Porsche Penske Motorsport stormed to a maiden victory with the Porsche 963 in the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC. At the season opener in Qatar, works drivers Kévin Estre (France), André Lotterer (Germany) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) crossed the finish line first at the wheel of the No. 6 car. The No. 5 sister car wrapped up the 1,812-kilometre event in third place. The customer team Hertz Team Jota rounded off Porsche’s triumph with second place overall. In the new LMGT3 class, the 911 GT3 R from Manthey PureRxcing clinched first place. 

Race

The Porsche 963 proved to be the car to beat early in the ten-hour race. Although Denmark’s Michael Christensen lost the lead from pole position on the first lap in the No. 5 hybrid prototype, Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) quickly worked his way into the lead in the early stages at the wheel of the sister car. After around 90 minutes, the race car from Weissach snatched first place and only relinquished it briefly over the next eight hours due to different pit stop rhythms. At the end of a nail-biting race on the Lusail International Circuit, Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor scored the first world championship victory for the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team with a lead of over 30 seconds.

In sunny and warm conditions during the day and significantly cooler temperatures in the final hours, the No. 5 Porsche 963 consistently matched the pace with the leading vehicle. However, misfortune plagued Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki, with the car having to unexpectedly pit twice due to tyre damage. In a last-ditch effort, Daytona winner Matt Campbell made an impressive comeback, propelling the team to the final podium spot. Admittedly, the team also benefited from Peugeot’s bad luck. The rival car had been running in second place for a long stretch only to be hampered in the final laps by a technical defect.

“We worked extremely hard and were rewarded in the best possible way. This success is difficult to put into words,” explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “Everyone involved did an immaculate job. The team and the drivers gave a commanding performance. Congratulations as well to the entire team at home in Weissach. Nobody could have expected a triple success for Porsche. But my respect also goes to Peugeot. It’s bitter to be thwarted so close to the finish line. They deserved to be on the podium with us. Manthey PureRxcing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R won in the new LMGT3 class. The start of the season couldn’t have gone better.” 

In the new LMGT3 category, Manthey PureRxcing set the benchmark. The Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by the seasoned customer team from Germany’s Eifel region dominated at the front of the 18-strong LMGT3 field over almost the entire distance. After clinching the title in the Asian Le Mans Series, the drivers Klaus Bachler from Austria, Joel Sturm from Germany and Alex Malykhin from Great Britain now followed up with an season opening victory in the FIA WEC in Qatar. Manthey EMA’s 911 took the flag in 15th place.

“This weekend we won the first world championship race based on FIA GT3 vehicles. This is a new chapter of racing history,” says Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R. “From the development efforts of the entire project team to the test and race preparation by the Manthey team and their drivers – this teamwork has paid off and it makes me particularly proud. We’ll take some insights and homework with us from Qatar because it’s just the beginning of a challenging season.”

Thanks to its successes in the top Hypercar class, Porsche and the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team now lead all categories in the championship standings. Hertz Team Jota ranks first for private teams in the FIA WEC, Manthey PureRxcing tops the leaderboard in the LMGT3 class. Round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC is the six-hour race in Imola on 21 April. This marks a WEC debut on the Formula 1 track there, after previous races in Monza, Italy.