Former Formula One ace Mark Webber drove the #17 LMP1 Porsche 919 Hybrid to the pole for the World Endurance Championship 2015 season opener at Silverstone, England Saturday.
WEC qualifying requires two drivers to set an average time, reflecting that each car is run as a team, not a solo effort. Webber and co-driver Brendan Hartley set a two-lap average of 1:39.721 1:39.534 (Webber did a 1:39.908, Hartley a 1:39.534) at an average speed of 213.4 kph around the historic 20-turn, 3.66-mile Silverstone circuit.
“It was a great team effort,” Mark Webber told Radio Le Mans after the session. “Qualifying went pretty good for us but we’re not getting too carried away. We wanted to put the cars in the best possible spot on the grid, and we’ve done that.
“The #17 crew has been pretty comfortable all weekend but we'll have a really tough fight on our hands tomorrow with the Audis and Toyotas. It was a smooth session and I think tomorrow’s race will be really enjoyable.”
Webber said the updated Porsche 919’s upgraded ERS system( for 2015 Porsche moved up to the top ERS class of eight megajoules of energy recovered and released per lap) took a huge leap of faith (“incredibly optimistic,” he called it ) but is working out so far, though “we’re still learning a lot with that was we go on, to be honest.
“I think Silverstone is probably not the best venue for us in terms of getting the most out of [the upgraded ERS] but that’s the way it is. Le Mans it should be a nicer circuit for us.
“Tomorrow we are going to get the maximum result and earn some champagne.”
Romain Dumas and Neel Jani in the #18 Porsche averaged 1:40.340 at 212.5 kph to qualify second. Since the #18 ran nine laps and the #17 only six, it is reasonable to conclude that the #17 used a new set of tires for its fastest laps, while the #18 saved a set for the race on Sunday.
“On my first lap I made a mistake, and on my second I lost time again because of traffic,” Dumas said in a press release. “But the most important thing is we are at the front. What counts is tomorrow’s race.”
Neel Jani added “It wasn’t that easy to go straight from the wet to qualifying mode, as our set-up wasn’t quite right. But having qualified first and second is super for our team. We have reached today’s target and tomorrow we want to fight for the race win.”
That extra set of tires could play a major role: Porsche is notoriously hard on its tires, or it was last year. if the new car, with more ERS energy, still tears up the rear tires, the #18 car might have an edge in the last stint.
