Porsche have started testing their P1 cars for next years tilt at the Le Mans 24 Hour. The Porsche PR machine has been in motion for quite some time now. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ffzuja7-mk&feature=c4-overview&list=UU_BaxRhNREI_V0DVXjXDALA

The cars are being tested, the support team is working hard behind the scenes and the factory will leave no stone unturned in the run up to Le Mans next year, however there is still one major issue, that has most sports car racing fans left scratching their heads….. the drivers. Porsche have announced four drivers up to this point. First up, were their experienced prototype combination of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. These guys were never in any doubt, having been on loan to Audi for the last few years, and in the meantime, just happened to win an LM24 (2010) in the process.

There’s been a lot of discussion amongst fans about who would occupy the other seats. I haven’t seen anything officially confirmed, but at this stage think that they would be running at least three cars at Le Mans next year, with the chance of a fourth. Earlier this year, rumours starting circulating, of the possibility of Mark Webber joining up with Porsche in endurance racing, after his well-documented differences with Red Bull in F1. He was their third driver announcement, followed up with the news that Neel Jani would be joining them from Rebellion Racing.

Now, that begs the question. Who else do they have up their sleeve? They still require two more drivers, and that of course only covers them for two cars. If Porsche want to win Le Mans in 2014, they will need a three car effort, with the possibility of a fourth, so that could mean up to eight more drivers. Although they are back into prototype racing next year, after a decade and a half absence, these guys know what needs to be done to win at Le Mans, having won the race sixteen times. It requires a supreme effort, usually meaning you aren’t successful, on your first time back. I am a dyed in the wool, till the day I die, Porsche fan, so without getting too carried away, I think that they can and will, taste success next year, and Porsche would probably be the only team that could achieve this success after such a long absence. I was slightly disappointed that some of their existing factory GT guys haven’t been given an opportunity in the LMP program. They have a lot of talent, but no names from that roster, have come up in any announcements to date, so it seems that Porsche probably have some more drivers in mind, currently racing with other teams, that may be announced later this year. I was initially thinking Nick Heidfeld would be a walk up starter, but Rebellion would probably be trying everything in their power to hang on to him, having already lost his team mate Jani, to Stuttgart. Whoever Porsche are courting, they are keeping their cards pretty close to their chest. There’s plenty of names out there, eg Jeroen Bleekemolen, Lucas Luhr, Brendan Hartley, Tom Kimber-Smith and Adrian Sutill immediately come to mind, but I think a couple out of left field may also be on their list. There was talk that they may even get involved in some sort of customer program. Not likely, but stranger things have happened. I’d like to see some of the talented pay drivers, like David Heinemeier Hansson get a run in a Porsche LMP1 customer program, but that’s probably an extreme long shot.

As much as I have enjoyed seeing the well oiled, Audi juggernaut winning just about everything in world sports car racing over the last thirteen years, it’s time for a changing of the guard. Bring on 2014.