Friday, August 31, 2018

Porsche's Hybrid Racing Car Continues its Amazing Farewell Tour At Brands Hatch September 2

The 919 Evo is quite fast.
This is the second-to-last opportunity to see it following the Nürburgring in May and the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July.

From Ars Technica, June 30:

https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/M18_1693_fine-1440x960.jpg
 In May of this year, Porsche treated the fans at the 24 Hours Nürburgring race to some exhibition laps by the 956 
(which set the record in 1983) and the 919 Evo.

Porsche shatters the Nürburgring record we thought was unbreakable
There must be something in the air. On Friday, we brought you news about Romain Dumas and Volkswagen breaking records at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Just five days after Dumas' made it to the top of the mountain, his colleagues at Porsche Motorsport—the team with which he won Le Mans in 2016—have gone and shattered another record some thought would never be broken. The track is the 12.9-mile (20.8km) Nürburgring Nordschleife, and Porsche factory driver Timo Bernhard drove a Porsche 919 Evo around it in just 5:19.55.

35 years ago
Until now, the fastest man to ever lap the Nordschleife was the late Stefan Bellof. By the time of his run in 1983, the track was considered too dangerous for Formula 1, but little else had changed since the 1920s. Nordschleife was still workable for Group C though, which held its 1983 1000kms of Nürburgring there. During qualifying for the race, Bellof—driving a works Porsche 956—lapped the place in 6:11.13. (There's no in-car footage of his run, but teammate Derek Bell did carry a camera for a practice lap that isn't that much slower.)

The 919 unleashed
After Porsche won Le Mans for the third time with the 919 Hybrid—bumping to 18 its total overall wins at the French race—the car maker decided to end the 919 Hybrid racing program. But instead of just sticking the race cars in the museum, Porsche decided to see how fast they could really go. New engine management software and no need to abide by a fuel-flow restriction bumped the 919's turbocharged V4 engine output from 500hp (373kW) to 720hp (537kW). The hybrid system is 10-percent stronger at 440hp (328kW)....MORE
And from Brands Hatch:

Festival of Porsche
Brands Hatch (Indy)
Sunday 02 September 2018 
Festival of Porsche returns to Brands Hatch this September for a special celebration of Germany’s most iconic sports car manufacturer, complete with racing, demonstrations and displays.
The event’s return, for the first time since 2014, is ideally timed as it coincides with the 70th anniversary of the founding of Porsche.

On-track action will be headlined by Porsche Club GB’s very own Porsche Club Championship, starring a wide range of the manufacturer’s race-prepared cars across a number of classes. The Porsche Classic Restoracing Competition has launched this year to celebrate 20 years of the Porsche Boxster. To celebrate this milestone, Porsche Centres across the UK are sourcing and restoring 986 Boxster S models to race in a dedicated championship, with a pair of twenty five minute races. There will also be racing action from a selection of 4-Cyclinder Porsche cars, together with a round of the Porsche Club Speed Championship.

Significant racing cars from the manufacturer’s past will appear too, including the three-times Le Mans winning Porsche 919 Hybrid, taking to the track for special demonstration runs on the Indy circuit. The last Festival of Porsche featured appearances from Le Mans-winning Porsche 956s and 962s, and a whole host of other famous, mouth-watering Porsche cars will be on display in the garages to view throughout the day - plus some will be involved on-track for special demonstrations (click here to view a list of cars that will be attending). In addition to the main race day on the Sunday, Festival of Porsche’s activities will include a Porsche Club member’s soiree on the Saturday night....MORE
*As Ars notes in their piece above:
...You can spot the Evo at Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca here in the US (September 27-30). That last one should be special: we've been told by Porsche the aim is to break the 1-minute barrier at the Californian circuit...