanding Silverstone Formula One circuit, the prototype will be running aerodynamically optimized body work for high downforce in the fast corners.
The 260 strong Porsche Team led by Enzinger and Team Principal Andreas Seidl tackles the third consecutive season with the same driver line-up. As the reigning World Champions, Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber are proud to running the number 1 plate on their car. Teammates Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb share the number 2 sister car.
Speaking ahead of the season opener, Mark Webber said: “The number one looks gorgeous on our Porsche. It is the fruits of everything we have done last year, and we will have to work incredibly hard to keep it in our team. We’re super respectful of the opposition. Silverstone is a track on which you really can let fast cars like our prototypes go. I’m expecting a good crowd again for the season’s opening round, because the British fans like sports car racing a lot.”
Sunday’s race starts at 12 noon, with tickets still available to purchase on the gate. More information, include a full timetable for the weekend can be found here.