Porsche to Continue Factory GTE-Pro Program in 2014

Photo: John Dagys

Porsche announced Friday that it has renewed its factory GTE-Pro program in next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.

The German manufacturer, which scored a 1-2 finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, will continue under the Porsche AG Team Manthey banner in a separate program from its new works LMP1 squad that will also take on the WEC in 2014.

Coupled with its new factory involvement in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship next year in GT Le Mans, Porsche for the first time will have three simultaneous works programs worldwide.

“I have been flipping through the history books in the last [few] weeks when we had to prepare the decision with our board,” said Porsche Head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen.

“There were a lot of motorsport activities in the ’80s but one thing’s for sure, and I think this underlines how important the WEC has become, that we have two programs in one championship.

“I think this is a very clear statement and I think it underlines how well the WEC has developed [in a short period of time].”

Porsche AG Team Manthey has debuted its new-spec Porsche 911 RSR “Evo” this weekend in Bahrain, which according to Kristen, is roughly a 30 percent new car.

All future 911 RSRs will be run to this specification, including the factory entries in the WEC and TUDOR Championship next year.

Driver lineups have yet to be announced for the manufacturer’s expanded effort, although Kristen expects the hiring of additional factory drivers for the dual factory GT program.

Porsche Supercup rising star Michael Christensen was named this week as the latest addition to the factory squad.

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