Penske Rules Out Independent Porsche 963s for WEC Next Year

Photo: Drew Gibson/Porsche

Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid has ruled out running Porsche 963s as independent entries in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year, stating that anything they do will be in “conjunction” with Porsche Motorsport.

The clarification comes amid paddock rumors that Team Penske has been evaluating for a way to remain on the Hypercar grid in order to guarantee its presence in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it already holds a pending automatic invite.

While set to continue next year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as a full factory Porsche effort, the German manufacturer’s withdrawal from works Hypercar competition in the WEC, announced last month, has left questions whether the 963 will be present on the world championship grid in any capacity in 2026.

Proton Competition team boss Christian Ried admitted it’s unclear whether his team would continue running a 963, while all but ruling out a two-car operation that would need to be met for the car to remain in the WEC per the current sporting regulations.

Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle, meanwhile, confirmed he’s not in talks with any other customers that could fill the gap.

Speaking with reporters at Bahrain International Circuit, site of Porsche’s final scheduled factory WEC race, Diuguid dismissed the notion of Penske independently funding its own Hypercar program in the championship.

“We’re not going to run a 963 independently,” he said. “Porsche is our manufacturer partner. Anything we do will be in conjunction with Porsche Motorsport.

“We’re not going to go outside of our partnership at all, no.”

When asked by Sportscar365 to clarify if that rules out Penske operating 963s in the WEC, Diuguid said: “We’re not going to run it as Penske Racing, as an example, or Team Penske.

“If that scenario were to happen, which I’m not saying it is, we’re not going to do anything outside of any partnership with Porsche.”

The scenario Diuguid is alluding to is believed to be dispensation to contest Le Mans with its auto-invite for winning the IMSA GTP championship, even if there are no full-time 963s on the full-season WEC grid.

Sportscar365 understands that Roger Penske, who arrived in Bahrain on Wednesday, has been in meetings with FIA and ACO executives regarding this matter.

“It’s still in process,” said Diuguid on the team’s Le Mans prospects. “We’re looking to get through this weekend and then we’ll circle back and have these conversations.

“Obviously the entries for the WEC open up here pretty soon and close at the end of the month so we have a pretty short window to figure out what we’re going to do.

“I’d say those discussions are ongoing to see what’s possible.”

When asked if he’s speaking about the a full season WEC campaign or a Le Mans-only effort, Diuguid said: “There’s been a lot of discussions this weekend and we’re trying to find a solution that works for everyone… for whatever is possible.

“I’m not going to speculate on what it will or what it won’t be.

“The one thing I can say is that we’re not going to do anything out of our manufacturer partnership.”

Kuratle Concedes Full-Season Porsche 963s Unlikely

With Proton the only option to contest the full WEC season, fielding one car at best, Kuratle has admitted the prospects of the 963 remaining on the grid full-time is currently unlikely.

“At the moment it doesn’t look like it,” he told Sportscar365.

“As a manufacturer, the decision has been taken. It’s independent to the decision of the customer program. The position is clear.”

Kuratle echoed Diuguid in confirming there are ongoing discussions to see if Porsche Penske could still have a presence at Le Mans next year.

“Ultimately yes, there are discussions,” he said. “We try to see if it’s somehow possible but I doubt it.”

Should Porsche Penske receive dispensation to run Le Mans with the 963 without any full-season WEC entries, it could open up a precedent for other manufacturers, namely Acura/Honda to potentially ask for the same allowance.

The Acura ARX-06, which currently competes exclusively in the WeatherTech Championship, is not eligible to race in the French endurance classic because the car does not compete full-time in the WEC.

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