Porsche works drivers head into a gripping motorsport weekend on 11 and 12 May leading the championships in all three top racing series. Porsche Penske Motorsport also occupies the top spot in the team standings of the FIA WEC and the North American IMSA Championship thanks to two victories in Daytona and Qatar and podium finishes in all other races so far this season.
“Porsche doesn’t engage in motorsport as an end in itself. It has to be relevant to the company and its goals, for example through fielding electric vehicles. The coming weekend emphasises this very clearly,” explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “Our works teams will be competing at three venues with hybrid or fully electric racing cars. We’re looking forward to this challenge. The knowledge and experience gained in motorsport will also be incorporated into the development of our road vehicles. We’re proud of our extensive motorsport programmes and are heading into the coming weekend with total dedication.”
Formula E: Porsche and Pascal Wehrlein lead the series halfway through the season
Formula E’s guest appearance in Berlin, Germany, on 11 and 12 May marks the start of the second half of the season. Races 9 and 10 will be held on a modified track layout on the apron of the historic Tempelhof Airport. Pascal Wehrlein will line up for his home race as the world championship leader, while Porsche ranks first in the manufacturers’ standings. Wehrlein’s teammate in the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is two-time Berlin winner António Félix da Costa. Defending world champion Jake Dennis and Norman Nato compete for the Andretti Formula E customer team in the Porsche 99X Electric. Porsche also brings two new safety cars to Berlin: the Taycan Turbo GT, which was designed for the track and launched in March, will take over as the Formula E safety car from the Taycan Turbo S. The Turbo GT is the most powerful production Porsche ever built.
“We’re looking forward to the Formula E weekend in Germany. Our development team from Weissach as well as a host of Porsche employees and their families and friends will be supporting us in Berlin,” says Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E. “The new track layout looks interesting. Due to the different distances, we expect extreme slipstream battles in the first race. Energy management will play an important role here. For the second event, we’re expecting more routine racing. This variety makes it particularly exciting for the spectators.”
The Porsche teams in Berlin, Germany
Porsche 99X Electric
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team #94: Pascal Wehrlein (D)
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team #13: António Félix da Costa (P)
Andretti Formula E #1: Jake Dennis (UK)
Andretti Formula E #17: Norman Nato (F)
TV / Stream:
The worldwide broadcasting schedule of the Formula E events is available at https://fiaformulae.com
Formula E championship standings:
fiaformulae.com
FIA WEC: Important dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Next up on this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) calendar is round three at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on 11 May. The Porsche Penske Motorsport works team fields two 508 kW (691 PS) Porsche 963 race cars in the six-hour race. The customer teams Hertz Team Jota and Proton Competition enter three more Porsche 963 racers in the top Hypercar class on the seven-kilometre “Ardennes rollercoaster” in Belgium. In the LMGT3 category, partner team Manthey will line up with two Porsche 911 GT3 R. The outfit from Germany’s Eifel region tops the leaderboard in all classifications in the new GT3 class.
“After the races in Qatar and Imola, we’re making our way back to the legendary circuit in Spa, which has completely different characteristics,” says Urs Kuratle. The Director Factory Motorsport LMDh adds: “We’ve tested with our Porsche 963 on the Belgian circuit and are well prepared. If we maximise our potential, we’ll hopefully achieve another top result. We want to bring home a lot of points, consolidate our position in the championship and learn as much as possible before the highlight of the year at Le Mans in June.”
The Porsche teams in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Hypercar (Porsche 963):
Porsche Penske Motorsport #5: Matt Campbell (AUS), Michael Christensen (DK), Frédéric Makowiecki (F)
Porsche Penske Motorsport #6: Kévin Estre (F), André Lotterer (D), Laurens Vanthoor (B)
Hertz Team Jota #12: Will Stevens (UK), Callum Ilott (UK)
Hertz Team Jota #38: Jenson Button (UK), Phil Hanson (UK), Oliver Rasmussen (DK)
Proton Competition #99: Julien Andlauer (F), Neel Jani (CH), Harry Tincknell (UK)
LMGT3 (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
Manthey EMA #91: Yasser Shahin (AUS), Morris Schuring (NL), Richard Lietz (A)
Manthey PureRxcing #92: Alex Malykhin (UK), Joel Sturm (D), Klaus Bachler (A)
TV / Stream
The German free-to-air TV channel Sport1 will broadcast the final phase of the race live on Saturday, 11 May from 17:00 hrs and will offer extensive summaries in the week following the event. Eurosport2 will also broadcast excerpts of the third race of the season. Live timing and a live stream of qualifying and the entire race will be available via the FIA WEC app, which is subject to a charge.
