Porsche to quit LMP1
Another motorsport great joins Formula E!
The announcement is in line with Porsche's Strategy 2025 which will see the car maker build GT cars and fully electric sports cars like the Mission E. Does make you wonder about all those hybrids though, taking inspiration from the world of motorsport...
International GT racing is apparently still a priority for Porsche though, with the 911 RSR being used in the GT class across the World Endurance Championship and the American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship racing. Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for R&D at Porsche said, "A diversity of manufacturers and the quality of both WEC and IMSA have led us to strengthen our commitment and concentrate our energies on using the 911 RSR. We want to be number one. To do that, we must invest accordingly".
Porsche plans to enter Formula E for the 2019/20 season, by which time BMW will also be competing as well as Mercedes and the other teams like Jaguar, DS and Renault who are already involved. With the regulations also allowing manufacturer designed powertrains now - as opposed to the standardised units originally employed - Formula E looks set to rise in prominence. Will you be watching to see Porsche battle Mercedes in electric vehicles?
It's also a bit of a problem for the series, as they would have been putting a significant amount of money into it. Just look at Le Mans this year, and the noticeable absence of Audi's sponsorship.
Maybe it's time to bring in the hybrid supercar class - McLaren P1 GTRs vs LaFerrari FXX vs Porsche 918s, etc.
A shame really, as they are awesome machines, but it was actually more exciting this year that an LMP2 car almost took the outright win at Le mans
Still, LMP1 - rather than LMP1H - will be back with Ginetta, Dallara etc from 2018...be interesting to see how long that format is sustainable for.
Ive tried formula e. At the moment I can't get into it, monumentally slow single seaters that need to swap entire chassis midway through the short race.
As far as Le Mans/WEC is concerned it will now need to take a long hard look at where it wants to position itself relative to other formula/series and what particular benefits it now offers.
Perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but the next couple of decades might be exciting to watch.
Where does that leave Le Mans and endurance prototype racing though? While it won't be the first time that classes have changed, died off or evolved, the march of the electric era- and the challenge of currently limited range of electric vehicles- will make it harder for ICE endurance racing to remain relevant in a couple of decades. I can't imagine that spectators will enjoy watching all the entries for the 2027 Le Mans race plugged in for hours at a time on recharge... For that reason, I suspect we're not completely done with hybrid racers, but they may not return for a few years.
I've watched a few FE races as well but only when nothing else is on. Its a bit boring and the idea of swapping cars mid race is a complete farce but...
If battery technology is the future of motoring then the manufactures need to get involved in it and there is nothing more guaranteed to drive it forward than motorsport and competition.
Four, five, six, eight cylinders, flat 6, V6, V8, front engine, mid engine, rear engine etc etc. The different engineering beliefs being played out on the track etc. It made it compelling and allowed us the fans to be involved.
The problem with Formula E is that it will be a fairly fixed setup with battery power. Yes, slight technical differences and reliability issues will come into play but it may as well be one model of car with different drivers. I've watched some of the Formula E and been disappointed. A similar thing has happened with F1.
Disappointing to see this happy but it is not a surprise.
One of my lasting memories is seeing the older diesel powered Audi Hybrids silently fly around the Porsche curves at dusk leaving the noisy Panoz and Corvettes standing. The Porsche this year had the same effect when it accelerates past the LMP2 cars out of the corners.
The loss of the LMP1 class that this will result in is a sad day for Le Mans, but the writing was on the wall as the cars got more complex, and more expensive.
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