Webber first attempted to land what many said was “the impossible trick” while driving for Mercedes Benz in 1999. Sadly, things didn’t go his way, as his CLR-GT1 was blown slightly askew, and he didn’t quite “stick” the landing.
Webber gave another attempt at the feat in 2010 during the Valencia Formula 1 street circuit race. However, without the big hill on the Mulsanne straight to use as a launching pad, Webber had to use the back of Heikki Kovalainen’s Caterham as his spring board.
Once again, close, but no cigar, as Webber landed upside-down, before rolling back topside. His Red Bull team was clearly disappointed the full rotation wasn’t completed, and were visibly disheartened for the remainder of Webber’s F1 career.
Porsche And Webber Confident They Can Complete Trick Safely And Successfully
First attempted by Yannick Dalmas at the 1998 Petit Le Mans while driving a Porsche GT1. Porsche, Webber and the entire LMP1 team are dedicated to completing this endeavor successfully. Webber was quoted as saying he thinks the 919 Hybrid offers him his best chance yet of safely completing the flip. Porsche execs have urged him to keep training for the big day, and have continued to encourage him through several failed attempts in the simulator.
With Porsche on his side, Webber might just be the guy to do the impossible and stick the landing on the motorsport back-flip, and vice versa. Here’s hoping the judges like his technique.
Other Porsche Blog Posts You Will Enjoy
Porsche April Fools’ Day Round-up
View Comments (6)
Good one - no doubt Yannick Dalmas is sweating it out - thanks for the laugh!!
Is this for real? Your are joking, right?
Jim, you do know what day it is, right?
It must be true. They wouldn't put anything on the internet that wasn't true.
When you see these events you are so aware of the added safety in race cars nowadays - the obvious being fire safety, greater strength of the cars, better belts and helmets, HANS devices, track safety and marshalling - and particularly attention to seat design. It must sure hurt in such a landing and a poor seat design could be crippling.
I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons that Webber has not been able to complete the feat is directly related to his height. If he can squat down far enough in the car so there is little or no wind resistance, I am pretty sure that with the help and guidance of the Porsche engineers that it can be successfully accomplished.