Porsche will once again join forces with United States-based racing team Penske, together forming Porsche Penske Motorsport for the entries into the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) with a new Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) prototype.
The contract between Porsche and Penske “will run for a number of years,” according to the German manufacturer. This will see the team set up bases on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, enabling it to “create the optimal structures” required for the championship campaigns in North America as well as Europe.
“Our intention is to support and shape the new era with our LMDh prototypes. Not only will we be keeping our fingers crossed for the four factory cars we have in total, but also for our customer teams,” said Porsche board member for research and development Michael Steiner.
Both endurance racing series will also see customer cars as soon as 2023, said Steiner, adding that the customer teams will be given full support and any insights learnt from the factory effort will be shared with the customer teams.
Porsche and Penske have shared history in endurance racing, as the partnership has seen the collection of three LMP2 class titles in a row from 2006 to 2008, while the joint effort saw success in the 1970s with the Porsche 917 in the Can-Am series.
In the United States, Porsche Motorsport will be operating a team base with Team Penske at the latter’s headquarters in Mooresille, North Carolina. Despite prolific success in the American Le Mans Series, victory at the venue that gave the series its name has been elusive, and Team Penske will be aiming to finally win at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
“I hope that we will finally be able to chalk up this success as of 2023 with Porsche Penske Motorsport, which would then mark Porsche’s 20th overall victory at La Sarthe – a dream come true,” said Porsche Motorsport head Fritz Enzinger.
The LMDh class of racers will run alongside the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH), with the former representing a more cost-effective choice with the use of LMP2 chassis, a standardised hybrid drive system and control electronics. LMDh-class cars will weigh approximately 1,000 kg, and produce 680 PS from their hybrid powertrain.
Also returning to prototype endurance racing in 2023 is Audi, who has confirmed that its LMDh effort will be co-developed with Porsche. Like Porsche, Audi’s LMDh racer will be entered into both the WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
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