Porsche will meet next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans race with a third 919 Hybrid, up from the two cars the manufacturer plans to run through the rest of the 2015 WEC season.
This news comes from Green Car Congress, who report that no decision has yet been made regarding the drivers of the third 919 Hybrid. The Porsche team currently has six factory drivers, who have all been confirmed to continue into the next season: Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Brendon Hartley, Neel Jani, Marc Lieb, and Mark Webber. Chances are that this third 919 Hybrid will be piloted by two or more of these six drivers.
Porsche’s reasoning for a third 919 Hybrid at Le Mans? Research and development. According to Porsche Board Chairman Matthias Müller, “The highly demanding motorsport programme contributes directly to the development of future sports cars for the road. For the development and testing of future hybrid systems, you can’t ask for any harder test bench than the World Endurance Championship and especially the Le Mans 24-Hours.”
This third 919 Hybrid will actually make its debut May 2nd, at the Spa-Francorchamps 6 hour race – over a month ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Porsche is hoping for a smooth dress rehearsal before the big event.
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