Modified Porsche 919 to lead Nürburgring 24 Hours formation lap with 956C

The Porsche 919 ‘Evo’ will make its second public appearance as it laps the Nürburgring with the Porsche 956C – the car which holds the outright record on the circuit – on May 12. 

The 919, which won the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans from 2015-17, set a track record at Spa-Francorchamps in April as Neel Jani lapped the circuit at 1min 41.770sec, beating Lewis Hamilton’s time in the Mercedes W07 Formula 1 car by nearly eight-tenths of a second.

Unfortunately, the 919 won’t be attempting to beat Bellof’s record at the Nürburgring as the pair of prototypes will be behind a safety car on the formation lap for the Nürbugring 24 Hours. Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard, who has won the Nürburgring 24 Hours a record five times, will drive the 919.

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Related:

• Chasing Bellof
• Porsche 919 beats Spa record

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“The Nordschleife is home for me. When I was a kid I used to accompany my father to the Eifel mountains,” said Bernhard. “The complexity of this track doesn’t compare to anything.

Bellof’s lap of 6min 11.13sec will, therefore, remain unbeaten. He averaged more than 124mph over the 20.835km circuit in the twin-turbo, six-cylinder 956C with chassis no007. At the N24, chassis 005 – the car that Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass shared for the 1984 season – will be leading the pack, with the Rothmans livery replaced by ‘Racing’.

Porsche’s 919 ‘tribute tour’ stopped at New York City earlier in May, its first public appearance as the manufacturer prepares to say goodbye to its winning prototype.