Porsche Penske Motorsport well prepared for LM24

WECHyperCar

Jun 9

Porsche Penske Motorsport made the most of both three-hour sessions during the test day and is now well prepared for race week at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During the official test day, the factory team’s three Porsche 963 racers completed a total of 194 laps at the Circuit des 24 Heures refining the setup of its three 511 kW (695 PS) Porsche 963 hybrid prototypes. By the end of the test, drivers reported a consistently balanced car. The Porsche 963 fielded by the Proton Competition customer team also covered 60 laps of the 13.626-kilometre track with its Porsche 963.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Le Mans Test Day. Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 #4, #5, #6 and Proton Competition Porsche 963 #99.

A third entry and a reserve driver

In the #4 car, the third entry alongside the two FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Porsche 963 cars, Formula E World Champion Pascal Wehrlein turned his first laps of the Circuit des 24 Heures. At the wheel of the #5 sister car, Nico Müller prepared for all contingencies; the Swiss driver is on standby as a reserve for Le Mans.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Le Mans Test Day. Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 #4 and #5

2 factory cars in the top 6

Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche963 #6 an #4 ended the test respectively fifth and sixth of the combined time sheet. Sister #5 was 11th and Protons Competition Porsche 963 #99 was 15th in a contingent of 21 hypercars although this does not reflect the true hierarchy among the pack of LMh and LMDh as teams use that day to test various set-ups on different cars.

Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “It was a good test day, and we completed almost everything we set out to do. Unfortunately, we encountered an extended red flag period at the end – which prevented us from trying something out with Laurens. Still, we got the answers we needed, which gives us a solid foundation. Lap times don’t tell the whole story.”

📷© Luc Warnotte at Le Mans Test Day. Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche963 #4

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #4): “We managed to get a lot done. We first ticked off tasks such as running in components like brakes and fitting body parts for the race. In the afternoon, we focused more on the setup and made good progress. We’ll keep building on this.”

📷© Luc Warnotte at Le Mans test day. Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche963 #5.

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #5): “The car ran without issues, which is a strong start. It’s hard to predict how we stack up against the competition – the field seems closely matched. As expected, our Porsche felt good, but there’s still room to improve. We’ll continue fine-tuning over the coming days.”

📷© Luc Warnotte at Le Mans test day. Proton Competition Porsche 963 #99.

Neel Jani (Porsche 963 #99): “Our 963 felt good throughout the test. We have a solid baseline, which is encouraging. It was a successful day that gave us valuable insights heading into race week. Of course, there’s still room for improvement. We’ll need to keep optimising our Porsche throughout the upcoming practice sessions – after all, the other teams will be making progress too.”Source: Porsche

Schedule

Wednesday 11 June 2025
14:00-17:00 Free Practice 1
18:45-19:15 Qualifying (LMGT3)

19:30-20:00 Qualifying (Hypercar)
22:00-00:00 Free Practice 2

Thursday 12 June 2025
14:45-17:45 Free Practice 3
20:00-20:20 Hyperpole 1 (LMGT3)
20:35-20:50 Hyperpole 2 (LMGT3)
21:05-21:25 Hyperpole 1 (Hypercar)
21:40-21:55 Hyperpole 2 (Hypercar)
23:00-00:00 Free Practice 4

Saturday 14 June 2025
12:00-12:15 Warm-up
16:00 Race start

Sunday 15 June 2025
16:00 Race finish