A very promising first round at Silverstone for Porsche to defend the constructors’ title

On April 17th 2016, Chopard started its third year as the official timing partner of the leading WEC team: Porsche Motorsport. At the Six Hours of Silverstone 2016, the season’s opening round, the two new Porsche 919 Hybrid cars led by Chopard’s ambassadors, Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Romain Dumas campaigned again for victory on the renowned circuit of the British Midlands after a very successful year 2015 which ended up with a double title in the pilots’ and constructors’ championship. 30,000 kilometres of testing allowed Porsche to significantly further develop the Porsche 919 Hybrid to fulfil the new WEC 2016 regulations. Porsche began the seasons with strong expectations. The Porsche 919 Hybrid led by Romain Dumas reached the second position in the LMP1 race.

The FIA WEC championship started this weekend with a very strong and encouraging beginning during the 6 Hours of Silverstone. After Silverstone racetrack saw rain and snow on the previous days, on Sunday the race start was in bright sunshine with the two 919 Hybrids lining up third and fourth on the grid for the first of nine World Championship rounds.

After a thrilling six hour race, Neel Jani finished second in the Porsche 919 Hybrid N°2 that he shares with Marc Lieb and with the Chopard ambassador, Romain Dumas. By doing the fastest lap of the race, Neel Jani proved the competitiveness of the innovative hybrid race car. Porsche also suffered from a significant accident when the number 1 car of reigning World Champions Timo Bernhard, and Chopard ambassadors, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber crashed after two hours. The pilot walked away unhurt even if he had a spectacular accident.

This race has been very demanding for the brand new Porsche 919 Hybrid. The team learned a lot on the new motor created to defend its constructors’ title. Fritz Enzinger, Vice President of LMP1 at Porsche, summarized the ambitions of the team: “We came second. This is a great start to the season. The spectators can look forward to some very exciting racing. In Spa-Francorchamps, we will attack again.”

With a racing history starting in 1947, the Silverstone race track is known for being a historical technical race. Teams consider Silverstone to be one of the fastest circuits on the current calendar. Having been built atop an old airfield, the Silverstone circuit is a technically difficult track, but a favorite amongst drivers. The track is a mixture of high and low speed corners with some long straights, making it physically exhausting for the drivers. Overtaking is notoriously difficult. Silverstone is a race where every second counts to start off the WEC season in the best way.