Webber on going back to Le Mans

Upside-down at almost 200mph, 20 or more feet above the Le Mans tarmac, utterly out of control as he waited for his Mercedes CLR to smash to the ground ahead of a godalmighty accident... It's a safe bet Mark Webber wasn't thinking fondly about a circuit that remains one of the great challenges for man and machine.

Webber's CLR took off approaching Indianapolis during the Thursday qualifying session for the 1999 24 Hours and then back-flipped - graphically demonstrating an aerodynamic frailty that has blighted large flat-bottomed race cars repeatedly in recent decades.

He survived the wild ride and crash-landing unscathed, as he would again two days later in a near-identical incident. So, too, did team-mate Peter Dumbreck on lap 75 of the race.

Dumbreck's escape was even luckier: his CLR also flipped and flew, and with remarkable good fortune passed between trees alongside the circuit, before landing belly-down and leaving Dumbreck no more than bruised and shaken.

But with their cars manifestly unsafe on Le Mans' long, long, high-speed straights, owing to a hitherto hidden aero flaw, Mercedes withdrew on the spot.

Neither they, nor Webber, have since raced at Le Mans, although in Mark's case that's about to change in a very public fashion.

Webber's switch from F1 to WEC has been high-profile © XPB

His high-profile defection from Red Bull Racing to spearhead Porsche's assault on the 24-Hour classic means all eyes will be on him, and his new team, when they roll into town next June.

Candidly, typically, he admits "the big one" is unfinished business and while his feelings about the event are understandably mixed, there's no mistaking the familiar, steely, competitive edge that creeps into his voice when he talks about the challenge of Les vingt-quatre heures du Mans.

"There were a lot of cars flying in the '90s and we did that in a very public way," he reflects.

"As drivers we're well used to getting back on the horse and dealing with those personal battles, but under the circumstances there was no way for us to re-group and re-do the race properly. So, yeah, for me to go back there after some of the incidents is a personal challenge, as well."

Webber's sportscar return, by happy coincidence, aligns almost perfectly with Porsche's own as a factory entrant - 1998 having been their last 'works' season. And for both driver and team, the 2014 World Endurance Championship campaign will constitute a new chapter: for Webber perhaps a sweet coda to a successful single-seater career; for Porsche maybe a reboot of an illustrious past.

That, at least, is the aim and Webber, like his new employers, has no intention of making up the numbers.

"The big appeal for me," he says, "is that the cars are still super-close to F1 in terms of lap time, and that was very important to me. I knew that once I left F1 I needed something that was still super-stimulating. It's obviously the closest category you can get to F1.

"The way the cars deliver that lap time is slightly different," he continues, "and in terms of technology there will be a bit of new kit to get used to, so it will take a little time to work out where the performance is. But that's just part of the new challenge."

The Australian stayed in F1 for 2013, signing off with a podium in Brazil © XPB

So, too, the process of familiarisation with a completely new race team environment. Webber's first 'getting to know you' chats with Porsche happened during a Red Bull promotional event at Austria's Red Bull Ring circuit in 2012.

A couple of senior Porsche execs were there and an informal chat between them was concluded with a "let's stay in touch".

They did, conversations progressed, a handshake deal was done - "you can do that with a company like Porsche" - and at one stage the Webber-Porsche-WEC combination looked possible for 2013.

In the event Webber chose to stay for one more season with RBR, while Porsche settled on giving themselves a little more time to prepare for what will inevitably be a closely scrutinised racing return.

The postponement has served only to sharpen Webber's appetite: "It's very hard to ignore Porsche when they're keen to get you and once that became apparent, the switch was pretty inevitable. I've certainly been keeping a close eye on the series for the past two years," he admits.

The intensity of contemporary endurance racing has "hugely impressed" him and the opportunity of racing hard from lights to flag, without the worries about tyre wear that have so dominated F1 in recent seasons, is a major attraction, Webber explains.

"The races look a lot like long F1 races, really, with a lot of traffic. And there are races amongst races and that's a huge difference I'll have to get used to."

Throughout the category, he reckons, "things have ramped up massively," with higher levels of technology, more team professionalism, better safety and more intense track action. The renewed involvement of such a prestigious brand as Porsche ups the ante still further.

Porsche has been busy testing ahead of its own 2014 prototype return

"The factories and manufacturers are only in it to do a great job," he says.

"They're all going to have to be very technically prepared to operate in the WEC as it looks like a game that's getting harder to win. The standard just keeps going up."

Same goes for drivers, who, Webber observes, are "definitely at a higher level than when I last raced sportscars. The average age is lowering, too, because manufacturers want super-quick drivers.

There are guys at the back of the F1 grid who you would question whether they are at that level."

One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the mystical allure of racing for 24 hours on a legendary (for once that's not hyperbole) circuit built around a small French town barely two hours from Paris.

Since the 1920s the best drivers of their day, aboard the most dramatic machinery available, have been drawn to Le Mans to hurtle along its often perilous roads (though less so now than they once were), through day, night, sun or rain, facing down whatever challenge the circuit can conjure.

Webber, like all his forbears, still finds the 8.5-mile track's zesty thrills irresistible: "I've always enjoyed driving a car there," he reflects.

Webber on the cover of AUTO

"I love the long lap and it's a different animal at dusk, at dawn and during the night. I love the build-up to the race and the feeling of endurance and the many different facets that are required to get the car from 2pm to 2pm 24 hours later. That's a very special experience."

Drivers and cars will, he knows, be "battered" by race end, as "there's no such thing as a smooth Le Mans." But he counters: "That's the exciting thing about it. It's exceptionally demanding of everyone. This year's race could be the best for a number of years..."

The opposition - chiefly Audi but also a strengthening Toyota factory squad - could hardly be tougher, and the presence of an all-conquering rival provides the perfect barometer, and motivation, for Porsche.

"Audi are the benchmark, that's for sure," Webber says. "They're the team to beat and have been for a long time: stable, super-organised and with lots of knowledge of how to win. It's great for us to be testing ourselves against that."

Merely "testing ourselves" won't do for either Webber or Porsche, however. Winning, even if not in year one, is the explicit goal. Not only at Le Mans, either, for there's the small matter of titles at stake and the opportunity of becoming a world drivers' champion in a prestigious race series, with a globally revered manufacturer.

"That's the goal," he admits, with that Aussie-patent laconic snap. "Personally speaking I can't wait for Le Mans. I've never finished the race, so certainly it wouldn't be hard to improve on what I've done there in the past."

Somehow, you suspect he will.