The hoped-for overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans did not materialize, but the aim is now to win the world championship title in the WEC: For Penske-Porsche, the fifth round of the World Endurance Championship season in Sao Paulo (12-14 July 2024) is coming up three weeks after the French classic.
The German factory team was hurt by the missed 20th overall victory in Le Mans. Of course, everything was set up for the big party: Porsche had travelled to the Circuit de la Sarthe as favourites after strong WEC performances, had specially transported a third factory car from the IMSA across the pond and had invited almost the entire board, including CEO Oliver Blume and even Wolfgang Porsche.
Porsche continues to chase its 20th Le Mans victory
However, the dream of team partner Roger Penske to finally win the legendary 24-hour race was not to come true. In the rainy race, where the key to victory was to make fewer mistakes in strategy than the competition, the Porsche was ultimately unable to keep up with the pace of the eventual winners Ferrari and Toyota. The 963 prototypes were only able to attack and overtake in completely wet conditions.
The #6 pole-setter Porsche with Andre Lotterer, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, which finished fourth at the finish, was a mere 1.167 seconds away from third place on the podium. The sister car with starting number #5 (Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki) ended up in sixth place after problems during the night, while the IMSA Porsche (Nasr/Jaminet/Tandy) retired early after ex-Formula 1 driver Nasr crashed out. As in the previous year, the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans history was left empty-handed, although a clear improvement in performance was evident.
Porsche Motorsport Director: “Thorough analysis after disappointment at Le Mans”
Given the enormous expectations that were palpable at every corner in the Porsche camp before the race, the outcome of the 24 Hours of Le Mans can only be described as a disappointment, despite fourth place. Before the next attack in 2025, the Weissach-based company still has the ‘freestyle’ to complete: victory in the WEC drivers’ and manufacturers’ classification.
“After the disappointment at Le Mans, we carried out a thorough analysis,” said Porsche Motorsport Director Thomas Laudenbach. “From now on, we must exploit the full potential of our car again and achieve similar results to those we achieved in the first three races of the year. Our goal is clear: we want to become world champions. To do this, we must score as many points as possible in Brazil.”
WEC: Porsche leads the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings
The omens are good ahead of the return to Sao Paulo, where the WEC last visited in 2014 and where Porsche achieved its first of many victories and three Le Mans triumphs with the 919 Hybrid LMP1. Lotterer, Estre and Vanthoor lead the drivers’ championship with 99 points ahead of Ferrari’s Le Mans winners Antonio Fuoco/Nicklas Nielsen/Miguel Molina (90 points). The only other drivers within striking distance are Toyota drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries (82 points each), who had to do without their injured teammate Mike Conway in Le Mans. The Briton is returning to the cockpit after his bicycle accident.
A similar picture in the manufacturers’ rankings: Porsche is in the lead with 108 points, only Ferrari (99 points) and Toyota (96) are still within reach. Alpine is already 85 points behind in fourth place. Ferrari shows how prestigious this title win is: The Italians have brought the first Technical update for her 499P to Sao Paulo.
Andre Lotterer and Neel Jani have already won in Sao Paulo
None of the 19 Hypercar teams were able to test on the famous Formula 1 circuit in the run-up to the 6-hour race; preparation took place entirely virtually. A large part of the starting field does not know the track or only knows it from other categories. Advantage Andre Lotterer? The three-time Le Mans winner won with Audi in Sao Paulo in 2013 before later switching to Porsche. “I would like to win there again – preferably next weekend,” said Lotterer. “We want to take another step towards the title.”
Fun fact from the Porsche camp: Neel Jani, today driver of the #99 customer Porsche 963 from Proton Competition, was part of the victorious Porsche works team in 2014. Together with the current Porsche team leader for sports communication Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas, the Swiss celebrated the first WEC victory of the 919 Hybrid ten years ago. Former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button, now driving the #38 Jota Porsche, scored his first F1 points in Sao Paulo in 2000 and took the last of his 15 Grand Prix victories at the same venue in 2012.
Urs Kuratle, Head of Factory Motorsport LMDh: “All teams and manufacturers in the FIA WEC are entering uncharted territory with their vehicles. For example, we cannot access any current data on tyre wear. It is therefore important that we gain a lot of knowledge in the free practice sessions and quickly use this to optimise the setup. The track offers a bit of everything: fast passages, narrow sections as well as uphill and downhill gradients. I firmly believe that we will be fighting for victory.”