Porsche said that it will leave LMP1 this season to launch a factory Formula E squad, which is presumably making the FIA World Endurance Championship’s executives quite angry right now.
Formula E is beginning to become a much more popular and meaningful series, at least for the development objectives of manufacturers, as electric vehicles are becoming more and more prevalent on public roads.
Mercedes has stated that it will terminate its lengthy participation in the DTM series and establish a factory team for Formula E in time for the sixth season of the competition.
Porsche is currently following suit. Yes, it is saying goodbye to LMP1 after several years of outstanding performance in the FIA WEC, which included two drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns and three Le Mans victories.
The motorsport branch will continue to run the 911 RSR project in the WEC’s GTE classes in addition to international GT racing.
However, it will formally leave LMP1 at the conclusion of this year in order to launch a FE factory team for season six in 2019/2020.
As a follow-up to its Mission E concept, Porsche stated goals to introduce its first range of electric road cars with its Porsche Strategy 2025.
Following Audi’s departure from the WEC last year, Toyota will be the lone manufacturer in LMP1 for the upcoming season. Toyota has stated that it will evaluate its engagement if Porsche leaves, though. Times are worrying for LMP1.
So, not good at all, but on the other hand, Formula E is undoubtedly happy, having drawn a lot of major manufacturers to it.
With Mercedes and Porsche coming, season six is looking fantastic for FE. Involvement from Audi will increase for the upcoming season.
Porsche’s board of research and development member Michael Steiner said:
“The logical results of our Mission E road vehicle program include entry into FE and success in this category. We find FE appealing due to the expanding independence for in-house technological innovations.
“For us, FE is the pinnacle of the competitive climate for advancing the development of high performance cars in areas like sustainability, efficiency, and environmental friendliness.”
Big news for Formula E then, which keeps bringing in big names. But LMP1’s future in the WEC is unquestionably in jeopardy.
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Toyota is the sole manufacturer who may be committed to LMP1 for 2018 as a result of Porsche’s decision to end LMP1 less than a year after sister brand Audi did the same. Which might finally give the Japanese team their long-sought victory at Le Mans (they are aiming right at an open goal). However, that isn’t racing. Porsche’s participation in the series was also a prerequisite for Toyota’s commitment to WEC for the following season. After all, it takes two to tango.
We would describe this week in motorsport as seismic. We’re entering a brave new world of motorsport with Porsche leaving LMP1, Mercedes leaving DTM, and Australian V8 supercars now trying V6s. This may be the week that altered everything, so keep in mind this one for the grandchildren.
The most irritating part is that LMP1 cars were among of the world’s most seductive and capable automobiles. They move so quickly but are also important. The ACO’s new regulations permitted engines to operate more freely than ever before: there were no cylinder restrictions, no longer existed air restrictors, and turbo pressures could now be extremely high. In essence, LMP1 designers and engineers had to construct a vehicle around a packaging issue. They had to put the basic components of a car—aero, engine, hybrid, drivability, and electrical systems that combine the two—into the quickest package possible since they knew how much energy they could utilize.
Three highly distinctive packaging ideas and automobiles were produced. Plus, sports car racing has been doing that for decades, unlike F1, which frequently preaches about building technology that will eventually trickle down onto your road cars. In reality, commonplace inventions like the windscreen wiper and the disc brake can be credited to endurance racing. And now everything is about to alter. We’ll simply have to wait and see how much, I guess.
Andre Lotterer, a Porsche LMP1 driver, claims the German manufacturer’s decision to withdraw from the World Endurance Championship’s LMP1 class “leaves a tremendous hole” in motorsport.
Following weeks of rumors, Porsche revealed on Friday that it had ended its successful LMP1 hybrid program, which produced two WEC championships and three consecutive Le Mans 24 Hour victories.
When Lotterer’s former employer Audi left the World Endurance Championship at the end of 2016 to concentrate on a works Formula E program, which Porsche will now do as well, Lotterer experienced a similar position.
Lotterer remarked during the Spa 24 Hours, “For me, experiencing that two years in a row is terrible.
“I obviously encountered a problem with Audi last year, so I decided to move to Porsche to continue competing in this division.
All of Porsche’s current LMP1 drivers will continue to be employed, but it is unclear in what capacity.
Race seats will be restricted to its different GT initiatives until its recently announced Formula E effort, which aims to be on the grid at the start of its sixth season in 2019, is ready.
Lotterer, who has previously criticized Formula E, is coming up to the notion of competing in the electric series.
He declared, “I’m up for new challenges.” “Holding onto something that is no longer present serves no use.
“People accustomed to conventional motorsport were initially not particularly pleased, but I don’t think you can compare. It is unfair.
“It will be fascinating to see how those types of circuits work whenever newer technology with greater performance is introduced.
