Porsche Rewarded “In Best Possible Way” With Double Win

Photo: Drew Gibson/Porsche

Porsche couldn’t have started the FIA World Endurance Championship season in any better way according to its head of motorsport Thomas Laudenbach, following a sweep of the overall podium and debut win in the LMGT3 class in Saturday’s Qatar 1812km.

The German manufacturer stormed to a landmark first Hypercar victory for the Porsche 963, with the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer leading a 1-2-3 finish for 963 machinery.

It came after the No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 of Jean-Eric Vergne, who was running second at the time, ran out of fuel with less than two laps to go, promoting the No. 12 Hertz Team JOTA and No. 5 Porsche Penske entries to the final podium positions.

Meanwhile, in LMGT3, the No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Klaus Bachler, Joel Strum and Alex Malykhin took the maiden win for GT3 machinery in the world championship following nearly ten hours of racing.

“We worked extremely hard and were rewarded in the best possible way. This success is difficult to put into words,” said Laudenbach.

“Everyone involved did an immaculate job. The team and the drivers gave a commanding performance. Congratulations as well to the entire team at home in Weissach.

“Nobody could have expected a triple success for Porsche. But my respect also goes to Peugeot. It’s bitter to be thwarted so close to the finish line. They deserved to be on the podium with us.

“Manthey PureRxcing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R won in the new LMGT3 class. The start of the season couldn’t have gone better.”

While Porsche Penske claimed three IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wins last year and kicked off this season with victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Saturday’s win marked the first triumph for the Mannheim, Germany-based crew.

It was also the first victory in the WEC for a LMDh car, which swept the top four finishing positions.

“Today we achieved another milestone with our Porsche Penske Motorsport team,” said Roger Penske.

‘”This is a long-term project, which started a long time ago. Experiencing our first overall victory in the FIA WEC at the start of the 2024 season is an exceptionally nice feeling.

“It’s the result of the tireless efforts of everyone in the team.”

Diuguid: Porsche Penske 1-2 Finish Would Have Been Possible Without Tire Issue

Porsche Penske managing director Jonathan Diuguid, meanwhile, suggested that a 1-2 finish for the Penske-run 963s would have been possible had the No. 5 car not have suffered tire delaminations on two occasions in the race.

Both instances, to the left-rear tire, came when Michael Christensen was at the wheel.

“That’s something we need to look at,” Diuguid said. “There’s been previous talk of the curbs and it can be pretty aggressive here in Qatar. It’s a really high-loaded circuit with some aggressive curbs.

“We hadn’t experienced it throughout the whole week so that was the first time there. Luckily Michael was able to pick it up the second time and come in before we had issues.”

Diuguid, however, praised Michelin for having a robust tire that held up despite the situation.

“I padded Phillipe, our Michelin tire engineer, on the back and said this is a pretty sturdy tire to have damage like that and not have a serious issue,” he said.

The No. 5 Porsche of pole-sitter Matt Campbell had the race’s fastest lap.

“I think both cars showed great potential today” Diuguid added. “I think we had the opportunity to win 1-2 but with the competition level in the WEC, you have a couple trip-ups there and you’re not fighting for the top step anymore.

“All six of our drivers showed really good pace and both cars showed really good pace today. One was able to capitalize and the other one still finished on the podium. Not bad at all.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John