Crunch time for Porsche: 963 must prove itself at Le Mans

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The Porsche 963 has, by and large, been a successful sportscar. It's won the world championship for its driver crew of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, and Laurens Vanthoor last year, plus the IMSA championship titles. And, multiple race wins on both sides of the Atlantic, including at Daytona and Sebring.

But, the one race it hasn't yet won is the big one: Le Mans.

Let’s be clear: no alarms are going off in Stuttgart just yet—but if the Porsche 963 doesn’t finally deliver at Le Mans this year, in its third year of competition, questions will begin to be asked.

The German manufacturer has 19 wins here from legendary cars, such as the 917, 956, 962, GT1-98, and 919. Iconic sportscars, and not just iconic Porsches. The 963 is on the cusp of joining them, but arguably needs to win the French endurance classic before that happens.

In two appearances at La Sarthe, Porsche’s best finish with the 963 was a fourth-placed result last year. Not a disaster — many other manufacturers would, in all honesty, take fourth at the world's most iconic race, especially when it's as competitive as it has been recently. But when you’re the most decorated manufacturer in Le Mans history, “respectable” doesn’t cut it.

And this year, with four entries—three from Porsche Penske Motorsport and one from Proton Competition—the expectations are clear: it’s time to deliver.

But in the FIA World Endurance Championship, 2025 hasn’t exactly started on the right foot. The 963 has struggled to find form, and not just due to setup or driver error.

Porsche has had to contend with significant BoP adjustments—notably an increase in minimum weight and a reduction in maximum power. These changes have hit hard, and it’s shown.

The factory Penske entries? They struggled to even get near the top-five in the early WEC rounds. For a team and manufacturer accustomed to winning, that’s not where they want to be, especially after winning the world championship last year.

Wehrlein making Le Mans debut

Pascal Wehrlein, newcomer to Le Mans after winning the Formula E world championship, joins Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy in the #4 entry. He’s taken the challenge head-on.

'I feel very comfortable in the car,' said Wehrlein.

'It’s just about learning the track as quickly as possible, learning the tricks here, and understanding where the tire degradation is going and how it behaves on high fuel and low fuel. I would say normal procedures, but generally, I feel very, very comfortable.

'I want to do well. It would mean a lot to us. At the same time, I think the approach has to be, “It’s just one race, to focus on the basics and try to make the most out of it.”'

#6 car's disqualification sets them back

The #6 car—Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, and Matt Campbell—had the pace in qualifying, only to be slapped with a DQ that sent them to the back of the grid. It’s a setback, but it might be the spark they need to attack this race with real intent.

'Yeah, it impacts since you start last instead of maybe top five,” Laurens Vanthoor said.

‘That exposes you to more risk at the start and in the first hours, so we’ll have to come back. With the safety car rules there’s a realistic chance things will bunch up again.

‘I do think that we can come back. I'm quite trustful that we can come back to the front but it will take time and patience, and will expose us to more risk.

‘But hopefully after a couple of hours in the race that will be, let's say, wiped out. And we'll be in the pack to see where we're at.

Vanthoor worried about 'one brand in particular'

And, when asked about Porsche’s long run pace — more on that from Only Endurance tomorrow — the Belgian seemed hopeful that Porsche can fight at the front.

‘Yeah, [long run pace] looked quite good. Last night we had a bit of an issue, but during the day and the heat, it was actually surprisingly good. 

‘So I think we're there together with a bunch of others. I'm a bit worried about one brand in particular, which I think is standing out, let's say. 

‘But besides that, I think we have a good fighting chance. And yeah, the ability to make a good result of it.’

Le Mans can often be a race of parts — the day time, then into the night, then back into the day. Unfortunately #6 Porsche’s unspecified issue in second practice yesterday meant the team couldn’t get a good read on the car at night.

‘Last night we had a bit of an issue, so we couldn’t see what our pace was. We were surprisingly good during the day and normally actually we're always better at night. But it changes so much, so I hope we’ll know more in this evening’s session,’ he concluded.

'Working well' says Jaminet

Then there’s Mathieu Jaminet, partnering WEC full-timers Julien Andlauer and Michael Christensen in the #5 car. The Frenchman offered perhaps the most honest assessment so far when Only Endurance spoke to him before practice.

“I think it was the best test day we’ve had in the last two years, frankly,' he said.

'The car was working well, no issues. A lot of laps, a lot of data. In my opinion, we look alright. We are not at the very sharp end at the front, but we are somewhere in the mix in the front group.'

'I just don't know how much behind the top or the top two manufacturers, which look to be Ferrari and Toyota. But I think it's very close up from between five brands.'

Five brands — but who? Jaminet was happy to expand.

'You see Toyota and Ferrari, you see us and you see BMW and Alpine,' said the 30-year-old.

'Cadillac was a little bit behind, but we also know how they do every year. So, I'd be surprised if they don't show up at some point. They've always been really strong [in qualifying] and starting on the first two rows usually. So yeah, I expect this five, maybe six with Cadillac.'

That puts all the LMDh-rules manufacturers in Jaminet's theoretical window, plus Ferrari and Toyota, Jaminet's ultimate pace pick.

'All the LMDh-spec cars I would expect in a very, very small window,' he continued.

'The question mark is Ferrari and Toyota. They've always been a little bit ahead, the last two years, of everyone else. And again, they look very strong. So yeah, in the end it's hard to know.

'I just know from our side, it's not bad. Seems like we've done a good step so I just hope it's enough for Saturday and Sunday,' he finished.

Make or break time for Porsche

Ferrari has already proven it can win at Le Mans, twice on the trot. Toyota remains very consistent. And the competition elsewhere is strong too.

Porsche, then, need to prove the 963 belongs in the same echelon as the 499P and GR010 Hybrid, when it comes to the French endurance classic. This is that weekend — crunch time.

Feature image: Porsche / Juergen Tap