With 4 cars at Le Mans, Porsche wants to “maximize its chances of victory”

Porsche doesn't want to leave anything to chance. For the Centenary edition, the German manufacturer will arrive with a veritable armada. The entry list reveals the registration of four Porsche 963s for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2023! The Stuttgart firm will be the most represented in the Hypercar category. For his return to Sarthe, in the premier category ofEndurance, the objective is clear: achieve a 20th victory in the Le Mans double clock tower, on June 11.

“Le Mans is the highlight of every Endurance season and even more so this year, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the 24-hour race, summarizes Thomas Laudenbach, vice-president of Porsche Motorsport. For us, it's about maximizing our chances of achieving our 20th victory at Le Mans on the occasion of the brand's 75th anniversary. This is why we decided to field a third [official] car. Racing history has shown that the extra cars deployed are often the factor that tips the scales. You don't have to go back far in the history of Porsche Motorsport to see proof of this: in 2015, the third Porsche 919 Hybrid gave us victory at Le Mans. »

Porsche wants to “shine” for its 75th anniversary

Among the four Porsche 963s registered for the Centenary edition, we will find the two official Porsches which will participate in the full season of the WEC : n°5 with Dane Cameron, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki, as well as n°6 with Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and André Lotterer.

A third official Porsche will be at the start of the 24 2023 Hours of Le Mans with the number 75, in reference to Porsche's 75th anniversary. Felipe Nasr is currently the only confirmed driver in this 3rd car. The other two drivers should be chosen from the crews present in IMSA, including Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell and Nick Tandy.

The 4th Porsche will be operated by the private Hertz Jota team, which will make its debut in the premier category after multiple successes in LM P2. The British team will be represented by Will Stevens, António Félix da Costa (Porsche driver in Formula E) and Yifei Ye (Porsche Motorsport Asia-Pacific driver).

“If the choice to enter Le Mans with three cars increases our chances, it also confronts us with enormous challenges, explains Urs Kuratle, plant manager of the LMDh project. We need to put together an extra team and ship one of the IMSA cars to France and then bring it back. In addition to this, due to supply difficulties, the parts supply may not be perfect. We want to do our best and shine in the 75th year of the Porsche brand and in the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. »

One more car, one more challenge

Same story with Penske which, despite the privilege of obtaining a third car for Le Mans, realizes the task it will have to accomplish upstream. “Running a third car means that our participating IMSA team members will be in Germany and France for approximately four weeks,” said Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. They will join forces with their WEC colleagues to prepare the cars and necessary equipment. Then the calendar provides for the test day and finally the race week. The IMSA calendar allows this without having to make major concessions. We will have three cars on the grid that will be prepared to exactly the same standard. »

Porsche is the last manufacturer outsideToyota to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2017, the year of his departure from the World Endurance Championship. Six years later, the Stuttgart firm intends to recover its property in the face of competition that is denser than ever.

ALSO READ > 24 Hours of Le Mans – Entry list revealed, Porsche in force