Diuguid Downplays Porsche Penske Weight Addition

Photo: Porsche

Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid has downplayed the significant weight addition to the pair of factory Porsche 963s for this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, stating the change is a “compliment” for the success the team has achieved in the first two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races.

Confirmed in the release of the Balance of Performance table for Sunday’s 100-minute street race last week, the 2026-spec Porsches will face a 45 kg/99-pound increase in minimum weight since its dominant 1-2 run in last month’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

It’s believed to be the largest single weight increase made ever to a top-flight prototype, either LMH or LMDh-based, in history.

Speaking to a selected group of invited reporters in a Porsche-hosted media session last week, Diuguid, who by IMSA rules is not allowed to discuss BoP directly, was careful with his words in describing the change.

“I think from the outside it probably looks like the performance of the team, not just this year but previous years, has come easy,” he explained.

“The one thing I will say is that I couldn’t be prouder of all the hard work that our team does because it does take a lot of hard work.

“When we show up to the race track and we’re dominant, it’s a direct result of that.

“Weight or power or whatever doesn’t really change how we approach the race weekend and everybody’s going to work as hard as we did beforehand and be successful in the boundary conditions that were given.”

When asked if he feels the weight addition has been made as a direct consequence of the team’s execution on the track rather than car performance, Diuguid said: “No, I don’t think so.”

He added: “I think the process is there in place and sports car racing has been like that for as long as I’ve participated in it.

“I won’t treat it as any negative thing against Porsche Penske Motorsport or the 963 or Porsche or anything like that.

“If anything, I take going into race in the situation we’re in as a compliment as the success and all the hard work that everybody’s done.

“I approach it as a challenge and we’re working hard to make sure we’re still towards the front.”

The team had a single-day test at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca last weekend to evaluate the car with the new weight parameters at the circuit prior to arriving at Long Beach.

Diuguid said the increased wear on tires, due to the additional weight, is their biggest concern.

“Over the course of the last four or five years, including testing, we’ve never run the car at such a high weight, so it’s something that we’ll have to work through and make sure we understand how to respond to, whether it’s the life of the tires or changing more tires or setup approach,” he said.

“We were working on it already as soon as the information came out from the IMSA technical staff [last] Wednesday.”

Heinrich Addition to JDC-Miller Lineup a ‘Benefit for Porsche’

With Porsche factory driver Heinrich, who was part of the winning No. 7 Porsche Penske lineup at both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and at Sebring, moving over to JDC-Miller Motorsports’ customer Porsche 963 operation for majority of the remaining GTP races this season, Diuguid said he feels it as a positive development.

This is despite that the JDC-Miller Porsche, which runs to last year’s specification, will be able to run its GTP entry 40 kg/88 pounds lighter than the factory cars due to IMSA splitting the BoP between 2025 and 2026-spec 963s for the first time.

It could, in theory, put the privateer GTP entry of Heinrich and co-driver Tijmen van der Helm, in with a better chance of victory compared to the works cars, if based directly on numbers.

“JDC has been very competitive at race tracks over the years with the 963. I don’t count them out at all,” said Diuguid.

“Laurin is a strong talent and will give that group a very good benchmark to setup their car around, and he comes with experience with working with our team for three races now between Bahrain at the end of last year and Daytona and Sebring this year.

“He knows how the car should feel. He tested the previous-spec bodywork a couple of times towards the end of last year, so he understands the differences there also.

“I only view it as a benefit for the Porsche group as a whole to have someone like Laurin in the car, giving feedback to the group.”

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