993GT2

http://917burger.blogspot.com.br/201...a-porsche.html

jcs_911

Please, rolling starts only....

Chads996

^^^ this AND - seems to have problems keeping Sports Cars on the ground.

Streak

I'm wondering why they aren't using their current drivers. Pat Long seems to be under utilized at the moment and was the LMP2 guy along with Dumas.

stuttgart46

First the PDK only GT3 and now this? Come on Porsche. Get it together.

ltc

http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/...-in-sportscars

Turb-OH Brad

I would guess that a full Factory Le Mans effort is going to include at least 3 cars (Audi have used as many as 5 cars at some events), with 4 drivers needed per car.

Even if Porsche used their entire factory driver lineup, they would be 2 drivers short. I would guess that they would need to sign a further 4 or 5 drivers to fill out the lineup, as some will have other commitments, and not all of them have "wings and slicks" experience.

morganabowen

It is going to be interesting where Mark Webber goes in 2014 He is the oldest active driver in F1, but I would think that Webber wants to stay in racing, and where better to go then Porsche

Kein_Ersatz

Could be interesting. He has done a few "Porsche" stories while at RBR, unlike Seb's Infinity hawking.

500

I think it likely that Mark will at least keep an eye out on further F1 opportunities for the next year or so (Ferrari?)

However, I think it would be a great option for his career: He would have a real chance of winning Le Mans and other WEC events. As such, he can follow Jacky Ickx' footsteps: A solid F1 career coupled with a great run in endurance racing.

I guess what I mean is I think the best Mark can do in F1 is win a few more races (no small feat of course), but I don't think he is a true championship candidate any longer. A bit more success in F1 won't dramatically add to his legacy, but winning Le Mans sure would.

The official response from Porsche certainly left a lot wide open...

Streak

BREAKING NEWS: Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas in the LMP1-Porsche, World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans

17
APR

Timo Bernhard & Romain Dumas
Stuttgart. The first two drivers to contest the top class of the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Le Mans 24 hour race are confirmed.

Le Mans overall winners Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) will take the wheel of the new LMP1 vehicle from Weissach in the 2014 season.

Already this year the two Porsche works drivers Bernhard and Dumas will commence testing the new Le Mans racer.


Timo Bernhard & Romain Dumas
“Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas are regarded as some of the fastest and most experienced sports car pilots in the world. I’m very pleased that we have these two men contesting the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours for us from 2014”, says Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board – Research and Development at Porsche AG.

“I particularly appreciate about the two is their competence as test drivers. For this reason the pair is already closely integrated in the development program of our new car and will embark on an intensive test schedule from the middle of this year”, says Fritz Enzinger, director LMP1-project.




Timo Bernhard & Romain Dumas in Silverstone
Timo Bernhard comes from Porsche’s own junior development programme. In 1999, Porsche recognised the talent of the then 18-year-old and coached him in the Porsche Junior Team to become a professional race driver.

In 2002, Bernhard was signed on as a works driver and since then has notched up victories and championship titles all over the world. In 2010 he was voted “Race Driver of the Year” by Germany’s automobile club ADAC for his outstanding achievements. Bernhard is the only race driver to have clinched overall victory at all four of the most famous sports car classics.

He won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2010, in 2003 the Daytona 24 Hours, the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2004, and a total of five times at the 24 hour race on the Nürburgring – another record.


Timo Bernhard & Romain Dumas in Silverstone
Romain Dumas joined the circle of Porsche factory drivers in 2004. Previously he attracted attention in the Formula 3, Formula 3000, at international GT races as well as the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.

He is one of the most experienced pilots at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All together, Dumas has contested his favourite race at La Sarthe twelve times. With Timo Bernhard, he scored overall victory there in 2010 at the wheel of an Audi. Together, the pair also celebrated huge successes in the U.S. in the RS Spyder sports prototype.

In 2007 and 2008, the two Porsche works drivers convincingly clinched the title in the American Le Mans Series. Bernhard shared the cockpit with Dumas at four of his five wins at the Nürburgring 24 hour race. Moreover, in 2010 Dumas celebrated overall victory in Spa at the wheel of a Porsche 911.


http://dedeporsche.com/2013/04/17/br...rs-of-le-mans/

multi21

^^^^ I think you nailed it with every point