WEC Porsche Prototype Discussion - Page 294

Spyderman · 20 Oct 2016, 05:46 (Ref:3681547)

According to Thomas Kraemer (Head of LMP engine design) , all areas of the 2017 car will be improved ...but especially the aero and the power-train. According to him, there are lots of good ideas and they expect the car to be very quick.
I suppose the real question is will it be quick enough to hold off the Audi and the Toyota.

sssssssss · 20 Oct 2016, 12:59 (Ref:3681587)

hopefully not again, for good god's sake! hahaha!

Dyson Mazda · 23 Oct 2016, 17:31 (Ref:3682277)

Quote:

Originally Posted by gert

That should not be a problem if you still have Mako - Bamber or Tandy - Christensen - Estre - Lietz - Long - Henzler - ... on your payroll.

If needed they can promote one of their junior drivers (e.g. Müller?) or one of the many Supercup or Carrera Cup talents to the GT squad.

Not to mention there is going to be some serious talent on the market is the Audi program dissolves. They are already on the VAG payroll as well.

Spyderman · 24 Oct 2016, 07:30 (Ref:3682411)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyson Mazda

Not to mention there is going to be some serious talent on the market is the Audi program dissolves. They are already on the VAG payroll as well.

Indeed, and it may be one of the reasons Porsche have not yet nominated a dedicated Technical Director. However, and if truth be told, I'm having a very hard time believing that the Audi program will dissolve (although it all seems logical).

gert · 24 Oct 2016, 09:48 (Ref:3682432)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyderman

I'm having a very hard time believing that the Audi program will dissolve (although it all seems logical).

I can't see that happening either.

Dyson Mazda · 24 Oct 2016, 14:41 (Ref:3682493)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyderman

Indeed, and it may be one of the reasons Porsche have not yet nominated a dedicated Technical Director. However, and if truth be told, I'm having a very hard time believing that the Audi program will dissolve (although it all seems logical).

I think I am in the opposite boat. With the direction of VAG, their lawsuits, and diesel technology now seems like the obvious time for Audi to exit stage left. Perhaps they will downsize to GTE, though there have been rumors that this is the last R8.

Spyderman · 24 Oct 2016, 15:19 (Ref:3682499)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyson Mazda

I think I am in the opposite boat. With the direction of VAG, their lawsuits, and diesel technology now seems like the obvious time for Audi to exit stage left. Perhaps they will downsize to GTE, though there have been rumors that this is the last R8.

Yes, it all makes sense and you are most likely correct. I just cant wrap my head around it yet. I guess I'm still at the "seeing is believing" stage.

rubberduck · 26 Oct 2016, 10:02 (Ref:3682936)

But ex-Audi Pros in a Porsche, does this seem likely PR - wise?
Now that they are on the market indeed...

Gingers4Justice · 26 Oct 2016, 10:17 (Ref:3682940)

Not sure what Porsche would gain from any of the current Audi drivers that they don't already have in their current line-up.

J Jay · 26 Oct 2016, 12:17 (Ref:3682996)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubberduck

But ex-Audi Pros in a Porsche, does this seem likely PR - wise?
Now that they are on the market indeed...

I think most of them will be going to FE to be honest, apart from Rast (DTM) and some of the GT3 regulars (Vanthoor, Mies, etc.)

Porsche aren't in need of extra drivers as Audi were at the turn of the decade, and they've got a big enough stable of their own to promote from within.

Spyderman · 26 Oct 2016, 16:15 (Ref:3683083)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubberduck

But ex-Audi Pros in a Porsche, does this seem likely PR - wise?
Now that they are on the market indeed...

I was thinking more on the technical side.

Victor_RO · 26 Oct 2016, 16:49 (Ref:3683094)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyderman

I was thinking more on the technical side.

The press release read more towards the LMP1 team personnel being kept on board, but moved either to DTM or the Formula E team.

Spyderman · 26 Oct 2016, 17:09 (Ref:3683104)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

The press release read more towards the LMP1 team personnel being kept on board, but moved either to DTM or the Formula E team.

Yes, I know, but there might be those that wish to move on.

gert · 26 Oct 2016, 18:45 (Ref:3683145)

I doubt you need as much staff to operate and design (what design?) a FE car than an LMP1 Audi.

The Abt team was already in place last year (and the year before), so maybe not in desperate need of staff anyway.
Ditto for the DTM teams.

