9 Porsche entries for Bahrain

Porsche Penske Motorsport has set its sights on another podium finish at the final round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season. The works team fields two Porsche 963 in the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain race. The customer teams Hertz Team Jota and Proton Competition contest the top hypercar class with one 514 kW (699 hp) hybrid prototype each. In the GTE-Am category, five partner teams will tackle the final event of the year for the last time with the Porsche 911 RSR.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Portimao. #5 and 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 at 6 Hours of Portimao.

The two Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

The Porsche Penske Motorsport team travels to the Formula 1 circuit in the island state in the Persian Gulf with its two Porsche 963 race cars for the first time. After clinching a podium result at the previous round in Japan, the factory squad is again aiming for the podium.

“We’ve experienced a season of mixed fortunes, however we always gave our absolute best in the fierce competition of the hypercar class,” states Thomas Laudenbach. Looking ahead to the season finale, the Vice President of Porsche Motorsport adds: “It would be great for our entire team, the drivers and our fans if we could bring home another podium result in Bahrain. The last race in Fuji clearly underlined our recent progress. We’re keen to build on this and head into the winter break with a podium finish. After the final round in Manama, we’ll take part in the official FIA WEC test day with our Porsche 963. On this occasion, our new DTM champion Thomas Preining will drive the car for the first time. I’m very curious to see how he’ll do.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans. 75 anniversary special livery for Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I expect us to be at the front of the field in Bahrain,” explains Urs Kuratle, Director of Factory Racing LMDh. “In the intense heat of the desert, tyre management plays a major role. We’ve made critical progress in this respect over recent months. We’re well prepared. I also feel optimistic about the fact that the Formula 1 track near Manama has hardly any bumps and the kerbs are comparatively flat – that should suit our Porsche 963. We’d like to conclude the first season with the Porsche Penske Motorsport team in the FIA WEC with another podium success.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 at 1,000 Miles of Sebring.

Michael Christensen (Porsche 963 #5): “A tough and busy season comes to an end with the finale in Bahrain. We’ve learned a lot in the past months and translated our insights from the races on both sides of the Atlantic into better performance. This makes me confident that we’ll see further progress in Bahrain and have the chance to finish on the podium again. It’d be wonderful if we could finish the season third in the manufacturers’ standings.”

Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “I feel optimistic and hope that we can match the speed of our last race in Japan. Maybe we could even improve a little bit – that’d be great! The track characteristics in Bahrain are quite different from Fuji: It’s mainly about preserving the tyres on the aggressive asphalt over a long stint. It won’t be easy but it’s always the key to success in Bahrain. I’d like to wrap up our difficult season with a highlight.”

Porsche customer teams and drivers

The privateer teams Proton Competition and Hertz Team Jota field one Porsche 963 each in the top hypercar class. Works driver António Félix da Costa from Portugal, Will Stevens from the UK and the Porsche Motorsport Asia-Pacific selected driver from China Yifei Ye will compete for the British team. Works driver Gianmaria Bruni from Italy joins forces with Neel Jani from Switzerland and Englishman Harry Tincknell at the wheel of Proton Competition’s car. The trio last finished on the podium at the season finale of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Road Atlanta.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans. #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Will Stevens (Porsche 963 #38): “I’m really looking forward to Bahrain and the last race of the season. It’s been an exciting year and we’ve learned a lot about the Porsche 963. Hopefully, we can continue the steep learning curve that we’ve seen from race to race. We want to finish 2023 with a success. I like the Bahrain circuit. It’s very different from the others on the calendar: although the asphalt offers little grip, it’s tough on the tyres. That always throws a nice challenge at us.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Monza. #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 at 6 Hours of Monza.

Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 963 #99): “We want to continue our upward trend. The pace of our Porsche 963 at the IMSA race in Indianapolis and the WEC event in Fuji was great but we weren’t able to reap the rewards. That changed recently at Road Atlanta – we finished on the podium there at the last race in North America. We started the season late, but have gained a great deal of experience, data and knowledge over the past weeks. I’m confident that we’ll be very strong again in Bahrain.”

The last time for Porsche 911 RSR

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Monza. #85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR at 6 Hours of Monza.

Five identical, 378 kW (515 PS) Porsche 911 RSR will tackle the GTE-Am category for the last time. From 2024, FIA GT3 cars will replace the GTE vehicles. Project1-AO again fields “Rexy”, a favourite with the fans. The bright green 911 decked out in a dinosaur design will be helmed by the Americans PJ Hyett and Gunnar Jeannette and the Italian Matteo Cairoli. The yellow Iron Lynx car and the Iron Dames pink contender will add even more colour to the grid lineup. The only all-female trio Michelle Gatting (Denmark), Sarah Bovy (Belgium) and Rahel Frey (Switzerland) share the Iron Dames Porsche are defending their P2 in class championship ahead of Bahrain race. The customer squads Dempsey-Proton Racing and GR Racing will campaign two racing cars.

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