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Second WEC crown more prestigious than maiden triumph in 2012

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Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer believes that winning the World Endurance Championship title this year means more than his 2012 triumph with Audi.

The German, who sealed the crown in Bahrain on Saturday with Porsche Penske Motorsport team-mates Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer, suggested that his second world crown conveys more prestige than the maiden triumph secured in the inaugural season of the reborn WEC.

“There is more recognition for such an achievement in today’s circumstances,” Lotterer told Motorsport.com.

“You have to look at how the championship has come a long way.

“A lot of manufacturers have come, and they haven’t come just to participate — everyone has come to win.

“The competition now and the Balance of Performance that levels the field means the execution, operation and strategy, doing the perfect job through the season, is what is rewarded.

“I would say it is quite meaningful.”

Race winners #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Marcel Fässler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer and #2 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish crosses the line

Race winners #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Marcel Fässler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer and #2 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish crosses the line

Photo by: Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images

Lotterer stressed that he wasn’t necessarily picking this year’s Hypercar title with the Porsche 963 LMDh over his 2012 success with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 as a more significant highlight of his career.

“I wouldn’t say it means more to me, it’s just different,” said Lotterer, who is leaving the PPM squad for next season after Porsche’s decision to reduce its full-season driver line-up to two drivers.

“But we were quite dominant in 2012 and there wasn’t that much competition if i am honest.”

LMP1 newcomer Toyota was Audi’s only factory rival that season after it made a late decision to undertake more than a limited number of development races, its original plan following Peugeot’s withdrawal shortly before the start of the season.

Lotterer suggested that the world title should no longer be viewed as the poor relation to victory at Le Mans.

While Porsche won the drivers’ title this year with Lotterer, Estre and Vanthoor, it could manage a best finish of fourth in the 92nd running of Le Mans. 

“Previously in LMP1, Le Mans was the thing everyone wanted; it was all about Le Mans back then, he explained.

He added that back in the early years of the WEC revival “you kind of thought you’d lost the season” with a failure to win at Le Mans.

He described winning Le Mans with co-champions Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler as the “heroic part” of a WEC campaign in 2012 that included a further two victories and four podiums.

That is a reference to the Lotterer and his team-mates coming out on top in the battle with the sister Audi driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello despite the failure of hybrid system on their R18 early in the race.

Lotterer, 42, has no intention of retiring after losing his PPM drive with the end of his contract.

He revealed before the Bahrain 8 Hours that he is in talks with Porsche about a possible new role and is also in contact with other manufacturers.

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Porsche not taking conservative approach in WEC finale in Bahrain

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Porsche has insisted that it is not going into Saturday’s World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain with a conservative approach as it looks to seal the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles. 

The German marque will start the Bahrain 8 Hours “looking to maximise its finishing position” with both its 963 LMDhs, according to Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid.

That comment comes despite the fact that Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer in the #6 PPM entry only need to finish ninth to secure the title. 

“Our feedback to everyone is: ‘don’t do anything differently to what we have been doing’,” said Diuguid on the eve of the 2024 WEC series finale.

“We haven’t gone points racing at a single event this year and we are not going to go points racing on Saturday either. That’s what’s got us into this position.

“We are going to do what we have been doing the whole season: let’s go out there and try to beat them [the opposition].”

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Urs Kuratle, head of the LMDh programme at Porsche Motorsport, added that the strategy is “not so different from our normal approach”. 

But he explained that Porsche and PPM could modify its plans over the course of the eight hours.

“We have to be flexible and have to react to whatever the race presents,” said Kuratle. 

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach suggested that it would be possible to over-think its strategy going into the race in Bahrain. 

“If we tried to predict everything, we would have to go through every scenario, and it would be too much of a puzzle for the team,” he said. 

Porsche will be taking an approach that it described as “situational”. 

“If you are leading the race and your strongest competitor is out, obviously you are not going to take any risks,” explained Laudenbach. 

“And if someone is coming up on you with nothing to lose, you might handle it differently than if you are racing your direct competition for the championship, because they will be making sure they don’t damage their car as well.”

Porsche’s task in the manufacturers’ standings is more difficult than in the drivers’ championship. 

It is only 10 points ahead whereas Vanthoor, Estre and Lotterer have a 35-point advantage with only 38 up for grabs.

A victory for second-placed Toyota would give it the manufacturers’ title even if Porsche finishes second.

Toyota took the point for pole position courtesy of Brendon Hartley in the Japanese manufacturers’ #8 entry, but that will have no bearing on the destination of the title if one of the GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercars wins the race. 

But it could prove crucial in other scenarios, however. 

If the best Toyota takes second and the best PPM entry fourth, for example, the two manufacturers would be tied on 179 points. 

The Japanese manufacturer would then take the title on countback by virtue of more second places.

The drivers of the #6 963 have 150 points going into the race in Bahrain to the 115 of second-placed Ferrari crew of Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina. 

Toyota drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries have 113 points and are also mathematically in with a chance of the title. 

Porsche has 161 points in the manufacturers’ standings to Toyota’s 151, while Ferrari on 134 points is nominally in title contention. 

The Bahrain 8 Hours kicks off at 2pm local time and 11am GMT.

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McNish returns to the cockpit of unraced Porsche LMP2000, 25 years after car’s only test

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Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Allan McNish has returned to the cockpit of the unraced Porsche LMP2000 25 years after he took part in the car’s solitary test.

McNish, who retired from racing after taking the World Endurance Championship title with Audi in 2013, drove the LMP2000 at Porsche’s proving ground at its Weissach research and development facility last week.

Porsche was marking the 25th anniversary of the LMP2000’s only run after recommissioning the open-top prototype powered by a 5.5-litre normally-aspirated V10 over the course of this year.

McNish, whose only previous outing in a racing car since his retirement came aboard an Audi R8 LMS GT3 in 2014, revealed that the car behaved exactly how he remembered.

“I looked at the test report this morning and the way the car reacted was just as I had described it at the time,” he told Motorsport.com.

“The other thing that came back to me was that everything in the cockpit was exactly where it should be.

“It all came back to me like it was yesterday.

“But one thing I’d forgotten was the engine note: when you open up the throttle, it sounds really nice, really throaty.”

Allan McNish, Porsche LMP2000

Allan McNish, Porsche LMP2000

Photo by: Deniz Calagan

McNish revealed after the test that his thoughts had turned to the late Bob Wollek, the Porsche veteran with whom he shared driving duties over the course of two days of testing in the LMP2000 at Weissach in early November 1999.

Wollek, who was killed in a cycling accident on the eve of the 2001 Sebring 12 Hours, did the initial laps in the car at the Weissach test.

“Seeing Bob’s name on the side of the car brought back memories,” said McNish.

“He was a very special character and taught young whippersnappers like me a lot.

“The funny thing is that when he drove this car he was more or less the same age as I am now.”

The LMP2000 was developed after Porsche opted not to defend its 1998 Le Mans crown, claimed up by McNish, Laurent Aiello and Stephane Ortelli sharing a 911 GT1-98, with a view to returning in 2000.

It decided to abandon the route it had pursued with the GT1-98 powered by a flat-six turbo, opting instead for an open-top LMP powered by a big-capacity V10 that had its roots in a Formula 1 development project from the mid-1990s.

But a return to Le Mans with the LMP2000 was never signed off by the Porsche board, which opted to stop the programme in the weeks leading up to the November test.

The team at Porsche Motorsport that had developed the LMP2000, codenamed the 9R3, under famed engineer Norbert Singer was allowed to finish one car and give it a short test that stretched over two days at Weissach.

Last week’s run was only the second official appearance of the LMP2000, the first coming with a static display at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Allan McNish, Porsche LMP2000

Allan McNish, Porsche LMP2000

Photo by: Deniz Calagan

What happened next

No one could have predicted it at the time, but the ‘winningest’ marque in Le Mans history wouldn’t be back at the Circuit de la Sarthe chasing overall victory until 2014.

Porsche returned to the prototype ranks with the US-focused RS Spyder LMP2 programme in 2005, but it wasn’t until the arrival of the 919 Hybrid LMP1 that it would bid to add to its 16 wins.

The 919 would go on to claim a hat-trick of hat-tricks, winning Le Mans and the WEC drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles in 2015-17.

McNish had been loaned out to Toyota to race its GT-One at Le Mans in 1999 and had a three-year contract in place with Porsche but, with no chance of winning Le Mans, he negotiated a release and signed for Audi.

The Scot won the American Le Mans Series title in 2000 before returning to Toyota for its F1 entry, undertaking a year of testing in 2001 and then one season of racing in 2002.

He was back at Audi in 2004 and went on to take a further two ALMS titles as well as his second and third Le Mans victories in 2008 and 2013.

Resources at Porsche Motorsport were diverted to development of the Carrera GT: the supercar was powered by a V10 developed from the prototype’s powerplant.



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Porsche drops Lotterer from 2025 WEC line-up

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Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer has been dropped from Porsche’s factory World Endurance Championship squad as part of a revamp of its 2025 LMDh line-up.

The veteran of the German manufacturer’s LMP1, Formula E and LMDh campaigns since joining from Audi in 2017, who is on the cusp of this year’s WEC title with Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre, is one of three drivers leaving the twin arms of Porsche Penske Motorsport for next year. 

Frederic Makowiecki, like Lotterer part of the WEC Hypercar class squad since 2023, and Dane Cameron, winner of this year’s IMSA SportsCar Championship GTP title with Felipe Nasr, are also departing. 

What was described by Porsche as only a “tweak“ of its driver roster programmes involves reducing the full-time line-up from three to two drivers in the WEC. 

Vanthoor and Estre, who with Lotterer have a 35-point advantage going into next month’s WEC finale in Bahrain, will race as a duo next year aboard the #6 Porsche 963 LMDh in the regular six-hour races.

Michael Christensen keeps his seat in #5 PPM entry he has shared with Makiowiecki and Matt Campbell this year and will be joined by Julien Andlauer. 

The French Porsche factory driver has gained a seat in one of the factory cars after impressing at the wheel of the Proton Competition customer 963 in the WEC this season. 

#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell

#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

Campbell will return to the IMSA ranks after a solo season in one of the WEC cars and will team up with Mathieu Jaminet in the #6 PPM car in North America.

Cameron’s seat alongside Nasr will be taken by Briton Nick Tandy, who moves over from the sister car he has shared with Jaminet for the past two seasons. 

Jaminet and Campbell will respectively join the #5 and #6 crews for Le Mans and, according to Porsche’s press statement announcing the changes, “selected races”. 

That can be taken to mean the 10- and eight-hour races in Qatar and Bahrain that will bookend the 2025 WEC season. 

Estre and Vanthoor have likewise been nominated to drive the #6 and #7 IMSA cars for selected races in IMSA’s Michelin Endurance Cup.

Frenchman Makowiecki, 43, is leaving Porsche after 11 seasons predominantly in its GT ranks, which included a GTE Pro class win at Le Mans in 2022 and an overall victory in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2018. 

He and Porsche have “agreed to conclude their collaboration”, read Porsche’s announcement. 

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Frederic Makowiecki

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Frederic Makowiecki

Photo by: Marc Fleury

It stated that Lotterer and Cameron’s contracts with Porsche expire at the end of this year, but did not specifically state that they are leaving the employment of the manufacturer. When contacted by Motorsport.com, Porsche was unwilling to clarify the drivers’ status.

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach said: “I’d like to thank Dane Cameron, Andre Lotterer and Frederic Makowiecki for their incredible work over the past three years [since the 963 started testing in January 2022].

“All three have played a significant role in us being able to celebrate great successes with the Porsche 963 on both sides of the Atlantic — in just the second year of competition.”

PPM’s decision to go to two drivers for the regular six-hour WEC races follows a debate over whether three drivers should be mandated in Hypercar.

It was sparked by the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac team choosing to use just two drivers in the six-hour WEC races this year. 

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Running two drivers offers an advantage in terms of track time during practice and, potentially, a strategic benefit in the races. 

Moves for a change in rules, led by WRT BMW team boss Vincent Vosse, were rejected after they did not find backing from a majority of manufacturers. 

Porsche made play of Andlauer’s status as one of its former junior drivers: its statement pointed out that he will become the fourth former junior after Christensen, Jaminet and Campbell to join the PPM 963 squad. 

No reference was made to a potential third PPM entry at Le Mans next June, the right to which it has won after claiming the IMSA title. 

Laudenbach stated last week that he expected to take up the entry and run an additional car in the double-points WEC round, as Porsche did in 2023 and ’24. 



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Porsche’s Christensen wants to stay in WEC, despite IMSA switch speculation

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Porsche driver Michael Christensen said he would like to remain in the World Championship next year despite speculation linking him with a move to the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Porsche revealed last month that it would be making changes to its factory crews for its third season with the 963 LMDh in the Hypercar and GTP classes of WEC and IMSA respectively.

These could include potential driver swaps between the two series, similar to how Dane Cameron and Matt Campbell switched positions ahead of 2024.

There also remains a possibility of Porsche downsizing its WEC line-ups to run two drivers in each car for the six-hour races that make up half of next year’s eight-round calendar.

Amid a possible shuffle in drivers, including rumours that Christensen could be moved to IMSA, the Le Mans 24 Hours class winner has said he would prefer to remain in the WEC in 2025 for what would be his 10th straight year in the world championship.

He explained that familiarity with the WEC side of the Porsche Penske Motorsport operation, as well as having an automatic entry to Le Mans, were key reasons why staying put is more enticing to him than returning to the series where he spent a single season racing the Porsche 911 RSR in the GTLM class a decade ago.

“My preference has always been WEC, I really like that [series],” the Dane told Motorsport.com.

“I did race in IMSA in 2014, my first year of the factory driver contract and I liked it. I really think IMSA is cool as well, but I felt more at home in WEC.

Christensen raced in IMSA during the 2014 season

Christensen raced in IMSA during the 2014 season

Photo by: Richard Dole

“The way the championship is built up, it is [based] in Europe, the race tracks, the team and the way pitstops are done, all these things are more familiar [to me].

“On top of it, and probably the most important [thing] is that you have the security to do Le Mans. You are working with the [same] team in Le Mans that you are racing with [in all other] all races as well. So, of course, that’s why I prefer to do WEC.

“Speaking about next year, there has been no communication really between us, or me at least and Porsche. So far they have not communicated anything.

“The only thing I know is the rumours which are around the paddock, but whether that is true or not, no idea.”

Christensen and his team-mates in the #5 Porsche, Campbell and Frederic Makowiecki, currently sit fifth in the drivers’ standings heading to the Bahrain finale in November.

The championship is led by the sister Porsche crewed by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer, with the trio holding a 35-point lead with only 39 up for grabs in the bonus-points decider.

Porsche is yet to announce when it would be invoking first of the five evo jokers allowed to it under the original five-year rule cycle of the 963 LMDh.

A planned upgrade of its hybrid engine, which centred on a switch to a 90° crankshaft from a 180°, was abandoned after it was able to get through this year’s Le Mans without any major reliability issues.

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

The German manufacturer heads the standings in both the WEC and IMSA, as their respective seasons draw to a close in November and October respectively.

Christensen said there are still some areas where Porsche can improve the 963, highlighting a straightline speed deficit at Circuit de la Sarthe that contributed to it finishing outside the podium in the WEC’s centrepiece event this year.

