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Porsche factory driver Laurens Vanthoor's 3 years at the Porsche Penske Motorsport team is something he'll never forget, he told media before Bahrain.
'I've said this over the last few years, I think a hundred times that driving for these two names together has always been a dream of mine,' he said, in a roundtable interview for selected media including Only Endurance.
'The success we had together makes it even more beautiful. We moved places a year ago and now I'm slowly starting to build again my man cave, with suits and helmets.
'And these years obviously have a place there for the rest of my life with the suits, trophies, the helmets we've won. It's something we will never forget and something I'm very proud to be a part of,' he concluded.
L. Vanthoor's teammate Kevin Estre had similar thoughts about racing in the most prominent championships worldwide for two motorsport heavy hitters.
'When you associate two names and two brands like Porsche and Penske, already you have some weight on your shoulder, and you know that it's going to be good', said the Frenchman in a media roundtable for selected media including Only Endurance.
'Of course, the first year was difficult. We built up, as Laurens said, we started from scratch, so it was not easy. But now it's been amazing to work with these people, to drive for this team.
Phil Oakley
'People coming from IndyCar, from LMP1, from LMP2. So it's been a lot of talents to put it together for this program and it's been very successful. So I'm really glad to have been part of this.
'It's built up all together, a great group of people which work together with a different sort of mindset. German mindset and American mindset is a bit different. Everyone had to learn from each other and I'm glad that we found the way to win races and be successful,' he concluded.
Estre has been associated with Porsche since 2008, when he raced in Porsche Carrera Cup France. He won the title in 2011, before racing in various national and international GT categories for Porsche well over a decade.
He moved up to Hypercar with Porsche in 2023, as a key part of the Porsche Penske Motorsport's FIA World Endurance Championship programme. With that programme now ending, it is unclear whether Estre will stay with Porsche or go elsewhere.
L. Vanthoor, meanwhile, started his sportscar career with Audi before switching to Porsche in 2017.
Last year's drivers' world championship win was a first for a Penske-run team. Images: Porsche / Juergen Tap
Together with Andre Lotterer, their former teammate in the #6 Porsche, Estre and L. Vanthoor won the FIA World Endurance Championship title last year at Bahrain. The race last year was won by the #8 Toyota crew, which helped the Japanese-German squad to win the manufacturers' title, which Porsche missed out on.
Phil Oakley
Nevertheless, the drivers' championship win was Penske's first world championship title, and clearly one Estre and L. Vanthoor hold dear.
They are in contention again for a second consecutive championship this year at Bahrain, sitting 21 points behind the leaders, Ferrari's James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Porsche winning championship a 'mic drop' moment
However, Porsche's factory Penske-run team is leaving the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of this year.
What, then, would this mean to win?
L. Vanthoor put it very simply: 'If we manage to be successful two years in a row, would be kind of these memes where they drop the mic and then walk away.'
Phil Oakley
'We're already in a situation in the championship where we have to do what we always do, is do races well, execute them well and stay out of trouble. That's what so far has been, I think, our strength in the last two years. So we have to continue to do that,' he said.
Estre added, 'The key is the consistency. I think we've made very good races since Le Mans, with podium finishes or just outside the podium. Our strength, the execution of the race, which has been our strength last year and continues to be our strength this year.
'Even if, when the qualifying was not great, we always executed the race well, as it was the case, for example, in Fuji last time. So, yeah, we just hope to do a great execution again in Bahrain and hope to clinch these titles.'
Finally, the Porsche Penske Motorsport programme has been very successful, both in WEC and across the pond in the IMSA Sportscar Championship. Porsche Penske won the drivers' title in both 2024 and this year, 2025, as well as both the Teams' championships and the Manufacturers' titles in each of those years.
'I think I can't complain too much about this season,' said L. Vanthoor.
'But it's not finished yet. And indeed, actually, I think we can say now, if you go back to year one of the project, it was not an easy time, obviously building up a complete team, two programs at the same time.
'I think nobody else did it like us. But in the end, it proved that we turned it around and were, I think, one of the most successful teams, in both championships.
'And it would be just amazing to be able hopefully to sign this off with another world title. I think we can be very proud of everything what we've achieved together, but that would be the cherry on the cake.
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