PORSCHE PENSKE

Porsche Penske Motorsport today presented the racing bolido to compete in the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship and the IMSA

The racing vehicle that was unveiled today (Friday, June 24) in Goodwood, England, displays the typical Porsche racing car colors: white, red and black. Experienced and successful drivers competing in prototypes will work together with the talented and expert Porsche factory drivers. Porsche Penske Motorsport prepares for these missions at two locations: The branch in Mannheim (Germany) is responsible for the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship, while the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship vehicles are prepared in Mooresville, North Carolina, USA.

“After 7,889 kilometers of testing during the first half of 2022, we are on a very good path, but there is still work to be done before the start of next season,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Motorsport. “Our new Porsche 963 is set to continue the legacy of legendary models like the 917, 935, 956, 962 and 919 Hybrid. I am sure we will be well positioned when it comes to technology, furthermore, we have created the relevant team structures to prepare to win in the exciting competition that will involve many manufacturers and different engineering concepts.”

The official debut of the Porsche 963 is scheduled for January 2023 at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the USA. Meanwhile, the FIA ​​WEC has opened the doors for testing as part of this year's upcoming world championship races. Porsche Penske Motorsport is aiming for a non-competitive dress rehearsal at the final round of the season in Bahrain in November.

“Over the past few months, our people at Porsche Motorsport and Team Penske have developed into an efficient and committed team – the Porsche Penske Motorsport Team,” says Urs Kuratle, LMDh motorsport program director. “We will have powerful teams of drivers in the four factory cars. Collaboration with our long-time partner Michelin and chassis manufacturer Multimatic works seamlessly. The Porsche 963 is expected to be homologated this autumn. Until then, we want to make further progress with the test drives and gain additional insights. We can't wait for our first ride.”

The drivers selected for the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races include the experienced drivers: Kévin Estre (France), Michael Christensen (Denmark), André Lotterer (Germany), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), Matt Campbell (Australia), ), Mathieu Jaminet (France), as well as talented sports car drivers Dane Cameron (USA) and Felipe Nasr (Brazil). In the initial phase of development, Frédéric Makowiecki played a key role: during the launch in Weissach in January, the Frenchman covered the first few meters in the Porsche 963 and took the first laps in the simulator. Other drivers, including competitors from the endurance races at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta (Petit Le Mans), will be announced at a later date.

Porsche Penske Motorsport prepares a total of four 963s for the world's most important sports car races at its plants in Mooresville (North Carolina) and Mannheim (Germany). The WEC facility in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is a former Penske Automotive Porsche Center, built to the latest technology standards. The exchange of information between Porsche Penske Motorsport's three high-tech centers takes place in near real-time. The WEC team will move to the Mannheim facility this fall. 

Jonathan Diuguid is the Executive Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport: “Expectations are extremely high”, acknowledges the American. “Not just from the public, but also from Porsche and the Penske team, who have written great chapters of motorsport together in the past.” Diuguid and Travis Law (Director of Competition) will guide the global team at Porsche Penske Motorsport, with direct supervision and management of the FIA ​​WEC and IMSA programmes. The daily operations of the FIA ​​WEC team will be led by Bernhard Demmer (General Manager) and Francis Schammo (Team Manager). Joel Svensson (Team Manager) will be responsible for the IMSA championship in North America.

In compliance with LMDh regulations, the Porsche 963 is based on an LMP2 category chassis. This newly developed vehicle chassis is supplied by Multimatic, a Canadian high-tech company. Bosch, Williams Advanced Engineering and Xtrac contribute standard hybrid components. At the heart of the powertrain is a 4.6-liter V8 biturbo. The engine is based on the Spyder 918, a high-performance hybrid sports car. Its DNA goes back to the RS Spyder race car, with which Porsche and Team Penske scored many victories between 2005 and 2008. The design of the new Porsche 963 comes from the winning classic 956 and 962 from the 80s. at the rear, it echoes the distinctive feature of the latest 911 of the 992 generation. The vehicle's design in white, red and black is a salute to Porsche's successful racing cars. And another tradition lives on: The new Porsche 963 will be available to customer teams from the first year of competition. The first Porsche customer teams will communicate their program in the coming days.

For its anticipated campaign in the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSA) - the two longest distance racing series in the world, including the classic 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring - Porsche Penske Motorsport joins forces with robust and recognized partners. Tire manufacturer Michelin continues its close alliance, as does ExxonMobil with its Mobil1 brand. In addition to software specialist Ansys as the official technology partner, supporting the global team with cutting-edge simulation solutions, Penske Corporation, including several subsidiaries and prominent brands, is also on board as an official partner. With its experience in development and engineering, Multimatic joins the project as a technological partner. Luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer also joins the global team as the official timing partner of the Porsche Penske Motorsport team. Fashion brand Hugo Boss, as partner and supplier of team apparel, and sports lifestyle company Puma, as technical partner for fireproof racing apparel, complete Porsche Penske Motorsport's portfolio of high-profile partnerships.

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