Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomas Laudenbach spoke directly to the sports car racing press at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, for the first time since the announcement that Porsche would withdraw its factory WEC Hypercar team after the 2025 season – but would continue to race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with two factory Porsche 963s run by Penske.
“I think there are always various factors if you make such a decision. So I think we’ve made a choice of what is better for us,” Laudenbach said. “One thing is for sure, the American market is a very important market for us.
“If you look at our half-year figures, in conjunction with that, we made some kind of realignment of the company and our strategy: It is that motorsport belongs to the company, and therefore, motorsport has to give a contribution. For sure, some kind of financial aspect is there, and for sure, also a sporting aspect.
“We started in 2023 to race (in Hypercar). The original idea of the whole thing was that you can build one car, and you can race in various championships; we can control costs, let’s say, to a feasible budget, and of course, on a level playing field. All in all, it probably did not work out everywhere the same, and this, of course, has an influence on our decision.”
Of the participating OEMs in top-tier prototype racing, Porsche was the first to make a push for a second step in convergence into a single platform of technical regulations. Asked if Porsche made a mistake in building the 963 to LMDh regulations versus LMH, Laudenbach pointed to the fact that, at the time, only the LMDh platform was eligible to compete in both IMSA and WEC.
“It was the right decision at that time,” he said. “Now, again, it’s not that easy. If you look back, for us it was a question – when asked, ‘Why did we take that thing for us?’ It was very clear that if we did so, we wanted to race in the US and in the WEC – at that time, you had to build an LMDh.
“At the same time, we were very committed to finding a solution to do it with feasible budgets, and it was the right decision. Probably, after nearly three years, it hasn’t worked out in any aspect, that’s true. But by saying, ‘Did we make the wrong decision?’ I would say no.”
Asked whether or not Roger Penske had a hand in Porsche’s decision, Laudenbach added, “It’s very clear, this is a factory effort. The decision we made at Porsche, but with PPM, we make decisions together, as always.”
One thing Laudenbach wanted to make clear was that the way it approached customer racing would not change. This includes any possible privateer team which could enter two Porsche 963s in WEC next year to keep the car on the grid and eligible to compete in the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“The only thing I can say is that the decision not to participate in 2026 with our factory programme has absolutely no effect on our customer programme. I cannot answer more,” Laudenbach iterated. “So the rest is down to our customers and down to ACO and FIA.
“Let me put it this way, if you come to me tomorrow, you want to buy a 963 – first of all, you won’t get a discount, but I would sell it to you! If a customer wants to race one or two cars, that’s not up to us.
“Of course, we are always happy to help our customers. It’s our customers. Please don’t forget: For Porsche, the customer programme, starting from Clubsport up to high professional racing, it’s a very important one, and this remains so, as we did in the past; hopefully, we are in a position always to treat our customers in the best possible way.”
Porsche could remain on the Hypercar grid next year with two customer 963s, but it’s more likely that the manufacturer would continue in the LMGT3 class with Manthey running two cars. “The only thing I can say is that I hope our customer Manthey will participate next year, but it’s up to the FIA and ACO to accept the entry,” Laudenbach said of that proposal.
The Porsche racing boss was keen to shut down any suggestions that the decision was the result of any sort of falling out with the ACO, or any row over Balance of Performance not working in their favour in WEC – or at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, where Porsche finished second after going from the back of the Hypercar grid.
“We had a very professional talk and exchange, and that’s it. We are in a dialogue, we talk to teach others, and we have worked with each other for many years. It’s always been very professional,” he said of his interactions with the ACO.
And Laudenbach certainly hasn’t shut the door on Porsche coming back to Le Mans with a factory Hypercar programme.
“What we have done is we have made an adjustment on our factory programmes. This does not mean that we have completely changed our philosophy and our strategy,” he continued. “We still have all-electric racing (Formula E). We have hybrids like here. We are fully combustion engine. So our three pillars remain the same, right?
“Second fact is, endurance racing is in our DNA, and it’s not going to change. So, therefore, I would not exclude coming back to WEC. Obviously, this is not the topic to discuss right now, since we just announced not to race next year.
“But for sure, we cannot exclude that one day we will come back. Once we make an assessment, we’ll look at the series, and we’ll assess the series. If the day comes when we think now it’s feasible to come back, we’ll discuss it.
“For the moment, we will not compete (at Le Mans) due to various reasons. We will see what the future brings. We will be in a constant dialogue with the sanctioning bodies. We will look at how things are developing, and then what we do on a regular basis every year – also in the past, with our racing – that we’ll look at it, we’ll make up our opinion, and we’ll take a decision, but there’s nothing more to say.
“As I said earlier, it would be stupid to exclude a return on them all. But if you had asked me for a year or anything, I couldn’t answer.”
It’s clear that many more questions remain unanswered, such as whether the 963 would continue its development through Evo jokers in IMSA. “If Porsche enters a series on a factory basis, we will do everything to be competitive. Since we will race in IMSA, we will do everything to be competitive, whatever that means,” Laudenbach said of future development plans for the 963.
On the topic of what happens with Porsche’s pool of factory Hypercar drivers who face being made redundant from the role, he added: “I think it’s too early to give an answer on that. I think now, since it’s very fresh information and a decision, of course, we are in dialogue with our drivers.
“We’ll talk to them, we will look at their situation, we will look at what they want to do, and I would say within the next weeks, we will have sorted that one. So far, it’s just too early to say anything.”
And as for Porsche’s European Hypercar base in Mannheim? “I think it’s important that we are fully aware, let’s say, of our responsibility for the people that we have there. We are, together with Penske, of course, looking for solutions for the employees. But I think all the more details you gotta, you gotta really talk to PPM, it’s their home. Be assured that we are fully aware of our responsibility,” he stated.
