The Latest Breaking News from Thomas Laudenbach

Porsche has finally abandoned plans to introduce a revised engine for its 963 LMDh World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship contender.

 The German manufacturer has been involved in Formula E since the 2019-20 season, and over the last five seasons has so far taken seven victories across Gen2 and Gen3 eras.

Vettel will take the wheel of the 963, which Porsche runs in collaboration with American powerhouse Penske, at a 36-hour test at MotorLand Aragon in Spain.

Thomas Laudenbach, the German manufacturer’s motorsport boss, explained that having Porsche Penske Motorsport masterminding the two factory campaigns has played a key role in the upturn in the fortunes of the 963 LMDh programme that began in the second half of last year and have continued into 2024. 

The German manufacturer has now matched its number of wins at the Floridian sportscar classic to its record tally of 19 Le Mans 24 Hours triumphs.

The WEC is booming following an overhaul in regulations, with no fewer than nineteen Hypercar entered in 2024, representing nine different manufacturers. Never had so many OEMs been involved in WEC's top class since the inception of the series. 

Thomas Laudenbach, head of Porsche Motorsport, made the claim before and after last weekend’s Spa 6 Hours round of the 2023 WEC, after there was no BoP revision for the Belgian race following the opening two events of the season at Sebring in March and Portimao in April.

The two factory Porsche Penske Motorsport cars finished fifth and sixth in the Hypercar class at the end of eight hours of racing at the Sebring International Raceway, trailing the dominant Toyota GR010 Hybrids by a worrying margin of four laps.

Porsche has outlined a hope that its rivals in the LMDh class will follow its lead and make customer cars available for the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Porsche has outlined a hope that its rivals in the LMDh class will follow its lead and make customer cars available for the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Porsche’s head of motorsport Thomas Laudenbach found it “funny” that streamlining its Instagram channels caused a Formula 1 social media speculation frenzy last month.