Porsche are reportedly set to confirm that it will withdraw from the LMP1 category in the World Endurance Championship, despite winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans race on the last three occasions with its race car in this category.
Numerous online reports have revealed that a board meeting was held by Porsche executives yesterday to determine the fate of the company’s LMP1 program, even though they were technically confirmed for 2018.
It’s now believed that Porsche have opted to cancel their entry one year early. Therefore, the 2017 Championship will be the brand’s last in the top LMP1 category. The decision is not expected to affect Porsche’s involvement in other categories that exist in the World Endurance Championship. Porsche currently also runs the 911 RSR in the GTE-Pro category.
After a period of time away from the motorsport category, Porsche made its comeback into the World Endurance Championship’s top LMP1 category in 2014 with its 919 race car. Like most other cars in the LMP1 category, the 919 is a technologically advanced hybrid which was designed not only to win Le Mans and other race but also promote the manufacturer’s latest driving technology which could be trickled down to road cars.
Among its successes, Porsche managed to win the World Endurance Championship overall in 2015 and 2016. A 919 also won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2015, 2016 and earlier this year.
Towards the end of last year, Audi was withdrawn from the World Endurance Championship leaving Porsche as the Volkswagen’s Group only representative in this motorsport category.
While it may have been assumed that Audi’s departure would have made Porsche’s LMP1 entry more secure, Andreas Seidl, Porsche’s LMP1 team principal, revealed earlier this year that the team’s involvement was under review.
Cost is unsurprisingly believed to be the biggest factor and it has been estimated that Porsche’s LMP1 program costs more than $200 million annually.
Porsche’s withdrawal leaves Toyota as the only major manufacturer set to compete in the LMP1 category in 2018.
It is rumoured that the money Porsche would have spent on its LMP1 race cars next year will instead be distributed to new projects in other race categories, including potential future Formula E and Formula 1 entries.
UPDATE - Since this news was first published, Porsche has now officially confirmed that it will withdraw from the LMP1 category of the World Endurance Championship at the end of the 2017 season. The manufacturer also announced it will compete in Formula E with a works team from 2019.
