Guven Facing “Different Kind of Pressure” in LMGT3 Debut

Porsche driver Ayhancan Guven admits he faces a “different kind of pressure” in his rookie FIA World Endurance Championship season with Manthey as he continues to make the adjustment from his predominantly sprint racing-oriented background.

Guven will share Manthey’s No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo with James Cottingham and Timur Boguslavskiy for what will be his first full campaign in the WEC.

The move follows a period of success as a Porsche junior driver for the 28-year-old Turkish driver, who made his name in one-make Carrera Cup competition before stepping up to GT3 racing in 2022, culminating in last year’s DTM title.

While Guven has some experience of endurance racing, notably tackling the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour, which he won in 2024, and the Nürburgring 24, he says he is aware of expectations to lead the No. 91 crew as a rookie.

“I’m really excited,” Guven told Sportscar365. “The team won Le Mans for the last two years, so they have proven they are the benchmark.

“I need to adapt quickly with my teammates because also for me it’s a new format with the WEC, with the different categorization of drivers. As well as my driving I will have to focus on taking care of my teammates and helping them.

“If there’s a set-up choice, I am used to doing it for myself, but in the WEC I will have to follow their direction more. I will have to adapt to them.

“I am a WEC rookie but I am the pro driver of the lineup, so I need to lead the team and for sure this is a different kind of pressure compared with DTM, or even endurance racing with Pro teammates, where I just focus on myself and my performance.

“With the team we have already started preparing, so I will be ready to do my job in WEC. It’s a new challenge and a different kind of challenge.”

Guven leaves the DTM behind after three seasons, but says his title success last year, which came in spectacular fashion as he passed BMW driver Marco Wittmann on the final lap of the Hockenheim finale, made the decision to move on easier.

“I am a bit sad [about not doing DTM],” said Guven. “The racing is so great and it’s my background. I started with Cup racing in 2016 and since then I’ve always done sprint racing in Carrera Cup, Supercup, GT Masters and DTM.

“My main program was always sprint racing and this is the first time I am not doing it.

“For sure if I had stayed another year it would have been a good one because we’ve built this package together with Manthey. But on the other hand, it’s a new opportunity for me, and for the long term, it’s also more logical to do a world championship.

“Perhaps if I didn’t win the title last year it would have been harder [to leave DTM behind]. But now I have the title, so I need to realistically move on.”

Guven added that while he remains keen to stay involved in sprint racing — with Porsche’s Formula E project seen as a possible destination — he is also turning his attention to success in the world’s marquee endurance races, not only in WEC.

“My background is sprint racing, so I always want to do sprint racing,” he said. “But with Porsche, I want to win the big ones like Le Mans, Nürburgring.

“This year I will probably do all four of the big 24-hour races [Daytona, Nürburgring, Le Mans and Spa], which shows the direction I am heading in.”