What went so right for Porsche Penske Motorsport’s 963? It was at this time last year that everything seemed to click for the new-for-2023 prototype, which had stumbled out of the blocks despite the longest pre-season testing programme (which started in the summer of 2022) compared its IMSA SportsCar Championship rivals Acura, BMW and Cadillac.
Although it bagged a front-row starting spot in that year’s Daytona 24 Hours, gearbox failure took out one car and the other finished 14th after hitting trouble with the then brand-new common hybrid system. There certainly were some glum faces around its garage that day.
