Penske on Le Mans: “We Want to Go Back and We Will”

Photo: Javier Jimenez/DPPI

Roger Penske has declared ambitions of his team returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the near to mid-term future, but stressed that he would only do it with Porsche.

The French endurance classic remains the last major race that the legendary team owner has yet to win, in a career that includes 20 victories in the Indianapolis 500, three Daytona 500 wins as well as numerous championships around the world in multiple racing disciplines.

Penske’s statement comes in the wake of Porsche’s withdrawal from the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class this year, which has prevented Porsche Penske Motorsport from making a fourth consecutive start in the race this year due to the Porsche 963 not contesting a full WEC season.

Speaking to a small group of invited reporters assembled for this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, where the factory Porsche GTP squad is seeking its third consecutive overall victory, Penske made his first public comments since the German manufacturer’s decision to not continue in the WEC’s top class.

“We’ve been there (to Le Mans), we’ve had good success there,” said Penske. “Obviously we all wanted to go but I think it was a business decision that was not for me to make that decision, other than say that we want to go and we’d like to go back and hopefully that will be the case.

“They’ve made some changes within the company. We’ll see what the new leadership, what their decisions are and where they’re going to spend their capital.

“They’re making a huge commitment here [in IMSA]. Running in both places (IMSA and WEC) is financially a big commitment.

“I think it was wise for them based on the situation. We had a great team and I think we had success. We were close at Le Mans last year.

“We want to go back and we will.”

When asked how important a victory at Le Mans would be to complete his team’s illustrious resume, Penske said: “I’ve grown up on the things I can’t get, I want!”

He added: “We’re very focused on Le Mans. I remember when I went there the first time in the ’70s. I drove there myself.

“The car we had there sat on the pole position, not because we were the fastest but we had the biggest motor. The car with the biggest motor was on the pole back in those days.”

However, Penske revealed he wouldn’t return to Circuit de la Sarthe with any manufacturer other than Porsche, which he holds a strong partnership beyond the joint Porsche Penske operation.

“I wouldn’t go with anyone else,” he declared. “I’ve had other opportunities that we’ve turned down.

“We’re a business partner with them around the world. Certainly, I think we’ve committed that way and they’ve committed to us.”

Penske said they’ve kept much of the WEC team’s infrastructure in place, including its base in Mannheim, Germany, in the hope of a return to the world championship.

“There’s no question,” he said. “We’ve kept all the infrastructure and we’ve got the best people. We’ve kept a number of the key people.

“The good news is the individuals that supported us from Porsche, their internal people, are still in place. So that piece is technically the one is probably the one we have to have.

“We can fill back some of the other areas but we’ve brought [in] a number of those people [to the IMSA program]. We have them here this weekend because it’s just more domain knowledge.

“It gives us the benefit to hopefully produce another victory [in the Rolex 24].”

Penske, 88, admitted that he’d “love it to be” only a one-year hiatus from the WEC and Le Mans, although said it’s not his decision and that he’s hoping they’re back “way before” 2030 when an updated set of Hypercar regulations are slated to debut.

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach stressed that no decision has been made on a possible Hypercar return.

“First of all we try to stay prepared, like Roger said,” he said. “Concerning the question to Mannheim, concerning the engineering team in Weissach.

“It’s very clear. When we said we’re going to stop in WEC, it never meant that we’re turning our back to endurance racing.

“It never meant the connection between Porsche and Le Mans is a huge one. This didn’t change.

“Of course our goal is to keep everything prepared to come back. But we stepped out for good reason. Once we see this changes… Of course we want to come back but no decision [is] made. It’s far too early.”

Porsche Could Be on Brink of Ending 75-Year Streak of Le Mans Starts

While Porsche was granted LMGT3 entries for the WEC this year, which will again be fielded by Manthey, the German manufacturer could be faced with the prospect of not having any cars at Le Mans in 2027, if the FIA selection committee would not approve its request, which is dependent on grid space in the world championship.

Both McLaren and Ford will be joining the WEC Hypercar class next year, posing the question whether the WEC will still permit LMGT3 entries from manufacturers not fielding Hypercars, such as Porsche and Mercedes-AMG.

As a full-season WEC presence with the car is a prerequisite for entries to Le Mans, next year could mark the first time since 1950 that a Porsche would not take part in the French endurance classic.

“It would be sad if we didn’t see a GT Porsche on the grid,” said Laudenbach. “But in the end, I think I’m the wrong person to ask because I’m not the one to decide.

“If you ask me, yes we want to race, it’s very clear, on the GT side, which is customer sport. But Manthey is very close to us and it would be a shame not to see a Porsche on the grid.

“I wouldn’t like to see that and I hope the entry for the two GT cars will be there in the next years but definitely I’m the wrong person to answer because we don’t make the decision.

“But we’re prepared to race there [in LMGT3].”

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