WEC: Porsche/Audi rule out 2017 third cars

Porsche and Audi have ruled out running three cars again when they return to the Le Mans 24 Hours next year.

The cost-saving move of scaling down to two LMP1 entries for this season's World Endurance Championship in the wake of the "Dieselgate" emissions scandal to engulf parent company Volkswagen will remain in place for 2017, the two manufacturers have decided.

"Three cars is not in the plan," head of Audi Sport Wolfgang Ullrich confirmed. "We have re-organized our structure for two cars. It would not be an efficient use of resources to restructure from three to two and then go from two back to three."

Porsche LMP1 team principal Andreas Seidl said a return to the three-car team of 2015 was "not a topic for discussion."

"We have to use our budget efficiently," he explained. "We have realized that it is such a big workload going from two to three cars."

Toyota – which has yet to field an additional entry at Le Mans since its return to the pinnacle of sportscar racing on the rebirth of the WEC in 2012 – has left the door open on a third car for next season.

"We have still to reach a decision on that," said Toyota Motorsport GmbH technical director Pascal Vasselon, whose team lost victory in this year's 24 Hours with five minutes to go. "Had we entered three cars this year, maybe we would have been able to win Le Mans."

Toyota's philosophy has always been against compromising development of its LMP1 contender by diverting resources to field an additional car in the 24 Hours.

Originally on Autosport.com