From what we saw at the Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard, the work done on the 919 Hybrid this winter seems to have paid off…
We looked at every possible way of upgrading the car. We had to, because our two rivals have taken inspiration from our technical set-up. When it comes to preparation and reliability, I don't think we could have hoped for better. Anyhow, for Le Mans, we’ve done some really good work. As for the shorter races and sheer speed, we’ll have the verdict after Silverstone next weekend.

Isn’t there a risk that simply upgrading the concept won’t be enough to beat the new Audi and Toyota prototypes?
There's always going to be a risk! There was room for improvement and we’ve done our homework. But how much we’ve actually gained, we just don’t know yet. We’re faster, that’s for sure! But WEC is a category where you can’t be too aggressive in development terms or you end up jeopardizing reliability. A lot of the work we’ve done has been with Le Mans in mind!

So you got the world title last year. Does that mean winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans is your main goal this season?
It would be terrific, especially with Porsche, but I’m not actually losing sleep over it. Mario Andretti competed more often at Le Mans than at Indianapolis and although he won the 500 Miles, he never finished first at the 24 Hours. That’s just how the race is! You shouldn’t chase victory at Le Mans but you should be ready to grab the opportunity when it arises. It’s extremely difficult to finish Le Mans with a clean sheet. We managed it last year because we had two cars that didn’t really come up against any problems. That’s pretty exceptional. We know it’s going to be difficult to repeat that. I love the six-hour races, but the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit really is exceptional. Every lap is a compromise.

WEC continues to gain in popularity. Can you see any ways of improving it to make it even more appealing to the fans?
While motorsport is generally suffering a decline, WEC is doing really well. We have some great races, Le Mans is just huge for the spectators and it’s tremendous for TV. But watching a six-hour race isn’t that easy. That will always be a barrier. The ideal timing is 90 minutes, like in football! Again, Le Mans is a different matter because people come and go throughout the race. If the championship wants to gain a higher profile, there needs to be more manufacturers and a few well-known Grand Prix drivers. People like Alonso, Button and that. At the moment, Porsche is creating a buzz because of its history. It’s the same for Ferrari in Formula 1.

Do you miss the magic of the Grand Prix?
Not a bit! The only magic I’m interested in now is Le Mans!

Jean-Michel Desnoues (ACO) | Translated from French by Clair Pickworth