Mark Webber’s Porsche career began in earnest overnight when had has first test in the 2014 LMP1 racecar at Algarve in Portugal. It was the last track outing for Porsche’s LMP1 car until early January and Mark said it was important to get some seat time as soon as possible.
“My first day in this fascinating project was an intense experience for me,” Mark said. “I would like to thank Red Bull Racing for giving me the chance to join the project so early. This is a major and important step for us all. It allows me to integrate with the team quicker and to contribute to further developing the LMP1 race car.”
Head of Porsche LMP1 Fritz Enzinger explains the team is advancing well, but acknowledges there is much more to do before their race debut in April.
“Between the roll-out of the completely new car in June and now we have made significant progress,” Enzinger said. “Every single kilometre was important, providing us with new data that brought the development forward. The whole team has worked extremely hard and I would like to express my sincere thanks for this. Our efforts will continue unabated in 2014. Until the start of the season at Silverstone mid-April there is still a lot to do.”
Mark also understand the task at hand is a difficult one. “We have a long way to go and it involves a lot of hard work. I have no misconceptions about this,” he added.
Webber joins Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani as confirmed drivers for Porsche’s 2014 program. There will be six drivers in all and the remaining two will be named this weekend. It’s expected long-time Porsche works driver Marc Lieb and former F1 test driver Brendon Hartley will get the nod.
