Kiwi duo’s not-so-secret weapon: ‘Mr Nurburgring’
Kiwi duo Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber know they have the advantage of a not-so-secret weapon as the World Endurance Championship moves to the famed Nurburgring in Germany this week.
Following a remarkable victory at Le Mans last month, the trio of Hartley, Bamber and German driver Timo Bernhard are already 17 points clear at the head of the standings going into round four of the 2017 season.
Understandably, that triumph at one of three events that make up the triple crown of world motorsport has the combination who pilot the championshipleading Porsche 919 Hybrid confident for what lies ahead.
And as Hartley explained, they weren’t the only factors boosting the prospects of the No 2 car and its German manufacturer for the six hour race starting on Sunday afternoon (Sunday 11pm NZ time).
‘‘It’s been a crazy but good couple of weeks after Le Mans and the result has just about sunk in,’’ the 27-year-old from Palmerston North said.
‘‘We have won the Nurburgring race for the last two years and Earl and I are lucky to have ‘Mr. Nurburgring’ himself as a teammate.
‘‘A victory on home soil [for Porsche] would be the icing on the cake after Le Mans. I’m looking forward to another big fight.’’
There is good reason Hartley uses the nickname ‘Mr Nurburgring’ to describe Bernhard.
The 36-year-old German, who has nine years on both his Kiwi team-mates, not only grew up less than two hours drive from the world renowned track, he has enjoyed no lack of success there.
Bernhard is a five-time winner at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, one of the biggest events in endurance racing, and won the event on four consecutive occasions from 2006 to 2009.
In his first year as a fulltime LMP1 driver, Whanganui’s Bamber does not have anywhere near that level of experience at the famous venue but remains optimistic about what he and his team can achieve.
‘‘We come off Le Mans with good momentum and our priority is to push for the manufacturers’ championship. If we can secure that, we want the drivers’ title as well. I have some experience on the Nordschleife (Nurburgring’s longest circuit) but not so much on the Grand Prix circuit. But I like it and can’t wait to take the 919 Hybrid round there for the first time.’’ That feeling is only ramped up by an important set-up change for the pair of Porsche LMP1 machines.
Round four will be the first time in this year’s championship where both 919 Hybrids will use a high down-force aerodynamics package, enabling the cars to corner at higher speeds.
LMP1 teams are allowed just two aero set-ups under 2017 regulations and, in contrast to LMP1 rivals Toyota, Porsche opted to use the opening two rounds at Silverstone (England ) and Spa (Belgium) to develop and refine their low downforce package for Le Mans.
While it meant Toyota won the first two events at tracks more suited to high downforce, it also put Porsche in a strong position to prevail at Le Mans and more time to develop their second package.
Porsche LMP1 team principal Andreas Seidl was upbeat about where they found themselves going into the post-le Mans part of the championship.
‘‘After winning Le Mans, we went straight to a very positive three-day performance test in Barcelona.
‘‘We feel well prepared for the six-hour race at the Nurburgring. The 919 Hybrid will appear with a new front and a changed rear section.