Porsche: No fear of Le Mans Hypercar ‘tech war’ impacting 963 chances – Motorsport.com
Porsche has built its 963, which it will use to return to top-level prototype racing for the first time since 2017, to LMDh regulations – the prototype GTP rules set for the American IMSA series.
Along with Cadillac, it will race LMDh-homologated cars in the WEC against machinery built to Le Mans Hypercar regulations from manufacturers that include giants Ferrari, Peugeot and Toyota.
Laudenbach thinks that Hypercar marques racing against the lower-cost LMDh cars – which run a common hybrid system – will actually be a strong reason for them not to get into a spending war in the more-open LMH rules, as the cars from each class will be equalised via the WEC’s Balance of Performance.
“I’m not that worried about a technological war on that side, because they are competing against the LMDh – so it wouldn’t make sense for their side to let the budget explode,” he told Motorsport.com. “No, I don’t think this will happen.
“I see the… I wouldn’t say problem, I’d say challenge for the sanctioning bodies is to give a fair chance to everybody. It’s a difficult task for the ACO and FIA.
“I hope they get it right, because then we really do face a new era of endurance racing.”
#7 Porsche Penske Motorsport, Porsche 963, GTP: Mathieu Jaminet, Michael Christensen, Nick Tandy
Photo by: Porsche
Porsche Penske Motorsport chief Jonathan Diuguid added that the stability of the platform has been a key to attracting major manufacturer interest, with Acura and BMW also building cars to the LMDh rules but not yet committing to a campaign outside of the American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar series before 2024, when BMW will join the WEC ranks.
“Manufacturers that come along have to put up a large investment, and now have a stable platform to get a return on that,” said Diuguid.
“The people at the table that made this get across the finish line – IMSA, the FIA and ACO – all finally got together and decided this was the way to go for the future of sportscar racing. I think we’re going to see the fruits of all that labour, compromises and discussions that everybody made.
“In the next couple of years, I think we’ll have a really strong class of top-level manufacturers racing in prototypes across both championships. On top of that, there’s an efficient model from a budgetary standpoint to be able to contest those legendary races at Daytona, Le Mans and Sebring.
“LMDh does a great job from that standpoint from the aerodynamic design to branding and whichever form of engine you want to bring, and the series takes a lot of time to give some guarantees on parity of budget and performance, so it’s not a spending race where the only people who win are the ones who spend the most.”
United Autosports confident of 2023 WEC fightback after below-par season
Last chance to bid for genuine WTR Acura IMSA DPi race car
Watch 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R test at Sebring
The inside story of F1’s newest race track
Gasly: 2022 F1 season was ‘quite far away’ from AlphaTauri’s expectations
Pierre Gasly feels 2022 was “quite far away” from AlphaTauri’s expectations heading into the Formula 1 season after slumping to ninth place in the championship.
Porsche: No fear of Le Mans Hypercar ‘tech war’ impacting 963 chances
Porsche’s motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach believes that its 963 program in the FIA World Endurance Championship is not at competitive risk by a potential spending war between rival Le Mans Hypercar manufacturers.
Zhou: Point on debut in Bahrain felt ‘huge’ after criticism and abuse
Zhou Guanyu says scoring a point on his Formula 1 debut in Bahrain this year felt “huge” after a wave of criticism and abuse following his signing by Alfa Romeo.
DTM tyre supplier change won’t be a “gamechanger” for teams
DTM team bosses believe the championship’s switch from Michelin to Pirelli tyres next year won’t be a “gamechanger” that will favour teams experienced with the Italian brand’s products all season.
Is Qatar the price motorsport fans have to pay?
OPINION: Fresh from hosting a controversial 2022 football World Cup, Qatar has added its name to the 2024 World Endurance Championship calendar. Although questions may be asked about its presence on the calendar, is it simply the price to pay for having a healthy racing championship?
How Toyota defeated Alpine for the 2022 WEC title
Toyota #8 trio Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa outscored their rivals in the last season before the World Endurance Championship’s top class gets ultra-competitive. Here’s how their Hypercar battle with Alpine and the remaining class tussles played out in LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am
The long road to convergence for sportscar racing’s new golden age
The organisers of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship worked together to devise the popular new LMDh rule set. But to turn it from an idea into reality, some serious compromises were involved – both from the prospective LMDh entrants and those with existing Le Mans Hypercar projects…
How Porsche’s Le Mans legend changed the game
The 956 set the bar at the dawn of Group C 40 years ago, and that mark only rose higher through the 1980s, both in the world championship and in the US. It and its successor, the longer-wheelbase 962, are arguably the greatest sportscars of all time.
Why BMW shouldn’t be overlooked on its return to prototypes
OPINION: While the focus has been on the exciting prospect of Ferrari vs Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year, BMW’s factory return to endurance racing should not be ignored. It won’t be at the French classic next year as it focuses efforts on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but could be a dark horse in 2024 when it returns to La Sarthe with the crack WRT squad.
The history lessons Peugeot should have learned on its return
The Peugeot 9X8 will make its FIA World Endurance Championship debut at Monza this weekend. The French manufacturer has gone radical and will be hoping it doesn’t need to overhaul its contender, as it did with its first Le Mans challenger…
How Formula E’s double-duty drivers got on at Le Mans
Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams’ fortunes
How junior formula giant Prema is readying for its Le Mans future
Prema remains a colossus in single-seaters, but the serial Formula 2 and Formula 3 title-winning squad has joined forces with top GT squad Iron Lynx for an attack on sportscars in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. Ahead of its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours, its sights are firmly fixed on LMP2 glory – and a future in Hypercars next year…
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options: