Algarve Pro “Pushing Hard” for Porsche Hypercar Effort

Photo: Laurent Cartalade/MPS Agency

Algarve Pro Racing is “pushing hard” to potentially be on the Asian Le Mans Series grid in the new Hypercar class according to team principal Stewart Cox, who revealed he’s in discussions with multiple FIA Bronze-rated drivers for what could end up being a two-car Porsche 963 operation.

The Portuguese squad, the most successful team in series’ history with a record six LMP2 titles, is the first team to publicly acknowledge discussions with the German manufacturer for Asian LMS, which will launch a Hypercar class for customer LMH and LMDh-based machinery beginning this winter.

Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle confirmed to Sportscar365 last month there could be between “two to four” customer 963s on the Asian grid for the first season, with at least one other fellow European Le Mans Series LMP2 entrant also understood to also be working on a similar program.

While the calendar for the 2026-27 Asian season has yet to be confirmed, amid uncertainty over the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East, Cox said that he’s pushing ahead with plans on the LMP2 front, while assessing their Hypercar options.

“We’re actively talking to people,” Cox told Sportscar365. “I’ve got handshakes on two [LMP2] cars in APR already.

“This year we’re assisting on engineering services with Virage, and they’re going to run P2s as well. I think they’ve already got one done, which is good.”

When asked about their prospects of entering into the Hypercar ranks for the first time, Cox stressed that APR wouldn’t do it without being able to build up a championship-caliber crew that wouldn’t come as a sacrifice to its current LMP2 squad.

“Ultimately you have to go there with [a talented] group and step into it and come in a very high level,” he said. “You won’t do it unless you’ve got enough money to make it work. You need the right staff.

“The biggest problem at the moment is getting the people into the program that want to put the huge amount of effort and the sacrifice it takes to get it going and to run it against the established teams that have been it.

“[AF Corse] has everything there. They’ve got the name of Ferrari and everybody wants to drive a Ferrari if you’re a Bronze [driver]. Fair enough. Good luck to them.

“You want to come in and at least play the game with them, so you have to have your ducks in a row.

“I just don’t want to fill the car up with muppets and be a number and go around say, ‘Oh we’ve run a Hypercar.’

“I want to go there and win.”

It’s believed that a potential Asian LMS effort for the team could extend into a IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP program with the car in 2027.

Sportscar365 understands that currently earmarked calendar, while still fluid amid the Middle East unrest, would end before the WeatherTech Championship Roar Before the Rolex 24, giving sufficient time to contest the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“We’re really pushing hard to see where we get to and to see if we can make it work,” added Cox. “Ultimately you need to make some really big hires and we wouldn’t just want to do Asia.

“There’s no point in getting that car and then having it sat there [for three-fourths of the year].

“Ultimately, where can we take it as a single car or two cars, which is what we’re potentially look at for Asia, and then maybe going on and doing something else with it.”

When asked directly about the WeatherTech Championship, the only other place the Porsche 963 is currently eligible in beyond Asia, Cox said: “That’s what we’re looking at as well.”

Cox has set a deadline of mid-June for a decision on whether to green-light the Hypercar program.

“We’re actively trying,” he added. “Even if we get there and get all the money, we need to sit down with everybody involved and say, ‘How feasible is this going to be? Can we go there and compete properly?’

“We don’t have a rich benefactor. We have to make the numbers work and that’s not easy.”

ACO President Pierre Fillon, meanwhile, told Sportscar365 that he expects between four to six Hypercars for the first season in the series.

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