Good things come in threes … three factory 963 in Le Mans.

Porsche will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023, while the race in Le Mans is due to celebrate its 100th year. For the birthday celebrations, the factory team Porsche Penske Motorsport will be attending with three Porsche 963. In addition to both Hypercar vehicles from the WEC, Porsche will be attending with another hybrid prototype from the IMSA.

For the large-scale deployment during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the factory team is consolidating its staff from both series. In addition to that, a fourth 963 will be entering the race with the customer racing team Hetz Team JOTA. The Le Mans organizer ACO has already confirmed the participation rights for the additional hybrid prototype with a power output of around 500 kW (680 hp). The vehicle will enter the race with the starting number 75.

The history of the race has proven that particularly the additional vehicles can make a world of difference in a deciding moment. Take the race in 2015 for example: it was the third Porsche 919 Hybrid of Porsche Motorsport that brought the victory in Le Mans.

 

„The commitment in Le Mans with three factory 963 increases our chances, but also proves to be a great challenge at the same time,” says Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Racing LMDh. “We have to provide additional crew, and transport an IMSA vehicle to France and back again. We want to make the best out of our possibilities and shine in the 75th year of the brand Porsche and during the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

„The moment we set up our program, we did so on the premise that we would be able to expand it if necessary. We are a global team committed to the world championship and the IMSA. We have highly qualified and motivated staff that provides support to each other. Entering a third vehicle means that the respective team members of our IMSA crew have to be in Germany and France for about four weeks. They will be preparing the vehicles and constituent materials together with their colleagues from the WEC. Next on the program is a testing day and finally, the race week. We will be entering with three absolutely homologous cars,” explains Jonathan Diuguid.

Entering behind the wheel of the Porsche 963 with the starting number 5 will be Dane Cameron, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki. Its sister car with the number 6 will be steered by Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and the three-time Le Mans overall victor André Lotterer from Germany.

 

Operating in the cockpit of starting number 75 will be Felipe Nasr. His two team colleagues will be joining from the existing IMSA driver squad of Porsche Penske Motorsport. Who that will be will be announced at a later date. The customer racing team Hertz Team JOTA has nominated the factory driver António Félix da Costa from Portugal, the Brit Will Stevens and Yifei Ye for their starting number 38. The Chinese man is the sponsored driver of Porsche Motorsport Asia-Pacific.

 

The 24 Hours of Le Mans took place for the first time 100 years ago in France. The 91st edition will be taking place on June 10 and 11, 2023.