Porsche 963, already a success story?

The overall result for this 2024 season: six titles out of six in IMSA and a Drivers’ title in WEC thanks to Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor. With the 963, Porsche only missed out on one title, and by only two points, that of Manufacturers’ World Champion.

« The year was incredibly successful, explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport. With the 963 and our Orsche Penske Motorsport team, we won seven of the eight possible titles in a very competitive environment. I’m very proud of it. This result is a well-deserved reward for the hard work put in by our team, on the tracks, at our team premises in Mannheim and Mooresville, as well as in the development department in Weissach. We took the 963 to the top in a very short time ».

A development that has borne fruit

On December 16, 2020, Porsche publicly announced for the first time its return to the premier class of the world’s two largest endurance series: WEC and IMSA. A decision based on the decision of the FIA ​​and IMSA to opt for common regulations from the 2023 season: Hypercar and GTP.

In May 2021, Porsche announced its association with Team Penske to form Porsche Penske Motorsport. But also that Multimatic was selected as a chassis partner among the four approved LMDh chassis manufacturers. A little later, the decision was made to add the 4.6-liter V8, which was also recently used in a hybrid configuration in the 918 Spyder. The engine’s roots go back even further, to the RS Sypder which hit the headlines in the 2000s.

Porsche Penske Motorsport has established its operations centers for the FIA ​​WEC and IMSA in Mannheim, Germany and Mooresville, USA. On January 13, 2022, the 963 comes to life during a very notable presentation in Weissach. Testing and more than 30,000 kilometers covered served as the basis for the first season, with a competitive debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2023.

2023 : Between first victories and setbacks

The Florida Endurance classic marks the debut of the 963. It demonstrates great potential from the start, but reliability and operation are still lacking. If the No. 7 starts from the first row and completes a good number of laps in the lead, the German-American association must be content with seventh and eighth places. The German LMDh did little better at Sebring, at the opening of the WEC, with fifth and sixth places. Subsequently, constant improvements allowed its performance curve to skyrocket.

In IMSA, the first podium was obtained in the second race, and the first victory in the following race, at Long Beach. Other triumphs followed, notably at Road America, before a double at Indianapolis. Porsche only had to admit defeat in the fight for the title in the final at Road Atlanta. In the WEC, on the other hand, there are podiums but no victories to get your teeth into.

« The results, particularly at Le Mans, did not live up to our expectations, recognizes Laudenbach. When Porsche enters, the objective can only be victory.» Et Urs Kuratle, head of official LMDh programs at Porsche continues: Factory Motorsport LMDh. “The 2023 season has given us a big list of duties for the short winter break. We managed to optimize the reliability and performance of the car as well as the team structure. After incredibly hard work, we arrived at Daytona in January 2024 and won. That was the key. It showed we could do it! »

24 Hours of Daytona 2024, the victory that changed everything?

During the 24 Hours of Daytona last January, the 963 No. 7 of Matt Campbell / Felipe Nasr / Dane Cameron / Josef Newgarden won. “ That’s when things really started to happen. », rejoices Campbell. Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, explains to him that “ the victory at Daytona was the key to all the successes of the season. From the start of the year, we proved to the world and to ourselves that we could succeed. I have been in motorsport for 20 years. I know there are good phases and difficult phases. Of course, sometimes we experience days where we wonder why we invest so much energy and countless hours into this sport. The answer is Daytona: moments like these are incomparable! »

And above all, this double Floridian clock tower proved to everyone that the new version of the Bosch MGU suffered less from the vibrations generated on the traction chain by the old V8 of the 963, and which were the cause of a lot of pain during the previous year.

Porsche Penske Motorsport is on cloud nine, to the point that the 963 goes on to win the opening round of the WEC in Qatar. A triumph completed by the third place of the sister car. “ The excellent weekend in Qatar confirmed to us that, as in IMSA, we could compete with the other LMDhs in the WEC, but also with the LMHs, Kuratle says. And that was very important ».

In both series, Porsche and its factory drivers took the overall lead in the opening round…and never let it go again. The 2024 season got off to a flying start and continued like this, ending with an incredible record of seven titles.

In IMSA, the 963 scored four victories in nine races. With the exception of Indianapolis, at least one official Porsche 963 has reached the podium at every race. Porsche wins the Manufacturers’ Championship, Porsche Penske Motorsport the Teams’ Championship and drivers Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron the Drivers’ crown. Three other IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup titles completed this impeccable record in the United States.

In the WEC, Porsche Penske Motorsport triumphed in Qatar and Fuji. At Imola, Spa-Francorchamps, São Paulo and Sakhir, she achieved valuable podiums. And it is this regularity which allowed Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor to take the Drivers’ crown.

On the Manufacturers’ side, Porsche missed the bet by only two points. “ We can look forward to an extremely successful season, says Laudenbach. But, of course, we would have liked to win the constructors’ world championship and a 20th victory at Le Mans. These are now our main objectives for the 2025 season. »

The 24 hours of Le Mans, the only downside

After the disappointing debut at Le Mans 2023, the 963 showed considerable improvement this year. However, this did not materialize into a victory. Kévin Estre’s pole position and the 20 laps led were not enough. The No. 6 finished at the foot of the podium, two ranks ahead of the No. 5, while the No. 4 retired on Sunday morning after leaving the track.

But this new double clock tower completed without concern for reliability has allowed Porsche to definitively put away this 90° crankshaft that it was thinking of grafting to its mount for the aforementioned vibration problems.

« The objective for 2025 is clearly defined: we want victory at Le Mans », says Jonathan Diuguid. Next year, Porsche Penske Motorsport will enter the world’s biggest endurance race with at least two factory cars, probably three.

“Despite all the successes achieved this year, there is this little race in France that everyone wants to win,” Kuratle quips. We haven’t succeeded, not yet…”. And only a victory in Sarthe will allow the 963 – despite a convincing 2024 season – to enter the pantheon.

Porsche Penske Motorsport statistics 2024

WEC

Name of courses: 8

Victories: 2

Other podiums: 7

Pole positions : 2

IMSA

Name of courses: 9

Victories: 4

Other podiums: 8

Pole positions : 1