What went so well for the Porsche Penske Motorsport 963?
It was this time last yr that every little thing gave the impression to be falling into place for the brand new 2023 prototype, after it had a struggling start despite the longest pre-season testing programme (which began in the summertime of 2022) against IMSA SportsCar Championship rivals Acura, BMW and Cadillac.
Although he earned a front-row start on the Daytona 24 Hours that yr, a gearbox failure eliminated one automobile and the opposite finished 14th after an issue with the then-new hybrid system. There were actually a couple of grim faces in his garage that day.
At Sebring, it proved that because the night air cooled, the 963 could find its performance window. However, a late run-in with Acura eliminated each cars, and the rostrum finishes were forgotten.
The No. 6 automobile, driven by Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet, took a surprise first victory on the streets of Long Beach after a daring gamble to run on a single set of Michelins paid off. However, the undeniable fact that he managed to accomplish that showed that he was not using his tires efficiently and had very poor pace, so it was a Hail Mary effort that thankfully paid off.
The possibilities at Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen went down the drain – a front row lock was squandered and a road win was denied resulting from excessive board wear within the No. 6 automobile. After a pathetic showing at Mosport, where only the BMW was slower in qualifying, got here Road America…
#7 Team Penske Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr
Photo: Art Fleischmann
“Road America in 2023 was definitely the turning point where everything really started clicking,” says former Formula One driver Felipe Nasr, who leads this yr’s championship. “It was really the weekend where we were able to unlock the performance of the car, the real speed of the car.”
At the time, Nasr shared the No. 7 automobile with Matt Campbell, who later swapped places with Dan Cameron to race within the 2024 F1 World Endurance Championship.
“That win was a real breakthrough for the 7 crew,” adds Nasr. “If you look at all the results since then, I really think the 7 car was at a high level, it really lived up to the billing and was consistent.”
Porsche LMDh Factory Racing Director Urs Kuratle describes it as a “very fair victory” that actually marked the start of a successful race series in America.
#7 Team Penske Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr
Photo: Jake Galstad / Motorsports images
“It’s like we’re carrying a backpack full of reliability issues, as well as performance and operational issues,” Kuratle admits.
After his victory, he recalls: “I remember a man telling me, ‘Now we can start racing!’ I’m not saying we haven’t had any problems since then… but perhaps that is one of the simplest ways I can describe it: it was just like the backpack disappeared.
“But we never back down, we have to keep pushing for the bigger picture.”
Motorsport.com asked Kuratle exactly what the important thing aspects were that made the 963 the leader of the grid: “I think the key strength is that we have a very, very solid package, which obviously starts with the drivers,” he replied.
“Road Atlanta is the one race since Road America last yr where we haven't had not less than one automobile on the rostrum. And that's only possible if you might have a really strong driver line-up, if the automobile is reliable and the team doesn't make any mistakes. Those are the important thing aspects.
“I think we have the strongest package compared to all our competitors in this regard and this is something we are still not 100% happy with – if we can be happy with it at all – we are still working on every detail to be better in all these areas.”
#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell, Josef Newgarden
Photo: Bob Meyer
This yr, the No. 7 automobile won the Daytona 24 Hours and the Six Hours at The Glen, while its sister automobile triumphed within the Laguna Seca race.
Cameron and Nasr enter this yr's Road America with a 93-point lead over Cadillac Racing's Sebastian Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, and a 132-point lead over Tandy/Jaminet (who’ve been trailing because the disastrous Sebring race).
Nasr points to the recent victory at Watkins Glen, a race that took place in torrential rain, as the most effective indicator yet of the team’s precision under pressure.
“When I look at Watkins Glen, I think it was really a test of all those elements,” Nasr said. “It was an excellent tough race in extremely tough conditions, where we were really 50/50 of each.
“It was wet or dry, what tires to choose, when to pit. I think it was a really good test to see how we did in this race and winning in Watkins was something that is not only amazing but also very important for the state of the championship.”
What does your rival think?
Early last yr, should you had asked any of Porsche’s rival drivers how the 963 had fared in the sector, their face would have twisted right into a grimace and their responses would have included words like “very snappy, very oversteering” and “the car seems to be struggling to find its optimum performance on these tyres”.
This is one area where the 963 has significantly improved its performance in comparison with previous competitions, now winning races using the entire Michelin tyre compounds – soft, medium and hard – required for every round.
#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque
Photo: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsports images
Acura's Filipe Albuquerque weighed in on the matter this week, recommending that Michelin use the soft compound at any time when possible to avoid accidents where heavy but powerful cars hit cold rubber.
“I think it’s better to have a puncture than to crash the car on the outlap,” he says. “Performance is healthier on the harder compound wherever you go (helping with stint lengths), however it’s harder to simply survive on cold tyres.
“Having a softer compound just makes it rather a lot easier to use the energy on the out lap, but you find yourself paying for it over the long haul. But at the tip of the day it's the identical for everybody.
“For example, in Long Beach we had the soft tyres, whereas last yr they were the medium. That was the foremost change in comparison with last yr. And after all, all of the drivers know and make adjustments, but evidently Porsche was a bit ahead on the cold tyres.
“They were also a bit stronger than the others in the WEC. I think that's the benefit of having cars in multiple championships.”
#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr
Photo: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsports images
When asked in regards to the tyre heating issue, Nasr replied that it was a problem that had attracted a number of attention.
“I think a year under your belt makes a huge difference in understanding how to turn on the tyres, depending on the track and the tyre compound,” says Nasr. “We saw that a couple of times, and likewise within the last race in Watkins, when the conditions were mixed.
“Some cars could really light up the tyre right away. Some could use perhaps a couple of extra laps and, you understand, that works in some cars’ favour depending on the track layout and the way we get the energy to the tyres.
“That’s definitely certainly one of the areas we’ve been working on rather a lot. Not just as a team, but as drivers, attempting to see where we are able to generate and put more energy into the tire, but in addition into the automobile, like when it comes to set-up, things we are able to do to generate more heat within the tire.
“Everything counts, you know, the laps on the track, the laps out and how you generate heat on the tires in the race.”
#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr
Photo: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsports images
While the Porsche performed decently on these tyre compounds, it still struggled on high-intensity racing circuits corresponding to Mosport (which isn’t any longer on the GTP schedule) and Road Atlanta, site of the Petit Le Mans finale.
The Porsche 963 has actually hit its sweet spot to steer the IMSA Drivers’, Teams’ and Constructors’ Championships with just three rounds to go. And PPM also leads the WEC Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, with customer JOTA at the highest of the Teams’ Championship…