Timo Bernhard, a Porsche stablemate, was the first person to ever operate a Porsche 919 Hybrid. With Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber, the German team won the final Le Mans race for the vehicle last month.
Bernhard, whose #2 entry leads the WEC championship by 30 points, said it has been a great honor to be a part of the program from the beginning and watch it grow.
“Without a doubt, I’ll stick with Porsche. In terms of the program, we’ll have to wait and see what transpires.”
At the end of this year, the Porsche LMP1 program, which has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans the last three times, will be discontinued.
Despite having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans event three times in a row with a race vehicle in the LMP1 category, Porsche is apparently about to reveal that it will leave the World Endurance Championship.
Even though the company’s LMP1 program was officially confirmed for 2018, numerous web sources have stated that Porsche executives held a board meeting yesterday to decide its future.
It is now thought that Porsche has decided to withdraw their entry one year early. As a result, the brand will no longer compete in the premier LMP1 class after the 2017 Championship. The move is not anticipated to have an impact on Porsche’s participation in other World Endurance Championship categories. Porsche currently competes in the GTE-Pro division with the 911 RSR.
Porsche returned to the world of motorsport in 2014 with its 919 race car, rejoining the top LMP1 division of the World Endurance Championship. The 919 is a technologically advanced hybrid, like the majority of other vehicles in the LMP1 class, that was created not just to win races like Le Mans but also to advertise the latest driving technology from the manufacturer that might be applied to road cars.
Porsche has achieved success, including overall World Endurance Championship victories in 2015 and 2016. The renowned 24 Hours of Le Mans race was also won by a 919 in 2015, 2016 and earlier this year.
Audi withdrew from the World Endurance Championship before the conclusion of the previous year, leaving Porsche as the Volkswagen Group’s lone representative in this motorsport division.
Although it may have been thought that Porsche’s LMP1 entry would have been more certain after Audi’s exit, Andreas Seidl, Porsche’s LMP1 team principal, disclosed earlier this year that the squad’s participation was under consideration.
Cost is expected to be the main determining factor, as Porsche’s LMP1 program is thought to cost more than $200 million annually.
Due to Porsche’s withdrawal, Toyota will be the only significant manufacturer to participate in the LMP1 category in 2018.
According to rumors, Porsche will allocate the funds it would have spent on its LMP1 race cars for the upcoming season to new endeavors in other racing categories, including probable Formula E and Formula 1 entrants.
UPDATE: Since this information was initially released, Porsche has formally announced that it will leave the LMP1 division of the World Endurance Championship at the conclusion of the 2017 campaign. The producer also declared that starting in 2019, it will enter a works team into the Formula E championship.
Porsche left LMP1 when?
Porsche has confirmed that starting in 2019, they will participate in Formula E competition with a Porsche Works squad. Porsche has also stated that after the 2017 season, they would no longer participate in the LMP1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) due to the addition of this new works squad to Formula E.
Audi left LMP1 for what reasons?
The Audi A4 focuses on efficiency, technology, and quality, but will this be enough to convince buyers to choose it over the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class for compact saloons?
With the EKS team, Audi’s future in the World Rallycross Championship is less guaranteed. Audi has been supporting EKS and its driver-owner Mattias Ekstrom with the help of two Audi S1 EKS RX race cars (seen below), but it’s believed that Audi is currently assessing its future ties to this sector. Audi stated that the possibility of an electric Rallycross class could influence that choice, similar to parent firm Volkswagen.
The Volkswagen Group’s decision to no longer promote its diesel engine technology in a motorsport setting in the wake of its diesel pollution manipulation crisis is also connected to Audi’s decision to cease its involvement in LMP1 WEC racing.
Additionally, it comes in response to Matthias Muller, the chairman of Volkswagen, who decided to lower the proportion of diesel engines used by the entire company in favor of gasoline-electric hybrid and all-electric systems.
Audi’s WEC competitors have recently used a diesel-electric hybrid system that is unrelated to the engineering used in the company’s road vehicles.
According to a VW Group insider, “one of the attractions of the two-brand LMP1 approach was their different driveline designs.” “A shared driveline idea between Audi and Porsche would restrict the technology transfer to our road cars.”
The implementation of new driveline specifications is another obstacle that works against Audi’s continued participation in LMP1. From 2018, manufacturers competing in the premier class of the WEC will be required to adhere to a 10 megajoule rule. This will necessitate a significant revision of the existing Audi R18 e-tron quattro’s turbocharged 3.7-liter V6 diesel engine and electric motor application, including the adoption of a second kinetic energy recuperation system.
The Volkswagen Group implemented cost-cutting measures to its motorsport program prior to the start of the 2016 World Endurance Championship, which caused Audi and Porsche to reduce their attendance at the Le Mans 24 hours this year and run two-car teams instead of their respective three-car programmes from previous years.