Ambitious Porsche on both sides of the Atlantic

The 6 Hours of Imola on one side, Long Beach on the other. Porsche will be competing on both sides of the Atlantic this weekend with the same ambition: to win. In the World ChampionshipEndurance of the FIA, the manufacturer from Stuttgart (Germany) will want to continue the momentum of its resounding hat-trick at the 1812 km of Qatar. In IMSA, the German firm won at Long Beach a year ago with Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy, for what was the 963's very first competition victory.

« Our clear objective is to immediately follow up with another excellent result after our good start to the season in Qatar and to consolidate our position at the top of the championship, explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport. The characteristics of the Imola track are completely different from those in Doha. We are nevertheless determined to be a serious contender for another victory in Italy. It will be an intense and exciting weekend for Porsche and our Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team. While the team WEC battles for championship points at Imola, our IMSA crew at Long Beach aims to repeat last year's success. We want to succeed on both sides of the Atlantic next weekend. »

Imola, a different circuit in Qatar

To understand these very different characteristics of Losail, Porsche carried out tests on the route of Ferrari. " Our team carried out testing last month at the Imola circuit and gained extremely valuable information. We are entering the second round of the season well prepared, says Urs Kuratle, director of the LMDh factory effort. Our customer team Hertz Team Jota also exploited the full potential of the Porsche 963 at the season opener in Qatar (2nd). Our goal is to make the most of Imola's potential and defend our lead in the world championship. At the same time, we will look across the ocean, where our Porsche Penske Motorsport team is competing at the same time in the IMSA race in Long Beach. So far, our results for 2024 look very good. We want to continue this. » A record which also includes a victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of January.

Due to the nature of the asphalt, teams expect significantly higher tire wear during the race in Italy compared to the season opener in Qatar. The circuit also features an interesting mix of fast corners and tight chicanes, some of which are bordered by high curbs, leaving little room for error. “ The circuit is fundamentally the opposite of that of Qatar: an old-fashioned layout, real curbs and practically no run-off zone., summarizes Laurens Vanthoor, driver of the No. 6 and victorious in Qatar alongside Kévin Estre and André Lotterer. I like a lot and I can't wait to see what the competition will bring to Imola. It will be a big and beautiful challenge for all the teams and all the drivers. »

Porsche will also count on its customer teams to make up for the surplus. With Hertz Team JOTA and Proton Competition in Italy, with JDC-Miller MotorSports and also Proton Competition in California. Mike Rockenfeller will reinforce the latter in No. 5 alongside Gianmaria Bruni.

The start of the 6 Hours of Imola, 3rd round of the 2024 calendar, will be given at 13:00 p.m. on Sunday.

ALSO READ > 6H of Imola – When the WEC ventures onto a high-risk circuit