WEC championship standings
IMSA series: Through the famous “Corkscrew” under new conditions
Round four of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at Laguna Seca Raceway will be contested over 2 hours 40 minutes on 12 May. The storied Californian track with the famous “Corkscrew” corner was resealed in the summer of 2023. Porsche Penske Motorsport familiarised itself with the new grip conditions during two days of testing. In the top GTP category, the customer teams JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition will campaign two more Porsche 963. The hybrid prototypes from Weissach can call on a maximum output of 511 kW (695 PS) in the IMSA series according to the current Balance of Performance. In the two GT classes, four partner teams will each enter a Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“Laguna Seca has undergone a fresh resurfacing since we raced there in 2023, and this will bring a new set of challenges,” comments Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “Porsche Penske Motorsport and all our GTP competitors tested there for two days to get our first exposure to the new surface level. The grip level of the track has increased significantly and should produce higher cornering speeds, quicker qualifying times, and great racing. Our team is pushing to remain at the top of the points championship.”
The Porsche teams in Laguna Seca, USA
GTP (Porsche 963):
Porsche Penske Motorsport #6: Mathieu Jaminet (F), Nick Tandy (UK)
Porsche Penske Motorsport #7: Felipe Nasr (BR), Dane Cameron (USA)
Proton Competition #5: Gianmaria Bruni (I), Bent Viscaal (NL)
JDC-Miller MotorSports #85: Tijmen van der Helm (NL), Richard Westbrook (UK)
GTD Pro (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
AO Racing #77: Laurin Heinrich (D), Sebastian Priaulx (UK)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
Andretti Motorsports #43: Jarett Andretti (USA), Gabby Chaves (COL)
MDK Motorsports #86: Anders Fjordbach (DK), Kerong Li (CHN)
Wright Motorsports #120: Adam Adelson (USA), Elliott Skeer (USA)
TV / Stream
A free livestream of qualifying and the race, including live timing, is available on imsa.tv.
IMSA championship standings
Drivers’ comments ahead of the race weekend
Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche 99X Electric #94, Formula E): “Driving in a great city like Berlin is a special honour for us. I’m particularly excited about the support from the German fans. The surface at the former airport is very unique so, we need to make sure that we find a suitable setup quickly. Berlin is not a typical Formula E circuit. There’ll be a lot of slipstreaming, which means you have to conserve a lot of energy in the race. We did that effectively recently in Misano.”
Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6, FIA WEC): “Spa-Francorchamps is one of the most beautiful racetracks in the world and definitely one of the highlights of the FIA WEC calendar. Driving a hypercar like the Porsche 963 through Eau Rouge is a real experience on every lap. Last year we were quite fast there, but we were very unlucky. I want to change that this year. We tested at Spa and are well prepared. That’s why I’m confident that we can extend our wonderful series of podium finishes. It won’t be easy, because the competition is fierce. Nevertheless, we’re better than last year and we’re in fantastic form as of late.”
Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7, IMSA): “After our strong start to the season, we want to carry that momentum into Laguna Seca. The track is steeped in tradition and very demanding. We had the opportunity to test on the new asphalt. The results were positive and gave us important insights for the upcoming race. The entire team continues to work tirelessly on optimising our Porsche 963. Based on the test results and our good performance last year, we’re aiming for overall victory at Laguna Seca.”
The schedule for all three events (all times CEST)
Thursday, 9 May
11:30 – 13:00 hrs: WEC free practice 1
17:30 – 19:00 hrs: WEC free practice 2
Friday, 10 May
11:00 – 12:00 hrs: WEC free practice 3
14:00 – 16:05 hrs: WEC qualifying
17:00 – 17:30 hrs: Formula E free practice 1
22:15 – 23:45 hrs: IMSA free practice 1
Saturday, 11 May
08:00 – 08:30 hrs: Formula E free practice 2
10:20 – 11:43 hrs: Formula E qualifying
13:00 – 19:00 hrs: WEC race
15:03 – 16:30 hrs: Formula E race
18:15 – 19:45 hrs: IMSA free practice 2
Sunday, 12 May
01:35 – 02:15 hrs: IMSA qualifying
08:00 – 08:30 hrs: Formula E free practice 3
10:20 – 11:43 hrs: Formula E qualifying
15:03 – 16:30 hrs: Formula E race
21:10 – 23:50 hrs: IMSA race