Premature end to season opener

Project 1 has been forced to withdraw from the first round of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship. Following consultation with Porsche experts, the chassis damage on the #56 machine was too severe after an accident on Friday.

“We tried everything but in the end we had no other option,” said a disappointed Team Principal Axel Funke. “Spa is one of those circuits where you can’t afford to make any errors. That’s a lesson we learned the hard way this year. Losing two cars within a week is a bitter pill to swallow.”

What exactly happened? The Porsche 911 RSR was substantially damaged after an accident involving Egidio Perfetti in Friday’s qualifying session. “Normally we can rebuild the car within a short space of time,” explains Funke. However, the accident also damaged some key safety components on the car, leaving the team with no choice other than to withdraw. The #46 sister car was also severely damaged a couple of days previously at the pre-season Prologue test.

The team will now switch its focus to the second round of the season, at Portimão in Portugal on 13 June. Funke and his Project 1 team will be aiming to get back to winning ways and capitalise on some of the potential shown at Spa.