FOUR wins for Porsche at Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards 2015
- Porsche wins Race Car of the Year and Motorsport Team of the Year awards
- Further wins for the marque in Powertrain Innovation and Motorsport Engineer of the Year categories
- Charlie Barlow crowned winner of Young Rally Driver of The Year
Porsche has picked up an armful of awards for its 2015 motorsport successes, scooping titles in a staggering four categories at this year’s Professional MotorSport World Expo awards.
The company picked up Race Car of the Year, Motorsport Team of the Year, Motorsport Engineer of the Year and Powertrain Innovation of the Year at a ceremony last night (11 November) at Professional MotorSport World Expo 2015 in Cologne.
Porsche faced stiff competition from Audi, Renault Sport, Scuderia Ferrari and VW Motorsport among others, and its wins are testament to its complete overhaul of the 919 LMP1 Hybrid. The German team took the two top places at Le Mans 2015, in only its second year of entry, and Team Porsche become the first to enter an 8MJ car in the World Endurance Championship.
The 25-strong judging panel was impressed with changes to the 919 during 2015, including a new chassis, manufactured as a single piece to improve weight. The energy recovery system was also refined, with Porsche stepping up to the 8MJ category. Podium finishes in every round of the 2015 WEC season ensured that the team sealed the Manufacturers Championship with one round to go.
The 919’s powertrain was also a winner, seeing off competition from McLaren Formula E, Bosch-Audi (R18 MGU) and King’s pMAX bearing overlay, to win Powertrain Innovation of the Year. Its V4 turbocharged petrol engine with an unspecified output of around 500hp powers the rear axle, with an electric motor with over 400hp that drives the front wheels and gathers electricity from two separate energy recovery systems. This allows Porsche to recover energy at all times the engine is running – the only LMP1 design currently able to do this.
Porsche’s evening of success was rounded off by Alex Hitzinger, technical director, Porsche LMP1, winning Motorsport Engineer of the Year for his part in the success of the LMP1 programme, overseeing the 2015 redesign.
Judge Marcel ten Caat, editor in chief of Planetlemans.com, said, “The 919 has been the car to beat in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship, and it remains unbeaten since its commanding one-two victory at Le Mans, Porsche’s 17th overall victory. The hard work by Porsche paid off this season. Having won four races and finished second in the first two rounds of the season, it has had a monopoly on pole positions this season. Apart from its results, the 919 is a true showcase for future road car technologies.”
In other categories, the European Race Series of Year title went to European Le Mans Series, in a lineup featuring ADAC Formel 4, Renault Sport Trophy and Avon Tyres BGT. The Motorsport Technology of the Year award went to Lazer Lamps for its Triple-R range of auxiliary lighting specifically designed for track and rally racing, for long-range illumination up to 1,000m in front of the car.
The now familiar Young Rally Driver of the Year award was collected by last year’s runner-up, Charlie Barlow. Displaying a maturity behind the wheel that belies his years, Barlow has taken six victories from six starts – enough for him to claim the 2015 Kick Energy Formula 1000 rally championship.
John O’Brien, editor of Professional Motorsport World was on the judging panel: “2015 has been a great year for motorsport, regardless of which series piques your interest. However, Porsche’s achievements cannot be ignored. In just its second year in competition with the 919, it has taken the World Endurance Championship Manufacturers title, against some very established rivals. The four awards are rightly deserved, and the prospect of the 2016 WEC season is something I’m greatly looking forward to!”
The winners of the Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards
Race Car of the Year
Winner: Porsche 919
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG003C/S
Oreca 05 LMP2
Audi R8 LMS
Renault Sport R.S. 01
Prodrive VW Golf SCRC
Lada Sport Rosneft Vesta WTCC
European Race Series of the Year
Winner: European Le Mans Series
ADAC Formel 4
Renault Sport Trophy
Avon Tyres British GT
Motorsport Team of the Year
Winner: Team Porsche
Scuderia Ferrari
VW Motorsport
Prodrive Racing Australia
Craft Bamboo Racing
Motorsport Engineer of the Year
Winner: Alex Hitzinger, Porsche LMP1
James Allison, Scuderia Ferrari
Andy Cowell, Mercedes HPP
Giorgio Sanna, Lamborghini Motorsport
Armin Plietsch, Audi Sport
Motorsport Technology of the Year
Winner: Lazer Lamps Triple-R series
ATL Scavenge System
Greaves 3D Engineering EPSR-015 fuel rig
Converge CFD software
GEMS EM80 ECU
Powertrain Innovation of the Year
Winner: Porsche 919
McLaren Applied Technologies Formula E powertrain
Bosch-Audi R18 MGU
King pMAX bearing overlay
Motorsport Facility of the Year
Winner: Audi Sport Competence Center Neuberg
Toyota Motorsport GmbH
Ansible Motion R&D Center
Singapore Marina Bay circuit
Young Rally Driver of the Year
Winner: Charlie Barlow
Peter Bennett
Matthew Davies
Zak Hughes
Josh McErlean
Tom Williams
Judging Panel
• Javier Arús, editor-in-chief, Evo Spain
• Clive Bowen, founder and director, Apex Circuit Design
• Sam Collins, deputy editor, Racecar Engineering
• Mark Higgins, driver and rally tutor, Subaru Rally Team China
• Rebecca Jackson, driver and presenter, MAS Motorsport/Telegraph Motoring
• Geoff Jones, rally tutor, Geoff Jones Motorsport
• Phil Morse, technical director, Energy Balance LLC
• Jonas Jarlmark Näfver, manager of automotive R&D, Öhlins
• Andrew Noakes, editor, Car Technical
• John O’Brien, editor, Professional Motorsport World
• Gerard Quinn, director of motorsport, Ford Europe
• Mark Raffauf, MD of race operations, IMSA
• Robert Reid, performance director, MSA
• Joe Saward, F1 editor and columnist, Motorsport on Monday/PMW
• Roland Schedel, managing director, Text-Com PR Agency
• Armin Schwarz, driver, All German Motorsports
• Alistair Sutherland, managing director, XS Rally team
• Marcel ten Caat, editor-in-chief, Planetlemans.com
• Craig Thomas, editor, Redline Content
• Andrea Toso, technical director, Dallara Automobili
• David Tremayne, editor/columnist, Grand Prix +/PMW
• Mike Trice, senior principal, Populous
• Alan Wilson, CEO, Wilson Motorsport Inc
• Matthew Wilson, driver and team manager, M-Sport Racing
• Kevin Witton, clerk of the course, Bulldog Rally
The winners of the awards were announced at a Gala Dinner on the first evening of Professional MotorSport World Expo 2015.
For more information about each winner visit: http://www.professionalmotorsport-expo.com/english/awards_winners_2015.php
Picture captions:
Race Car of the Year award collected by: Alexander Hitzinger the Technical Director of the LMP1 Race Car
Motorsport Team of the Year collected by: Andreas Seidl, Team Principal of Team Porsche
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Ends.
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