“We’re super respectful of the race” he says. “You never come here expecting a result. Nobody stands on the line saying ‘I’m definitely going to win this’. That’s the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi might be our main rivals but our biggest rival is the distance of the race. If you only have to stop for fuel and tyres you’re in for a very good result.
Last year leading the race with two hours to go was an absolute dream. Andre (Lotterer) was coming pretty quick, but for us to be in that position was very rewarding. It was a good thing for us to go through, as we were a super young team at that point. The last three races car #17 has had pole position and had been leading, but we’ve had technical problems. At Silverstone we had a transmission problem and at Spa we had the damper. You have to execute to get the results”.
It’s easy to forget though, just how far Porsche have come just 14 months since their debut race at Silverstone last year. Despite Porsche’s rich heritage, the team are still finding their feet. Is Webber surprised at the team’s meteoric rise in such a short space of time?
“No I’m not, because there’s some really good people involved in the project who’ve done an exceptional job very, very quickly” Mark is quick to remind us. “But there’s still a huge amount of areas to improve. That’s the Porsche way. There’s a lot of trail-blazing technology on the car. Our car run’s 8mJ; we’re the only team to attempt pulling that off. Others have obviously shied away from attempting it because it’s not easy to get it working. It’s been a big challenge for our guys and I take my hat off to them.
We’ve got a great burden on our shoulders given Porsche’s success in the past, but that’s nice to carry as there’s extra pressure that comes with that. Everyone expects results because of the brand that Porsche is”.
Comradery is a word that crops up frequently in WEC circles, but in the dog-eat-dog of motor sport, endurance racing is the exception to the rule – within your own team at least.
Image: Nick Dungan / Adrenal Media