Porsche: Le Mans this year was disappointing

Ferrari and Toyota slugged it out with a car each, their teammates out of the contest for the top step of podium early in the race, Peugeot led while Cadillac ran strongly as did Porsche until they blew it. The great German marque's record-extending 20th victory at the world's greatest endurance race will have to wait another year.

Post-race, Porsche reported: Witnessed by 325,000 spectators, the four Porsche 963 racers stepped into the limelight in the starting phase. In changing conditions with sunshine and occasional heavy rain showers, the No. 5 and No. 75 entries from Porsche Penske Motorsport spent time in the lead, as did the 'Mighty 38' campaigned by Hertz Team Jota.

However, tyre damage, technical defects and accidents threw all Porsche racing cars down the field in the top Hypercar class. The three works drivers Dane Cameron from the USA, Frédéric Makowiecki from France and Michael Christensen from Denmark secured ninth place overall at the wheel of the No. 5 car and were ultimately the best-placed Porsche crew.

The trio’s vehicle spent more than 20 minutes in the pits during the night for repairs on the cooling system, which threw them out of contention for overall laurels. On the last lap, Christensen virtually had to carry his car over the finish line due to a defective drive train.

As darkness fell on Saturday evening, it was Porsche Penske Motorsport’s third 963 that turned heads in the fierce battle between the 16 hypercar vehicles. Shared by works drivers Nick Tandy, Felipe Nasr and Mathieu Jaminet, the hybrid racer led the field for many laps. To honour the anniversary of Porsche sports cars, the car flew the starting number 75.

Jaminet rolled to a stop on the track without power. A lack of fuel pressure made it impossible to continue – heralding an early end for this team.

In the early morning, it was the No. 6 car that finally flew the banner for Porsche in the fight for the podium. However, André Lotterer, Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor ended up off the track several times with their Porsche 963 and even crashed into the barriers twice.

Repairs in the pits took over 40 minutes. Subsequently, the crew lost another half an hour when the hybrid battery had to be changed. The No. 6 entry crossed the finish line in eleventh place, 22 laps behind the winners.

Thomas Laudenbach, Director Factory Motorsport, Porsche AG, did not mince his words when he reflected immediately after the race: “Le Mans this year was disappointing. We had hoped for more.

“There is a massive amount of work involved in this project. Despite the unsatisfactory result, I’d like to thank all of the people in Weissach, at Porsche Penske Motorsport and our partners. There were various reasons why we weren’t successful today. We’ll now take a good look at these issues and make further improvements. I feel positive about the future. Congratulations to the Ferrari winners: great job.”

“Unfortunately, once the incidents started, it felt like they didn’t stop,” said Urs Kuratle, describing his impression. The Director Factory Motorsport LMDh added: “Our pace was excellent early on, which makes it all the more painful. Without the damages, we would have been much further ahead. Next year we’ll return stronger. Congratulations to Ferrari.”

Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport: “We may have suffered blows, but we also take positives with us. We faced all the challenges and, whenever possible, put our cars back on the racetrack with a mammoth effort. That was an important indicator and a strong performance by our crew.”

The Porsche 963 fielded by Hertz Team Jota gave a stunning performance in the opening phase of the race. Factory driver António Félix da Costa catapulted the British customer team’s No. 38 car from 60th overall to the top 10 in a short space of time, followed by Chinese Yifei Ye with his blistering charge.

Around 9:00 pm on Saturday, the young driver sponsored by Porsche Motorsport Asia-Pacific even took the lead. A short time later, however, the first setback came with an accident in the fast Porsche corners. The repairs took over 40 minutes, and the replacement of a defective FIA sensor used to measure the torque on the rear axle also cost precious time. Another accident on Sunday morning kept the team busy with even more work and increased the deficit.

After 24 hours, the first customer Porsche 963 in the FIA WEC, shared by Félix da Costa and Ye with driver Will Stevens, crossed the finish line 13th in the hypercar class.

In the team report from Le Mans, Jota team principal Dieter Gass commented: “After a difficult start due to missing out on qualifying, we delivered a strong performance. It was thrilling to be at the front of the field in the first four and a half hours and be in contention for overall victory at Le Mans.

"The incidents set us back, but we’re still taking a lot of positives home with us. Our performance on the track gives us confidence and huge motivation for the remaining races of the season.”

Speaking on behalf of the #5 Porsche drivers, Frédéric Makowiecki said: “It was a very difficult event for us, we’re proud nonetheless. We knew that we wouldn’t quite be at the top in terms of performance. Nevertheless, we were able to rattle the competition at times.

"It’s quite clear where we still need to improve to have a real chance of winning at Le Mans in 2024. We no longer want to be the challenger but the hunted," added Makowiecki, who shared the car with Dane Cameron and Michael Christensen.

Kévin Estre added: “Over the 24 hours we were repeatedly struck by bad luck. After three hours we suffered a puncture that cost us a whole lap. We then went on the attack to catch up – but I slid into the gravel and the barriers in the process.

"The repair took quite a long time, so the race was over for us. We learned a lot. Our car was fast, that’s the good news. I’m proud of our team," added Esrte who shared the #6 Porsche 963 #6 with Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor.