Porsche: Privateer 963s ‘Down to Customers and FIA/ACO’

Photo: Porsche

Porsche’s exit from factory Hypercar competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship will have “no effect” on its customer programs according to motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach, although questions remain whether Porsche could still be represented in the Hypercar class with privateers next year.

Announced earlier this week, Porsche Penske Motorsport will end its participation in the world championship following next month’s season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain, although is set to continue as a two-car factory Porsche 963 operation in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next year.

Speaking to reporters at this weekend’s Motul Petit Le Mans, Laudenbach indicated the German manufacturer could still be present in the WEC with customer efforts, in LMGT3 and even potentially in Hypercar.

“The decision not to participate in 2026 with our factory program has absolutely no effect on our customer programs,” he said. “I cannot answer more.

“The rest is down to our customers and down to the ACO and FIA.”

However, it’s currently unclear if customer 963s will be permitted to compete in the Hypercar class next year without a factory WEC program.

Article 3.2.3 of the 2025 WEC sporting regulations state that a “manufacturer must enter two cars in the Hypercar FIA World Endurance Championship” with it being the “manufacturer’s responsibility to determine which cars will participate in the Hypercar FIA World Endurance Championship or the Hypercar Team Cup.”

Proton Competition, which has fielded a single customer 963 in Hypercar since mid-2023, has been running in the Hypercar Team Cup category, which is not eligible to score manufacturer points.

While Proton, which is absent from this weekend’s Petit Le Mans for the second consecutive Michelin Endurance Cup race with its Porsche 963, has not yet revealed its plans for next year, the Christian Ried-led squad is believed to be the only customer that could potentially race the car in the WEC.

Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle told Sportscar365 that he’s not currently in discussions with any other potential customers for the WEC.

Even should Proton step up to a two-car Hypercar effort next year, its not yet known if that would satisfy the WEC’s manufacturer requirement for 2026.

However, if the Porsche 963 races in the WEC next year, it could allow Team Penske to utilize IMSA’s auto-invite for the 24 Hours of Le Mans should the team win the GTP championship following Saturday’s ten-hour season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“There’s honestly a lot of moving pieces right now,” said Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid. “People are taking a lot of things for fact that aren’t necessarily fact right now.

“I think we don’t really necessarily understand the full picture at the moment. We’ll evaluate that after we get through, step by step.

“Our goal here tomorrow is to win the [IMSA GTP] championship and then we can go from there.”

When asked if he’s unclear whether a two-car privateer 963 effort would satisfy the WEC’s requirement to theoretically allow a one-off Penske effort at Le Mans, Diuguid said: “That’s one of the many [questions].

“Ultimately it’s the FIA and the ACO’s sandbox and how they want to set it up. The sporting regs aren’t out for next year anyways.

“It’s something that’s kinda up in the air.”

Another potential hurdle is the €538,000 ($624,000 USD) entry fee that each Hypercar manufacturer must pay to race in the WEC.

When asked if Porsche would pay the fee if needed, Laudenbach said: “If that’s what’s needed, we’ll discuss it. Of course we’re always happy to help our customers.

“Again, the decision on the factory program not to participate in WEC in 2026 does not change our strategy philosophy with customers.”

Laudenbach, meanwhile, is hopeful that its two-car LMGT3 allocation, which is currently run by Manthey, will be allowed to continue next year.

The WEC has prioritized GT3 manufacturers in the class that have an active or soon-to-launch Hypercar program, although there have been several exceptions, including Mercedes-AMG, which was granted a berth this season that doesn’t meet either criteria.

“I hope that our customer, in this case Manthey, will participate next year,” said Laudenbach. “But in the end, it’s up to the FIA and ACO to accept the entry.

“We are happy, and we would very much welcome to see our GT cars on the grid next year. Again, there’s no change to our customer program. But we are not the ones to decide.”

Diuguid: Porsche Penske Would “Love” to Be in Le Mans Next Year

Should all the pieces fall into place, Diuguid indicated that Team Penske would jump at an opportunity to run a Porsche 963 in the French endurance classic next year.

“Le Mans [has been] the focus of our program,” he said. “We’re in a situation where none of us want to be in. We would love to be at Le Mans but we’ll evaluate it as it comes.”

When asked by Sportscar365 if they would take that opportunity if given, Diuguid said: “As it stands today but everything is moving quite fast right now.”

Laudenbach, meanwhile, stressed that there are too many variables at play to give any kind of signal.

“I don’t want to answer this because there are too many question marks,” he said. “First of all, I think we would have to win [the IMSA GTP] championship.

“It’s not our decisions. You know the procedure in Le Mans. This is not a topic right now.

“Right now we made a decision and we have to execute what we decided and that’s something we’ll have a look later on.

“There’s no need to put too many swords on it today.”

Source: Sports Car 365