“There are always things to update, there are always things to improve and we also saw that early in the project and still have some things which are not solved and which can’t be solved with set-up,” he explained.

“So for sure we have some things that I believe we should focus on to try to improve. Whether this is possible or not in terms of regulations, I have no idea. This is the management who knows that.

“But for sure we have things to improve and this you can say wish more for, Le Mans top speed for example.

“I can’t tell why we are not good enough there, but we lack a lot [of stop speed].

“And when you look at the data from Le Mans, of course it’s just one race but it’s the biggest race and with a lot of points, so that and some [other] mechanical stuff for detail.

“A few things we should be focused on. I’m not sure if it is possible to change. There is always something to improve.”



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Toyota has made it “easier” for us to win 2024 WEC titles

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Porsche driver Matt Campbell believes Toyota has made it “easier” for the German manufacturer to win the World Endurance Championship this year.

Campbell made the comments after the penultimate round of 2024 WEC at Fuji, where Toyota’s best-placed car in the standings retired after a collision with the #5 Porsche 963 LMDh.

Kamui Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID was battling with the #5 Porsche of Campbell for seventh place when they came to blows at Turn 3, sending both cars into retirement.

While the #5 Porsche was never realistically in the title fight and hence had little to lose, the #7 entry Kobayashi shared with Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway was Toyota’s best hope of winning the drivers’ championship and had only a 12-point deficit to overcome to the other factory Penske car.

Kobayashi was subsequently handed a suspended drive-through penalty for causing an avoidable crash.

To make matters worse for the Japanese manufacturer on home turf, its second car driven by Ryo Hirakawa was involved in a separate run-in with the winning #6 Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre in the final hour, picking up a drive-through penalty that left it a distant 10th at the finish.

Combined, the two incidents have left Toyota virtually out of the fight for the drivers’ title, while leaving it with a 10-point deficit in the manufacturers’ race with just the Bahrain finale to run.

Campbell said he did not expect Kobayashi to be so aggressive while battling with him for position, but feels the incident only served to shift the balance away from Toyota in the championship fight.

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

“Thanks to Toyota [we are in a strong position], they’ve probably made it a little bit easier for us [for us to win the titles],” the Australian told Motorsport.com.

“For me I was surprised by the move and the incident because it also took them out and made it a lot harder for them [to win the title].

“For us, obviously we’ve still got to be able to do a good job in Bahrain, no doubt about that but obviously now it’s a bit more of a bridge there [between us and Toyota].”

Estre and his team-mates Laurens Vanthoor and Laurens Vanthoor now enjoy a 35-point lead in the drivers championship over drivers in the #50 Ferrari 499P LMH, Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina. Kobayashi, de Vries and Conway have slipped to third in the #7 Toyota, facing a 37-point shortfall to the Porsche trio.

In the manufacturers’ battle, Porsche has gone from trailing Toyota by 11 points to leading the championship by 10, a 21-point swing in its favour over the course of the Fuji weekend.

There will be a total of 39 points on offer (including the bonus point for pole) in the eight-hour Bahrain finale compared to 26 for a regular WEC round.

While the drivers’ championship is effectively in the bag for Porsche, Estre believes securing a double title in 2024 will not be a “walk in the park” for the Stuttgart marque, especially with Bahrain’s abrasive track surface set to play into the hands of rival Toyota.

“We know that we have a comfortable lead,” he told the official WEC YouTube channel. “The manufacturers’ is the most important thing for Porsche for sure, for us [drivers] as well.

“It’s great to have the lead in both championships and have some gap, but Bahrain is a tough track, longer race and difficult on the tyre.

“We have to stay out of trouble, execute well as we did the whole season and we’ll be good.

“It’s definitely not gonna be a walk in the park there, the others are going to make it hard for us, but we are well prepared.”

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Ferrari and Toyota concede WEC drivers’ title to Porsche

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Ferrari and Toyota have conceded the World Endurance Championship drivers’ title to Porsche with one race left to run after Sunday’s Fuji round. 

