Laudenbach: IMSA Success “Extra Motivation” for Bahrain

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach said the brand’s championship success in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship serves as “extra motivation” going into the FIA World Endurance Championship title-decider in Bahrain.

The Stuttgart brand will defend its championship-leading position in both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings in Saturday’s eight-hour finale at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer sit 35 points clear of Ferrari trio Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco with 39 points still up for grabs, while ten points separate Porsche from Toyota in the manufacturers’ standings.

Porsche arrives at Bahrain having recently won multiple titles in the WeatherTech Championship, where the drivers’, manufacturers’ and teams’ crowns in GTP spearheaded a sweep of nine championships at Motul Petit Le Mans.

Speaking with Sportscar365, Laudenbach described the success in the U.S. as “extra motivation” for the brand to end its WEC campaign on the best possible footing.

“I wouldn’t say it’s additional pressure,” he said. “When you’re so close, you want to have the title. You want to have the title, you want to have the victory.

“But I wouldn’t say it’s additional pressure. Maybe it’s even that we’re showing that the 963 can win championships.

“Starting with the 24-hour race in Daytona, which already was a great start of the season. I think it’s not additional pressure, but we want to have that championship.

“It’s more extra motivation. The title in IMSA showed us that we can do it. We got a great partner with Penske, we got a great crew, great engineers, I would say absolutely top drivers.

“We got all the ingredients you need to win that championship, so now we want to have it, we are that close.

“So like perfect summary, it’s rather more motivation or extra motivation.”

Laudenbach hailed the significant progress made during its second season in the Hypercar category, stating that it is a point of pride that the brand was able to build upon the potential shown during the 2023 campaign.

Porsche finished third behind Toyota and Ferrari in the manufacturers’ standings last year with a pair of podiums in Portimao and Fuji, but now looks on course to leapfrog both brands for its first world championship title since 2017.

“I think last year, we clearly could see we had to build up a few things,” Laudenbach said.

“Everything was new. We did everything in the first year. And I think in the end, I’m quite proud that in the second season, we already show our potential in the best possible way, which is quite satisfying.”

Vanthoor, who could become only the third Belgian driver in history to capture a world championship after Jacky Ickx and Stoffel Vandoorne, noted Porsche wants to ‘tap its true potential’ in Bahrain.

The No. 6 Porsche 963 finished fifth last year, a lap down on the winning No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid and behind customer squad Hertz Team JOTA in fourth.

“It looks promising, but with 1.5 times as many points awarded in Bahrain, the standings are still wide open,” Vanthoor said.

“With that in mind, I’m looking forward to the race with somewhat mixed feelings. If we manage to approach this competition with the same consistency and concentration as the previous races, maybe our high hopes will be fulfilled.

“Last year, we weren’t particularly strong in Bahrain. However, we’ve understood exactly why that was. We want to tap our true potential.

“Winning the championship would be an absolute dream come true for everyone in the team.”