I wouldn't be surprised if some were to turn up at Porsche (or even Toyota)

Richard C · 26 Oct 2016, 18:53 (Ref:3683149)

I agree with the points in the handful of posts above, Kudos to Audi for not making the staff redundant, but... for some individuals the new positions may not be viewed as positive and may choose to work elsewhere. And the FE project (mostly spec?) likely does not need as large of a staff as the WEC project and DTM is already staffed? The pie just got smaller yet the overall staff is the same size. They may also expect it to be solved somewhat by natural attrition (people leaving to go elsewhere).

Ricahrd

J Jay · 26 Oct 2016, 18:58 (Ref:3683150)

Could some of the staff not be integrated back into the road car side of things? Putting aside any jokes about "road relevance," there may still be a lot to be gained from transferring the personnel as well as the tech back to the production cars, particularly for the systems (hybrid) engineers.

CTD · 26 Oct 2016, 19:40 (Ref:3683163)

Let's not forget that this is the Porsche thread, not Audi

ederss7 · 27 Oct 2016, 01:07 (Ref:3683251)

Starting from next year, I'm officially supporting Porsche. I hope both manufacturers bring three cars to Le Mans, so we can have a six car battle.

Articus · 27 Oct 2016, 10:28 (Ref:3683335)

Quote:

Originally Posted by J Jay

Could some of the staff not be integrated back into the road car side of things? Putting aside any jokes about "road relevance," there may still be a lot to be gained from transferring the personnel as well as the tech back to the production cars, particularly for the systems (hybrid) engineers.

production car politics/engineering is the 7 circles of hell for any motorsport engineer. Some will probably get picked off by Porsche, Toyota. Others by BMW Peugeot.

ederss7 · 28 Oct 2016, 17:37 (Ref:3683663)

So a third car is now viable or Audi's decision will have no effect on Porsche's programme? I'd be really disappointed if they don't bring three cars next year.

Spyderman · 31 Oct 2016, 11:38 (Ref:3684254)

Whilst reading the Porsche PR for the build-up of the shanghai race, I came across an interesting turn of phrase: "We very much regret the loss of Audi as a great competitor from the 2017 WEC season on. Porsche will compete in the entire 2017 WEC season as planned." - No mention of 2018 and beyond. No mention of any further commitment.
https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/moto...rid-13105.html

**bjohnsonsmith** · 31 Oct 2016, 12:03 (Ref:3684256)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyderman

Whilst reading the Porsche PR for the build-up of the shanghai race, I came across an interesting turn of phrase: "We very much regret the loss of Audi as a great competitor from the 2017 WEC season on. Porsche will compete in the entire 2017 WEC season as planned." - No mention of 2018 and beyond. No mention of any further commitment.
https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/moto...rid-13105.html

Maybe they are viewing 2018 as a given and are reaffirming their commitment to next year, in the light of Audi quitting?

Spyderman · 31 Oct 2016, 12:09 (Ref:3684258)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Maybe they are viewing 2018 as a given and are reaffirming their commitment to next year, in the light of Audi quitting?

Maybe, but right now I wouldn't bet on 2018 being a sure thing.

They may be leaving the door open and watching closely what happens over the winter (both in regulatory evolution and if other manufacturers are in the pipeline) before committing fully.

PhilipR · 31 Oct 2016, 13:53 (Ref:3684282)

Why would they lay down their future plans in a PR piece for a race?

Since 2018 brings new rules they might still be looking to get the full picture and then approve the programme.

Spyderman · 1 Nov 2016, 05:21 (Ref:3684453)

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilipR

Why would they lay down their future plans in a PR piece for a race?

Since 2018 brings new rules they might still be looking to get the full picture and then approve the programme.

They are the ones that brought up the future in their PR (about Shanghai), by stating specifically that they would be around for the entire 2017. They did not choose to use language such as "future", " Foreseeable future", or any other language that would/could lead one to think that they are in it for the long haul. They specified a time period.

Furthermore - I think that there is a veiled warning to the regulators in their next sentence : " So far Porsche has derived a huge benefit in terms of knowledge and innovations for production cars from the LMP1 programme – this applies in particular to the 24-hour race at Le Mans. ".

I think they are saying that if the future rules are such that the technical gains are diminished (especially for Le Mans) , they will not be interested in continuing.

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