The Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 #6 racing on the start-finish straight past the stands on the Bahrain International Circuit.

11/4/2023

The FIA WEC season 2023 roundup

A thrilling 2023 season in endurance racing has come to an end with the conclusion of the 8 Hours of Bahrain. A great time to look back on the triumphs and setbacks of the Porsche Penske Motorsport Team, and review the final race of the Porsche 911 RSR.

Expectations were high when it was announced in 2021 that Porsche and Team Penske would be competing in the world's two biggest endurance races: Two reknown motorsport teams that had made successful appearances in the past - and they had their sights set on the FIA World Endurance Championship. Back then, Michael Steiner said, "Our intention is to support and shape the new era with our LMDh prototypes."

Since then, the teams have been working on the Porsche 963, and between the development and the first tests in 2022, the engineers and mechanics have grown together into a single unit. And the common goal is clear: the 20th overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Now, the 2023 season is coming to an end and among others, the two Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 vehicles have run several miles. Time to look back on the past year.

1000 Miles of Sebring

6 Hours of Portimão

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

24 Hours of Le Mans

6 Hours of Monza

6 Hours of Fuji

8 Hours of Bahrain

1000 Miles of Sebring

The first appearance of the Porsche 963 and the Porsche Penske Motorsport Team in the FIA WEC was during the 1000 Miles of Sebring. At first it was about catching their footing in the race season and achieve a good standing for the finish. Througout the race, the team around the #6 (André Lotterer, Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor) managed to defend against their opponents Ferrari and Cadillac. A clear message for the remainder of the season: Porsche Penske Motorsport was aiming for victory.

6 Hours of Portimão

The Porsche Penske Motorsport Team already got a small taste of victory at the 6 Hours of Portimão. The Porsche 963 #6 could keep up with the leadings cars for a long time and managed to maintain its own third position. For a few moments, it did look like the then driving André Lotterer would not have enough fuel to finish the race. But a quick stop in the pit and some good timing later, he finished the race on the third spot of the podium.

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

The weather in the Ardennes already led to the suspicion that it would be a tough race. Emotions were running high for Hertz Team JOTA, as the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was the stage where their golden Porsche 963 with the number #38 would celebrate ist first appearance. They too managed to maintain a good position around the center of the grid in their first race with the Hypercar. The Porsche Penske Motorsport #6 managed to achieve a good top three position early on and the #5 was dogging the tail of the cars ahead of its fifth position.

That was a good thing too, because the #6 had to bow out of the race, and the #5 team sharpened their focus even further. Frédéric Makowiecki, Dane Cameron and Michael Christensen held the third spot for a long time until the #5 finished the race on fourth position.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Despite the 24 Hours of Le Mans taking place in the middle of the season, many still consider them to be the climax event of the World Endurance Championship. Particularly in 2023, when the historic race celebrated its 100th anniversary and two manufacturers held the great desire to add another monumental title to their long-standing history on the Circuit des 24 Heures: Porsche and archrival Ferrari. For Porsche, a victory at the Sarthe also meant the 20th overall victory and a very special present for its own 75th anniversary.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport Team entered the race with three vehicles. The #75 joined the #5 and #6. Sadly, the hopes to win with this vehicle number were dashed. The #75 had to bow out of the race early and after a successful first third, the Porsche Hypercar Teams suffered one setback after the other. Hertz Team JOTA was in the lead for a long time until they collided with the track boundaries. The Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 #6 was forced to undergo multiple repairs, while the #5 was forced to catch up multiple laps.#

The 24 Hours of Le Mans once more proved the old motorsport adage true: You don't win Le Mans. Le Mans let's you win." The 20th overall victory for Porsche would have to wait.

6 Hours of Monza

During the 6 Hours of Monza, the Proton Competition Porsche 963 #99 celebrated its first appearance. And with that, the list of Porsche 963 Hypercars for the WEC 2023 season was complete. The race itself went well for Porsche Penske Motorsport from a strategic standpoint, as the right pitstop strategies brought both vehicles into the lead at some point. The teams gave everything that was possible for their Porsche 963 vehicles at that point. Though it was not enough for a spot on the podium, the team was satisfied with their performance.

6 Hours of Fuji

In Japan, the Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 #6 managed to get an early lead. Due to a daring move made by Laurens Vanthoor, the team could uphold a lead for a long time and against the local heroes Toyota at that. Though a six-hour lead war not possible, the advantage was a benefit to the team right to the end. Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor could celebrate their third place victory together with their team.

8 Hours of Bahrain

Directly in the first phase of the race, the Porsche Penske Motorsport #6 lost its fourth position. Still, the team maintained their focus and began the chase. Despite their early setback, they remained behind the leading vehicles and doggedly fought to gain some ground.

After multiple duels, particularly against Ferrari, the Porsche Penske Motorsport Team finished the race on fifth for the number #6 and seventh for the number #5. Hertz Team JOTA just barely missed the podium on fourth and Proton Competition finished on tenth.

A final year for the Porsche 911 RSR

The Customer Racing Teams fielding the Porsche 911 RSR had a successful final year in the LMGTE Am class. Particularly the exclusively female Iron Dames team managed to score pole position three times and finished multiple races within the points. They also achieved the pole position in Bahrain and took the lead until the Iron Lynx caught up to them. But they maintained the spot behind their team colleagues until they had to pull out of the race, therefore returning to the lead and finish the race there. With that, they won the second spot of the class team championship of the season.

The Iron Lynx faced multiple challenges in the last season of the Porsche 911 RSR, but they refused to give up. They finally seemed to achieve what they had fought so hard for in Bahrain: In the first hour of the race, they took the lead and managed to maintain it for multiple hours. Sadly, they had to stop two hours before the 8 Hours of Bahrain were over.

Dempsey-Proton Racing also achieved good positions throughout the races and came close to a podium for the class team championship ahead of the last race in Bahrain. Their team colleagues Proton Competition were less successful, but can look back on a storied history full of victories.

Project 1 - AO went out without any wins, but always managed to keep up well with the remaining field. But their greatest victory had already been won in Le Mans anyway: They introduced their now popular "Rexy" livery there and became the winner of fan hearts.

All teams offered thrilling battles for positions with the Porsche 911 RSR and brought the vehicle that had been a household name in motorsport across the final finish line with much heart. The Porsche 911 RSR got to experience much with these Customer Racing Teams: from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, from tears of anguish or happiness all the way to the broadest grins on the podium.