The two manufacturers chasing the German marque in the Hypercar classification have admitted that their chances of taking the crown at November’s Bahrain finale are over after points leaders Lauren Vanthoor, Andre Lotterer and Kevin Estre took victory in the penultimate round of the series in Japan. 

There are 39 points up for grabs over the Bahrain 8 Hours WEC weekend on 2 November and the Ferrari crew of Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco have fallen 35 points in arrears of the Porsche drivers, while Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries are 37 points back.  

“For me it is game over,” said Ferrari sportscar racing technical director Ferdinando Cannizzo after the Italian manufacturer’s championship-challenging crew could only finishing ninth in their 499P Le Mans Hypercar at Fuji.  

“I’m not saying we are giving up — we will try to work miracles,” he added. “We need to have the car at its best, make everything perfect and put three cars on the podium.

“Mathematically it is possible, but the chances are very poor.”

Cannizzo also suggested that Ferrari’s chances of taking the manufacturers’ title were over after the marque fell 27 points behind Porsche at Fuji.

David Floury, Cannizzo’s counterpart at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, offered a similar opinion following a non-score for the Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMH Kobayashi and de Vries share with Mike Conway after the first-named crashed with Porsche driver Matt Campbell. 

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Conway is fourth in the classification, tied with Campbell and team-mates Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowieci, after missing the Le Mans 24 Hours in June through injury. 

“Clearly for the drivers’ championship we are more or less out of contention,” Floury said. 

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor

Photo by: Andreas Beil

But the Frenchman insists that there is all to play for in the manufacturer’s championship in which Toyota are only 10 points adrift of Porsche. 

“It is still open in Bahrain and for sure we will be pushing,” he added. 

Estre asserts that it will be important for him and his team-mates to keep their “feet on the ground” in Bahrain.

“You can never be confident because if we have a bad race and one of the others has a perfect race, they can win,” he told Motorsport.com.

“We can be confident that if we keep doing what we have been doing the whole year we will have a very good shot and we don’t need to risk anything.”

Should the Ferrari win in Bahrain and take pole position, then Estre and his team-mates would only need to finish eighth to seal the title. 

If the Toyota was to win and take the point for pole, then they would only be required to finish 10th, which would give them the title on countback with more second places.



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Porsche concedes second WEC customer team unlikely in 2025

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Porsche is not expecting a second team to join Proton Competition in running its 963 LMDh in the World Endurance Championship next year.

Thomas Laudenbach, boss of Porsche Motorsport, has revealed that at present there are no other teams in the frame to purchase a 963 for 2025 when the marque’s customer contingent will be reduced on Jota’s switch to Cadillac to become its factory team. 

“It looks like Proton will be the only customer team,” said Laudenbach. “From what I know now this is the most likely scenario.

“But if tomorrow someone rings us, we will sit together and have a look at it — are they a proper team, do they have the proper finance etc? — and then we will make a decision.”

Laundenbach’s comments come at a time when it appears that space in the Hypercar segment of the WEC grid has been freed up for next season. 

Even with the expansion of the field to 40 cars, which will mean a maximum of 22 entries in Hypercar, it looked like the WEC grid was on course to hit capacity. 

Aston Martin will join the series with its new Valkyrie AMR-LMH, while Cadillac and Lamborghini will have to go from one to two cars each in line with new regulations mandating two-car teams from manufacturers.

The uncertainty over the future of the Isotta Fraschini programme after the Italian marque’s decision to call time on its 2024 campaign with the French Duqueine team appears to have opened the door to additional entries. 

But should it return with the LMH Tipo 6 Competizione — and it would also have to go to two cars if it does — the 40-car grid would be full. 

Proton has outlined an ambition to expand its presence in the top class of the WEC from a single 963, which joined the series at Monza in July 2023. 

Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport, Andreas Roos Head of BMW M Motorsport

Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport, Andreas Roos Head of BMW M Motorsport

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Team boss Christian Ried said at the Austin WEC round last weekend that the chances of an expansion of its programme are 50-50 at the moment, while at the same time ruling out stepping up from one to two 963s in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. 

The Vanwall Racing team, which did not gain an entry for this season after a maiden campaign in 2023 with its Vandervell 680 LMH, has aspirations to return with a reworked version of the car powered by the Pipo twin-turbo V8 formerly used by Glickenhaus. 

The squeeze on WEC entries in Hypercar has been brought into focus by the likelihood of Hyundai joining the series, possibly as early as 2026, while Toyota has also outlined a desire to run a third GR010 HYBRID LMH on a customer basis following the lead of Ferrari and AF Corse this year.

Porsche has ruled out taking that route with the Porsche Penske Motorsport squad, Laudenbach stating that it was not on the table. 

On whether Porsche will again field a third car at the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC round next year, Laudenbach stated that no decision had been taken at this stage.

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Muller aspiring to stay in WEC alongside FE after Porsche move

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Outgoing Peugeot World Endurance Championship driver Nico Muller has aspirations to continue his sportscar career after joining Porsche for a Formula E campaign with Andretti.

Muller stressed that his focus in 2025 would be his drive with the Andretti Porsche customer team in FE, but he has outlined a desire to race in the WEC or to pursue other sportscar opportunities with the German manufacturer, which has signed him as a factory driver for next year.

“I would love to keep doing both,” said Muller at the Austin WEC round last weekend while on duty for Peugeot.

“The focus will be FE: that’s the first programme I’m committed to. But if there is any sort of chance to stay here and do WEC in Hypercar, that would be the dream scenario. The door is open to do other stuff besides FE.”

Muller, who joined Peugeot’s WEC squad for the final race of the 2022 season, insisted that discussions about a wider programme with Porsche had yet to take place.

“We haven’t talked about what the options are and how we are going to proceed,” he explained.

Nico Muller, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team

Nico Muller, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Porsche hinted that Muller could have a wider role above and beyond FE when it announced his signing and programme with Andretti in July.

“We will announce at a later date whether and in which other series Nico will also drive for Porsche,” said Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach.

A full programme in WEC with the factory Penske Porsche Motorsport squad appears unlikely.

For 2023, Porsche required Antonio Felix da Costa to give up his long-standing sportscar programme with Jota to focus on his FE assault with the factory team.

There also remains one date conflict between the FE and WEC calendars: the Berlin FE round clashes with Interlagos in the WEC.

A one-off at the Le Mans 24 Hours could be a possibility for Muller if Porsche decides to run a third factory 963 LMDh at the French enduro for the third consecutive season.

“If you are asked to go back to Le Mans, you will say yes,” he said. “That is top of list.”

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Jean-Eric Vergne, Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Jean-Eric Vergne, Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

Outings with the privateer Proton team in the Hypercar class could be another option.

Muller also revealed a desire to expand his experience of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America, in which his only previous start came in LMP2 at the 2022 Daytona 24 Hours with the High Class Racing squad.

“IMSA has a lot of old-school tracks and is something I’d love to discover a bit more,” he said.

“There are similarities with FE because you are discussing a lot less about putting four wheels on the other side of white lines [because there is generally less run-off than at the Formula 1 tracks visited  by WEC].”

Racing Porsche’s 911 GT3-R is “also definitely an option”, according to a driver who enjoyed success at the wheel of GT3 machinery during his nine-year stint with Audi.

His credits in GT racing with Audi include victory in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2015 as well as a pair of podiums and a further two top-six finishes in the Spa 24 Hours.

The Nurburgring race clashes with the Jakarta FE round next year, but Muller would be free to do Spa, -the blue-riband round of the GT World Challenge Europe.

Muller also revealed that racing in the Supercars touring car series in Australia was on his bucket list.

“I would love to go down to Australia and try one of those Supercars,” he said.

“I definitely hope to do some cool stuff besides FE next year.”



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