Porsche: Two Wins “Not Enough” to Consider GTP Year a Success

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach said that two wins in a season is “not enough” for the brand to consider its factory participation in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship a success.

Laudenbach’s comments come following Porsche’s new “Sportwagenschmiede 35” brand strategy, revealed last week, that will see a restructuring of its executive board departments and a reduction of 5,000 jobs by 2035, among a number of other changes.

Details on how the German manufacturer’s new strategy could affect its motorsport involvement, specifically in sports car racing, remains unclear, although Laudenbach stressed that nothing has changed for the time being, having reconfirmed plans to continue its works involvement in the WeatherTech Championship.

He also reaffirmed Porsche will not be back on the WEC Hypercar grid in 2027, with no current plans to return to the world championship following its exit at the end of last year.

“We do evolve,” Laudenbach told selected media outlets, including Sportscar365, last weekend at Road America. “We have to look at it; it’s not a secret. Of course we look at this, but so far, there is no change concerning our decisions.

“That doesn’t mean we do not evolve. It doesn’t mean that we do not discuss. That doesn’t mean that we do not seriously also look at budgets and everything.

“But the decision is still there [for next year in IMSA].”

While Porsche Penske Motorsport’s GTP program is set through the end of the 2027 season, the manufacturer has yet to signal if it will commit to remaining in top-flight prototype racing under the new set of converged 2030 technical regulations that are planned for both the WeatherTech Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship.

It comes amid mounting speculation that manufacturers would essentially need board-level approval by the end of this year in order to begin the development process, a timeline that ORECA technical director Remi Taffin believes is required to make the grid in 2030.

However, Laudenbach stressed that Porsche remains part of the technical working group meetings, thus showing its interest in continuing a top-class involvement.

“We always said that just the fact that we’re not racing WEC right now does not mean that we’ve generally turned our back on endurance racing,” he said.

“Secondly, Le Mans is the biggest endurance race in the world, I would say. Of course we are participating in the talks of the 2030 rules.

“We are happy we are invited. We’re happy to give our contribution and we’re happy, together with the other manufacturers, with the sanctioning bodies, IMSA, ACO and FIA, to work on the future of motorsport.

“There’s nothing to do with the decision. But generally, of course we’re trying to contribute to get to a good set of rules for the future.”

Despite having clinched the Michelin Endurance Cup title last weekend, Porsche Penske has endured a challenging WeatherTech Championship season, with only one podium finish since its ‘Florida 36 Hours’ sweep at Daytona and Sebring.

When asked how he’s able to gauge the level of success by the factory squad when having to report to the board, amid variables that could be out of their control, Laudenbach admitted it’s “not an easy answer.”

He said: “I think we won two of the most important races of the season, which is Daytona, three times in a row, and Sebring, and I think Sebring in quite a good way how we did it. Tick box: great.

“When we talk about a successful season. Two wins are not enough. There needs to be more and we’re not happy with how the season after [Daytona/Sebring] went, due to various reasons.

“We’re racers. We never stop fighting, same as here [at Road America]. We were roughly one second off [the pace] in qualifying which is disappointing, but it doesn’t mean we don’t fight.

“Sure we want to win races and hopefully we can make it a successful season.

“So far, we’ve had two good races. It’s not enough.”

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