Circuit of the Americas in Austin to host the only U.S. race in the
FIA World Endurance Championship
Park Place Porsche held an open house Saturday, September 13, in their newly redesigned showroom on Lemmon Avenue. While the new space was impressive, the real stars were the 911 RSR and 919 Hybrid racecars. The 919 Hybrid will be making its North American track debut this weekend at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas (COTA), during the Lone Star Le Mans September 19 – 20.
As the United States’ only Grand Prix track, COTA will feature the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) September 20th. The six-hour race will start at 5 p.m. with the sun scheduled to set at 7:43 p.m., making it the maiden night race for COTA. The six Porsche 919 Hybrid drivers will rely on their recent twilight and night racing experience at the 24-hour Le Mans.
“We are highly motivated going into Austin and want to benefit from everything we have learned so far, “ said Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1. “It is almost like the kick off of a second season, but under new conditions. For a long time the Le Mans preparations dominated everything. Then we had a strong performance there and emerged together from what was the harsh end of it. The Porsche 919 Hybrid’s new aero package was working straight out of the box. Now we have to transfer everything to racing. If we get that right, I have no doubts
we will be competitive and achieve the appropriate results.”
With its hybrid powered Le Mans Prototype (LMP1), the Porsche Team enters the most innovative race car in the field and has set high goals for the remaining five rounds of the World Championship.
“Park Place Porsche is proud to have a team running in Austin this weekend,” said Patrick Huston, Park Place Porsche general manager. “Park Place Porsche has been active in racing for years. While we sponsor a professional team, we also work hand-in-hand with clients who have an interest in building a competitive car and learning how to handle it on the track.”
Following are some facts and figures about Porsche’s entries in the upcoming COTA race:
- COTA’s length is 5.513 kilometers (3.427 miles.) One lap features nine right-hand turns and 11 left-handers. The circuit, designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, has 40 meters difference in altitude and is run counter-clockwise. The longest straight-away is 1.2 kilometers (about ¾ of one mile.)
- In 2013, the race winner completed 187 laps (1,030.93 kilometers or 640.59 miles) in six hours. Over this distance each of the two Porsche 919 Hybrid cars would generate and utilize 195 kilowatt hours (kWh) – an amount of electrical power that would light a 60-Watt incandescent light bulb for almost 20 weeks.
- In normal racing mode (without any safety car periods), the Porsche 919 Hybrid must refuel every 31 laps. This would mean five pit stops for refueling per car. Two fuel tank fills (62 laps) with one set of the Michelin race tires is the Porsche Team’s target for COTA.
- 29 cars total are on the entry list for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Nine of them compete in the LMP1 category alongside the Porsche 919 Hybrid cars. The Porsche car numbers, 20 and 14, stand for the year of Porsche’s return to top-level motorsport.
- The Porsche Team shipped 35 tons of airfreight on the world tour. The majority of the freight travels from Austin straight to Fuji, to Shanghai, to Sakhir and then to the final race in Sao Paulo. The equipment includes two race cars, one spare chassis, four engines, four gearboxes, three suspension sets, 100 rims, 120 radios and headsets, about 400 meters of electric and IT cables, four tool cabinets and 30 fireproof overalls and helmets for the team.
- In the WEC standings after three out of eight races, the Porsche Team with 60 points is currently third behind Toyota (115) and Audi (114). In Le Mans, double points were awarded.
- With these two LMP1 cars, the Porsche 911 RSRs from the GT categories of the WEC and the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (USCC), there are a total of seven Porsche racecars running in Austin.
Park Place Porsche is located at 5113 Lemmon Avenue, near Love Field Airport, in Dallas.
