Penske would like to return to Le Mans with Porsche

About ten days ago, Porsche announced its intention to make its return to LMP1 in Sarthe in 2014 (see AUTOhebdo n°1812). And nothing says that the German firm will not rely on a partner team to carry out its program, like what Audi is doing with Joest? or what Porsche did with Penske in the 2005 ALMS in 2008. Roger Penske, in fact, seems to be very interested in this project. The American, whose team is already engaged in IndyCar and Nascar, confided his wish to be part of the adventure during the show Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on American television SPEED. Penske has even already had discussions with the staff of the brand which has 16 victories at Le Mans.

“We had the chance to meet Ferdinand Piech, who became the big boss of the VW group, and Wolfgang Durheimer, who is now in charge of the sports branch (from the VW group, editor’s note), he told SPEED. With the recent announcement of Porsche's return to Le Mans, we hope to be part of the program. There is nothing to announce at the moment. We have achieved many successes in LMP2 (from 2005 to 2008 with the RS Spyder in ALMS, editor's note). Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard (official Porsche drivers, editor’s note) and Mike Rockenfeller (former Porsche driver, editor’s note) were crowned there (last year with Audi, editor’s note), and we'd like to put them back in a Penske Racing Porsche, and see if we couldn't tackle Le Mans. It was the race that did not see us triumph. It would be a great honor to participate in this fantastic event. »

If a partnership were to take place between Porsche and the American team, it could mark the return of Penske Racing to La Sarthe 40 years after its only appearance. It was in 1971, with a Ferrari 512M entrusted to Mark Donohue and David Hobbs. But the project has just been officially launched, and it is still far too early to know who will be responsible for operating the cars leaving the Weissach workshops.