In the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), spectators cheer for Porsche vehicles: The Porsche 963 in the former and the Porsche 911 GT3R in the later.
Hertz Team JOTA and Proton Competition will race the Porsche 963 in the Hypercar class for a second year, while Manthey EMA and PURERXCING will field two Porsche 911 GT3R in LMGT3.
Beside the victories of the factory team, it is also the achievements of the customer racing teams that contribute to the success of the Porsche brand: the customer and factory teams’ efforts combine to give Porsche a better chance for the manufacturer title.
Hertz Team JOTA will field two entries in the Hypercar class for the first time, with six drivers including 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and former IndyCar driver and Formula 2 runner-up Callum Ilott. The British outfit, founded in 2000, joined Porsche as a customer team last season for its first top-class campaign in 15 years.
This year will mark Proton’s first full season in the Hypercar class, having competed in the latter rounds of last year’s WEC and IMSA championships. They will sport a retro F.A.T International livery on their entry, piloted by Porsche driver Julien Andlauer, Neel Jani and Harry Tincknell.
Manthey is no stranger to the WEC, having competed in the GTE-Pro class on Porsche’s behalf from 2013 to 2023. It took class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in its first year of racing with Porsche. Including its debut victory in 1999, Manthey has a total of four victories at the French endurance classic, and has also won five WEC titles.
Richard Lietz, Morris Schuring and Yasser Shahin will pilot the No. 91 car entered by Manthey EMA, while Manthey PureRxcing's No. 92 car will be driven by Porsche driver Klaus Bachler, Alex Malykhin and Joel Sturm.
Customer racing drivers:
Hypercar
Hertz Team JOTA
- No. 12
- Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, Norman Nato
- No. 38 - Jenson Button, Philip Hanson, Oliver Rasmussen
Proton Competition
- No. 99 - Harry Tincknell, Neel Jani, Julien Andlauer
LMGT3
Manthey EMA
- No. 91 - Yasser Shahin, Morris Schuring, Richard Lietz
Manthey Pure Rxcing
- No. 92 - Alexander Malykhin, Joel Sturm, Klaus Bachler
Customer Racing Teams of the WEC at a glance.
Drivers in Customer Racing.
The first event of the FIA World Endurance Championship takes place in February, with the Prologue on 26 and 27 at Losail International Circuit in Qatar. This is where the first official vehicle tests of the WEC take place and the teams use this time to subject their vehicles to a first stress test.
The first race of the season takes place just a week later at the same venue, with the Qatar 1812km (1125 miles) on 2 March.
