Porsche set to abandon updated WEC engine
A reliable run for the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport and customer entries at the Le Mans 24 Hours next month with the existing engine is likely to lead to a decision to leave the upgrade on the shelf, 963 project manager Urs Kuratle has revealed. He explained that the improved durability of the 963 this […]
Peugeot claims unfair treatment in veiled BoP attack following WEC Spa
Jean-Marc Finot, the French manufacturer’s motorsport boss, told Motorsport.com at Spa that “my feeling is that we are being treated unfairly”. He did not mention the BoP, because it is expressly forbidden for manufacturers, teams and drivers to talk about it in the series’ sporting regulations. But the interference from his comments has to be […]
BMW hails WEC progress but «too many mistakes» remain
Andreas Roos, boss of BMW M Motorsport, believes the German manufacturer again “did some steps on pure pace”, even though a series of penalties for its two Hypercar entries prevented it from following up on the points-paying finishes of Qatar and Imola. “The pace was there to fight for position five, six, seven,” Roos told […]
Jani explains fix for bizarre Porsche door problem while leading WEC Spa race
After taking over the race-leading car he shared with Julien Andlauer towards the end of the second hour, 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Jani struggled to get the door shut as he rejoined the track. This continued for several laps as he circulated slowly under the virtual and then full safety car before eventually […]
Lietz «had no idea» last-lap WEC Spa move was for LMGT3 victory
Lietz revealed that he at first «had no idea» about the significance of his pass on team-mate Klaus Bachler into Les Combes, which secured victory for the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche he shared with Yasser Shahin and Morris Schuring, as he had begun the final tour in third place. Franck Perera’s Iron Lynx Lamborghini was […]
Jota’s victory in WEC Spa is «proof» of the 963 programme, says Porsche
Urs Kuratle, director of the LMDh project at Porsche, explained that the win for British team’s 963 LMDh shared by Will Stevens and Callum Ilott and the performance of the Proton Competition entry driven by Julien Andlauer and Neel Jani provided validation of the decision to produce customer versions of car. “This is proof of […]
Ferrari protest into WEC Spa result rejected
The Ferrari AF Corse team submitted a protest against the the stewards’ decisions declaring that the race would be restarted after the original time the event was scheduled to finish and the provisional results of the race. It was ruled inadmissible under the FIA’s international sporting code because “a stewards decision cannot be the subject […]
Jota Porsche claims maiden win in crash-delayed thriller
Will Stevens and Callum Ilott secured the first customer car victory of the Hypercar era for Jota in a 1-2 for the Porsche 963 LMDh, finishing 12.363s ahead of the factory #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry shared by Laurens Vanthoor, Andre Lotterer and Kevin Estre. Taking fuel shortly before the 1hr44m red flag, caused when […]
Spa WEC race halted after accident involving Cadillac and BMW in hour five
Bamber was pressuring Neel Jani’s Proton Porsche 963 LMDh for third place with a little under two hours remaining in the race when the pair came upon the battle for fourth in the LMGT3 class on the run to Les Combes. With Jani delayed slightly behind Gelael’s WRT-run BMW M4 GT3 and the D’Station Aston […]