Porsche: First record drive with Neel Jani
FIRST GOAL ACHIEVED This weekend, Porsche began the attack on existing lap records recently announced by AutoSprintCH. The first one has been achieved: Neel Jani was faster in a 919 Hybrid Evo at Spa than Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the 2017 Belgian GP. Last year, Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes took pole position for the Grand Prix in 1'42.553 [...]
Last year, Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes took pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix in 1'42.553. On Monday morning, April 9, Neel Jani was almost eight tenths faster on the legendary Ardennes circuit in a Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo.
However, the record lap of 1m 41.770s has an unofficial character, as such a lap can only be achieved in one race. The question also remains open as to how fast Hamilton or a Formula 1 colleague would be if his GP race car were allowed to run without any regulatory restrictions.
This is exactly what Porsche did on its advertising tour or farewell tour with the three-time World Championship and Le Mans winning car from 2015 to 2017. The first attack on a (still) existing lap record had been prepared well in advance.
1160 hp system power
Free of any restrictions, the 2.0 V4 turbo produced 720 hp instead of the previous 500 hp. The permitted amount of energy from the two recovery systems was exactly 6.37 megajoules per lap at the 2017 World Championship round in Spa. On his record drive, Jani had the full boost of 8.49 MJ at his disposal.
The power output thus grew by 10 % to 440 hp. The system output was thus 1160 hp, which with a weight reduced by 39 kg to 849 kg (omitting the air conditioning and windshield wipers, among other things) corresponds to a power-to-weight ratio of just 0.73 kg/hp.
The engineers also dug deep into their bag of tricks in terms of aerodynamics. A powerful rear wing adjustable by means of DRS, a wider front diffuser, a modified underbody, fixed side skirts and other refinements increased aerodynamic efficiency.
On the record lap, which started at 10:23, the 34-year-old from Biel achieved a top speed of 359 km/h and an average of 245.61 km/h. The air temperature was 11 and the track temperature 13 degrees Celsius - in other words, ideal external conditions.
Neel Jani: "A completely new dimension"
Porsche thus succeeded in proving how fast a Class 1 Le Mans prototype with hybrid can really be, if it were allowed to. Not only was the technical staff thrilled by the successful attempt (this is also known as self-praise), but also the driver himself.
Neel Jani: "The 919 Evo is brutally impressive. It's definitely the fastest car I've ever driven. The grip level is a completely new dimension for me, I couldn't imagine it like that before. The processes on a single lap are so fast with the 919 Evo that the demands on responsiveness are once again completely different from what I'm used to in the WEC. The race engineers did a great job with the set-up, and the special tire from Michelin is a sensation. Many thanks to Porsche for this experience."
Off to the Nordschleife
The 919 will next be seen on May 12 in a demonstration drive (as Porsche calls it) around the legendary Nordschleife before the start of the Nürburgring 24-hour race.
Subsequently, the program includes races at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 12-15), the Festival of Porsche at Brands Hatch (September 2) and the Porsche Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca, California (September 26-29).
