Porsche Penske Motorsport returning to 24 Hours of Le Mans with three entries
After ending a 55-year drought for Roger Penske in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Porsche Penske Motorsport will have three shots at delivering the iconic team owner his first victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
For the second consecutive year, there will be three 963s fielded by Porsche Penske Motorsport in the prestigious endurance race June 15-16. ACO, the organizer of Le Mans, released the entry list Monday with 23 cars in the premier hybrid prototype category — up from 15 last year.
“The history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has shown time and again how important an extra iron in the fire can be,” Urs Kuratle, Porsche's director of factory motorsport LMDh said in a release. “Last year, it was our third car that managed to lead the pack in the race. After our victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona last month, our goal is very clear: We want to be at the top of the podium at the classic in Le Mans.”
Porsche Penske Motorsport fields two full-time entries in the World Endurance Championship, which features Le Mans as its crown jewel race. The team has announced its drivers for those entries with Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki in the No. 5 and Kevin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 6.
The No. 4's three-driver lineup will include Mathieu Jaminet and two drivers to be named at a later date.
It's likely those drivers would come from Porsche Penske Motorsport's GTP lineups in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Campbell, Felipe Nasr, Dane Cameron and Josef Newgarden combined to win the Rolex 24. Porsche Penske Motorsport's second entry finished fourth in the Rolex 24 with Nick Tandy, Jaminet, Estre and Vanthoor.
The Hypercar division of the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans also will feature new prototype entries from Alpine, BMW, Lamborghini and Isotta Fraschini.
“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the organizer, the ACO, for once again granting us the opportunity to enter a third car,” said Thomas Laudenbach, the vice president of Porsche Motorsport. “The 24 Hours of Le Mans will be a stunning smorgasbord of spectacular cars from a total of 14 manufacturers in the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes. We’re expecting a close and exciting battle at the front. So, it’s all the more important that we maximize the chances of our 20th overall victory by entering a third Porsche 963.”
Cadillac Racing, which also competes in IMSA's top category, will have three entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
