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Mark Webber hospitalized as Porsche takes first WEC victory, Toyota wins championship [UPDATE]

It was a mixed bag for the Porsche team at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo this weekend – the last race of its first season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. On the one hand, the German team took its first win since launching its LMP1 effort at the start of this season. On the other, its star driver suffered a massive crash that left him in the hospital. The crash occurred with less than half an hour to go when Mark Webber, who was running sixth in the #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid, lost control at Turn 14 at the Interlagos circuit – the same spot where he crashed his Jaguar F1 car during the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix – and crashed tail-first into the barrier. Both Webber and Matteo Cressoni (driver of the #90 Ferrari 458 Italia with which Webber collided) were evacuated to the trackside medical center and were then taken to the nearby Hospital Bandeirantes. Both were reportedly conscious throughout but are undergoing further testing, described as being in "satisfactory" condition by the FIA medical official on the scene. The occurrence of the crash so close to the end of the race, and the time it took to clear the wreckage, meant there was not enough time for a restart, so the race was completed under the safety car. But when the field did cross the finish line, it was the #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Mark Lieb that took the checkered flag – marking the first time that Porsche has won an endurance prototype race since 1989. Of course, that solitary victory was not enough for Porsche to take the title, which went to the Toyota TS 040 driven by former F1 drivers Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson, who finished the race in second place ahead of the Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro driven by the retiring Tom Kristensen and his co-pilots Lucas di Grassi and Loic Duval. Top honors for the season in LMP2 went to Sergey Zlobin for SMP Racing in the Oreca-Nissan, while Ferrari took the GT title. UPDATE: Mark Webber released the following statement on his condition: "I'm quite sore this morning, am pretty bruised and have got a stinking headache. I've got no recollection of the accident or how it happened. The team is looking into the details to find out more.

Winterkorn steps down as CEO of Porsche SE

Martin Winterkorn's departure from all things related to the Volkswagen Group is nearing completion. After having stepped down as chairman of the automaker's executive board nearly a month ago in the wake of the automaker's diesel emissions scandal, he's now leaving the direction of the company's principal shareholder, as well. After VW acquired Porsche (the automaker) several years ago, and in turn was principally acquired by Porsche (the holding company), the latter installed Winterkorn as its chief executive officer in order to cement ties between the parties. He's served as chairman of the executive board (German-speak for CEO) at Porsche Automobil Holding SE ever since, but he's now officially resigned from that position. In his place, the holding company has named Hans Dieter Potsch as its new chief exec. Potsch was also recently named as chairman of the supervisory board of the Volkswagen Group, having served until now as CFO of both VW AG and of Porsche SE. Winterkorn's principal successor at the helm of daily operations at VW is Matthias Muller, formerly CEO of the Porsche auto brand and now CEO of the entire VW group. The development brings Winterkorn's exit closer to completion. However the departing executive still, for the time being, remains at the head of group divisions Audi, Scania, and Truck & Bus GmbH. We don't expect it will be much longer, however, before he formally resigns from those chairmanships as well. Related Video: Porsche SE: Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn ceases function as member and chairman of the executive board Successor as chairman will be chief financial officer Hans Dieter Potsch Stuttgart, 17. October 2015. Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Stuttgart ("Porsche SE"), reached an agreement with Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn that he ceases his function as member and chairman of the executive board of Porsche SE by the end of October 31, 2015. Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of the supervisory board of Porsche SE, thanked Prof. Dr. Winterkorn for the successful work in previous years: "Prof. Dr. Winterkorn assumed office as chairman of the executive board of Porsche SE in a difficult situation. He played a significant role in transforming our company into a highly professional investment holding. I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the entire supervisory board." Hans Dieter Potsch, chief financial officer of Porsche SE, was appointed by the supervisory board to succeed Prof. Dr.

Porsche planning more plug-ins

Which automaker offers the most plug-in models in the industry? The answer may surprise you, because it's not Toyota, it's not Renault or Nissan or any other automaker that might spring to mind. The answer is Porsche, which already offers the Cayenne and Panamera in plug-in hybrid spec in addition to the 918 Spyder. And it could offer more in the near future. Speaking with Automotive News, Porsche's global sales and marketing chief Bernhard Maier spoke of the importance of plug-in range-extended models to the company's future plans. The 55-year-old executive, who endeavors to make his 56-mile round-trip daily commute from home to the company's headquarters in Stuttgart entirely emissions free, indicated that his company only plans to offer more plug-in models. Previous reports indicated that E-Hybrid powertrain in the Cayenne and Panamera wouldn't fit in the Macan, and that no such plans were in store for the Boxster, Cayman or 911. But when asked what Porsche had in store for the future, Maier replied: "We have a lot of ideas, but we have not approved them for production yet. The 918 Spyder shows that Porsche has the capability to produce very convincing hybrid sports cars." While clearly guarded, Maier's answer points to a future of more plug-in hybrid models from the storied German marque. All that remains to be seen is whether that will come in the form of a Boxster, Cayman, Macan or another new model altogether, like the rumored mini-Panamera dubbed Pajun or a mid-engined V8 supercar.