Image Porsche Motorsport
Any car that is built to endure high loads of g-force through corners, as well as be reliable when it comes to consistent performance, the signs were not all there from the onset. The #14 car of Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb and Neel Jani started the ball rolling, as a left front wheel went missing, with hydraulics issues then ending the car’s race.
For Porsche, it was more a case of survival of the fittest, and to see whether all the hard work over the past two years or so at their purpose-built offices had been worth it. The fact that the #20 car outlasted the pair of Audi Sport R18 e-tron quattros, which retired due to the extensive damaged done to the main safety cells, was in some ways a victory for Weissach.
But the champagne being sprayed by Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley at the end of the race, made it all the more sweeter. It was great to see that the supercar giant had made a lot of progress in embracing the new regulations and providing its very own interpretations for what they think is the optimal solution.