Mark Webber has spoken candidly about the risks involved in the World Endurance Championship and the part they played in his decision to retire after tonight’s final round in Bahrain.
Webber admitted he will be set for life outside of a racecar.
The 40-year-old will start on the front row in his Porsche 919 Hybrid with his team-mates Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, and could finish as high as second in the drivers’ championship, which they won in 2015.
Porsche have already wrapped up the manufacturer’s championship for the second consecutive year and the team’s #2 car driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb only has to finish fifth tonight to collect the driver’s title.
“I have had some close shaves for sure,” Webber told Speedcafe.com.
“I just want to get out there, have a smooth race and get through it.
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“I will totally look back and say I am in good order and I don’t trivialise that at all, not everyone has had that fortune.
“When you are 25 or 30 that (self preservation) is not even on the radar. It is not until your late 30s or early 40s – well it was for me anyway.”
The Porsche LMP1 program is regarded as one of the most technically advanced in world motorsports and Webber has played a significant role in marque’s development during his three years in the WEC.
While he is proud of what he has helped the German manufacturer achieve, he won’t miss aspects out of his control, especially the speed differentials between LMP1 cars and the much slower LMGTE entries.
“We have always had the ‘gentlemen’ drivers in this type of racing with the multiple categories running together and that will long continue,” said Webber.
“But the speed differences we have had.
“The Brazil crash I had, which was not small. Then there was Brendon’s (Hartley’s) crash at Silverstone, Allan McNish’s crash, Rockenfeller’s crash – they have all been tangled up with a very slow car and it’s a numbers game.
“But that’s part of it. I would love to have 30 LMP1’s out there, but we can’t.
“Then there is Le Mans which is not the safest race. It does have its risks and I am just not prepared (to face them any more).
“The testing, the development, the Le Mans race, traffic and so many other things out of my control.
“There is a lot of effort that goes in and you are still not sure what the relative result will be through no fault of your own.
“And that is all fine. There is absolutely no negative connotation in that whatsoever.”
Tomorrow, Webber steps into a global role as a Porsche ambassador and, as you would expect from one the hardest-working drivers in the sport, he has several business initiatives to be rolled out in the next 12 months.
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