Schaeffler and Porsche can become World Champions

n the eighth of nine race weekends of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Shanghai, Schaeffler and Porsche have the chance to win the drivers’ and the manufacturers’ classifications for the third time after 2015 and 2016. Following a so far strong season with four victories – including wins of the 24-hour race at Le Mans and on home soil at the Nürburgring – Earl Bamber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley have a commanding lead in the WEC drivers’ classification with an advantage of 39 points. As a result, Schaeffler and Porsche can become driver and manufacturer world champions in China next weekend with one race remaining. For both companies, this would be the third double title win in a row. Shanghai International Circuit is the venue of the penultimate WEC race in 2017. The 5.451-kilometer Grand Prix circuit has been an integral component of the calendar ever since the WEC’s inaugural season in 2012. In three events between 2014 and 2016, Schaeffler and Porsche celebrated two victories. In the motorsport scene, the WEC is known as a particularly tough as well as an ideal test laboratory for innovative powertrain technologies. It is an appropriate environment for a company like Schaeffler that is doing pioneering work in the development of hybrid systems for production vehicles. The Porsche 919 Hybrid, which is fielded in the top LMP1 category, is powered by both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. For automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler, China is one of the most important locations. About 11,000 of the company’s nearly 87,000 people are employed at the Greater China subsidiary headquartered in Shanghai.