How Porsche has put extra focus on finding a Le Mans edge off-track

No stone has been left unturned as Porsche bids to return to the winner’s circle at the biggest race on the endurance calendar. Three times per week at the Mannheim headquarters of the Porsche Penske Motorsport World Endurance Championship squad, the two pitstop crews – and one spare – gather at a specially created replica of a Le Mans pit stall to practise their craft. 

Porsche is looking for one of the marginal gains that cycling guru Sir David Brailsford sought while at the helm of the multiple Tour de France-winning Team Sky squad and before that on the British Olympic team. It is aiming to find one of the tiny percentage points that can all add up to turn a team’s fortunes. 

The pursuit of perfection has always been part of motorsport. But Porsche has been given new impetus to achieve it in the pits by the nature of modern sportscar racing. There is less to be gained on track in an era where the regulations lay down strict criteria for downforce, drag and engine performance, where scope for development is limited and the Balance of Performance then brings the participants closer together again. 

“There’s less you can do to differentiate yourself out on the track these days: you can’t bring a new bodywork kit to the next race because everything is strictly controlled by homologation,” says Urs Kuratle, boss of the 963 LMDh programme at Porsche and before that operations manager of the 919 Hybrid LMP1 WEC squad in 2014-17. “Pitstops have always been an important part of the game, but that’s even more the case today.”

Porsche set out to find one of the sought-after marginal gains last year when it got its mini Le Mans pitlane up and running after the European arm of PPM moved into its new 4700sq m facility in the wake of the Sebring 1000 Miles season-opener in March. A strict routine was set in place during the summer. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the four mechanics (two wheel gunners and two tyre handlers) who are allowed to cross the white line into what is known as the working lane come together at 11:30. 

Practice makes perfect: performance of PPM crew is analysed in detail at mock-up pitbox

Photo by: Gruppe C Photography

What follows each time isn’t just made in the hope that practice will make perfect – it is a carefully analysed session. It only starts, however, after the wheel change mechanics have fully warmed up. That’s important, says Tobi Durheimer, business and operations manager of PPM in Mannheim.

“For the wheel changers the actions are undertaken with a low centre of gravity,” Durheimer explains. “There is also a lot of rotation, which stresses the hips and the shoulders the most. So they have to be warm.”

Durheimer points out that the warm-up – which replicates the routine undertaken in the pitbox before a car stops during a race weekend – is also significant in avoiding injuries. Last year, PPM had to call on members of the spare crew over the course of the race at Le Mans. A car that comes through the 24 Hours at Le Mans without problem or delay will have to make 30-odd pitstops, though not all involving a tyre change. 

“We wanted the crew to be making the same movements so that we didn’t have to change procedures for different tracks. That gives you benefits in terms of training”
Tobi Durheimer

Each of the three crews will typically undertake two simulated stops back to back before an analysis of each is undertaken. The mock pit has four cameras, one on each corner, and the crew watches back the stops before going again. 

“The aim is to give immediate feedback to the mechanics,” explains Durheimer. “During this short break, we can say, ‘At the left front you were moving your hand in that way and not this way, or you were touching the tyre incorrectly’. We look at it with a detailed eye to gain an advantage.”

This year the WEC will visit two circuits – Interlagos and Austin – that run in an anti-clockwise direction. That has resulted in a change of choreography that fits all track layouts.

“We wanted the crew to be making the same movements so that we didn’t have to change procedures for different tracks,” says Durheimer. “That gives you benefits in terms of training.”

Durheimer, business and operations manager at PPM, aims to give mechanics immediate feedback

Photo by: Porsche Penske Motorsport

PPM doesn’t only practise scheduled pitstops. The same rules limiting the number of mechanics working on the car in pitlane – the four allowed to “intervene” according to the rulebook – apply if it needs to undergo repairs light enough to avoid being pulled back into its box. 

“An irregular stop might mean a change of bodywork,” says Durheimer. “As soon as we start doing that, the whole choreography changes. Normally we have two guys for each axle. Once there is a bodywork involved, there will be two mechanics doing the body change and only two on the tyre changes. We’re getting pretty fast now changing the nose or the tail.”

The Mannheim facility, described by PPM as a motorsport hub, has its own gym. Training is an important part of the practice regime of the pitstop crews. 

“We do a lot of circuit training to improve the heart rate, flexibility and mobility,” explains Durheimer. “The mechanics will have been up for 36 hours by the end of the race at Le Mans, so they have to be able to regulate their bodies even when they are tired. There could be a time when the driver makes a late call to come into the pits, perhaps with a puncture.”

That’s what PPM does to hone its skills in the pits, but the question is how much time can it win? It reckons on average it has gained two tenths per stop since this time last year. Not a lot but it all adds up, and PPM insists that it’s not finished yet!

Will Porsche's focus on pitstop practice pay dividends in the race?

Photo by: Porsche Penske Motorsport