Porsche joins Formula E… and abandons the WEC!
The board of directors of the Volkswagen Group has decided to vote to end the LMP1 program of the flagship brand, which has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times in a row. Porsche's sports division is thus aligning with its road electric car project, Mission E.
Busy week behind the scenes of Formula E! After the official announcement of Mercedes joining on Tuesday, it’s Porsche’s turn to confirm its entry into the 100% electric championship. This decision marks a major re-orientation of the program for this other major German manufacturer. More specifically, the Weissach firm is prematurely ending the participation of the 919 Hybrid in the WEC, the World Endurance Championship. The commitment was initially set to run until the end of the 2018 season, but it will now stop at the end of the current season!
As with Mercedes, Porsche’s entry year will be the same: the end of 2019, at the start of the sixth season (2019-2020). Approved this Tuesday by the board of directors of the parent company Volkswagen, this decision is not without reason. It aligns with current trends, through the development of a series of electric road cars, in a project titled Mission E. Unsurprisingly, the completion of this “mission” is scheduled for the end of the current decade.
Executive member of the Porsche board in charge of motorsport, Michael Steiner justified the decision: The free and growing development of electric technology makes Formula E attractive in our eyes.
For us, Formula E is the ultimate competition, highlighting the development of high-performance autonomous and sustainable cars. Thus, entering and succeeding in this category is a logical outcome for our Mission E road car program.
Thus, the roadmap is clearly laid out for Porsche, which takes a new turn from a purely motorsport perspective. After three consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the German manufacturer thus leaves the pinnacle of the endurance world orphaned, one year after Audi’s own withdrawal. De facto, Toyota is currently the only manufacturer on the starting line of the LMP1 for the 2018 season.
But we may not be done with surprises yet. Toyota’s presence also being based on Porsche’s own participation, a new shocking announcement could soon shake the world of endurance racing, which had also undergone a profound renewal with the introduction of the new “zero emissions” rules at the dawn of the 2020 season.
Furthermore, the Porsche sports group specifies that the GT section will continue its journey for the upcoming seasons. The new 911 RSR will indeed compete in the GTE Pro championship. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the six drivers currently at the wheel of the two LMP1 Hybrids, including André Lotterer, who already experienced the end of the Audi adventure last fall.
