Porsche’s 2017 racing season will focus once again on title defense. One of the highlights of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will again be the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held on June 17 and 18. Porsche will enter this race in France as the record winner and defending champion. The expectations are, needless to say, high.

Porsche’s racing engineers want to continue the success they enjoyed in 2015 and 2016. Therefore, they have extensively revamped the Porsche 919 Hybrid—especially its aerodynamics, suspension, and combustion engine.

New developments in the 2017 car: 60 to 70%

900 hp system output

The 2016 distances

3,252 miles Le Mans

5,282.3 miles The remaining eight races: Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Nürburgring, Mexico, Austin, Fuji, Shanghai, Bahrain

The past

18: The number of Porsche’s overall victories in Le Mans

Pit time: 38:05 min.

30 fueling stops

11 tire changes

384 laps

134 mph average speed

32 GB amount of data transmitted from the winning car to the pit during the 24 hours

0.22 gallons amount of hydration available to each driver per stint (the bottles were switched at every fueling stop)

The winner receives the trophy in a Louis Vuitton case that is as venerable as it is valuable. This challenge cup is engraved with all of the winners’ names. Before the next race it must be returned to the organizer: the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.

By Heike Hientzsch