Porsche and Ferrari detail Hypercar update plans

The first major upgrade for the Porsche 963, a new crankshaft, is set to debut after the Le Mans 24 Hours in June according to Porsche Motorsport's director of factory racing Urs Kuratle.

Speaking with RACER at the Losail International Circuit ahead of this weekend's FIA WEC season opener, Kuratle explained that while there is no targeted race weekend for this upgrade to be introduced, the car will not be re-homologated before the upcoming endurance races at Le Mans and Watkins Glen. This is in part due to the ACO and IMSA's requirement for the 963 to compete in at least two race events with the update to the 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8 before the Le Mans 24 Hours, to ensure there is ample data for the Balance of Performance process to deliver a fair set of values.

In order to achieve this, Porsche would need to act quickly to test the new crankshaft on track, manufacture the new parts and deliver the updates to both its factory and customer cars in time for the 6 Hours of Imola in April. This is a task that Porsche doesn’t believe is possible in the time remaining.

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"We made the decision internally to not run the (new) 90-degree crankshaft in Le Mans, the reason is that IMSA and ACO have communicated that we would have to implement it in Imola to all the 963s. That's a big task for us. It's a fair timeline from both governing bodies, we accept it, but we realize that logistically and parts-wise it is not possible," Kuratle explained.

"We saw good results in Daytona; we've overcome some reliability problems. We need the new crank but not as urgently anymore, so we will concentrate all the endurance testing with the current crankshaft in the build-up to Le Mans and debut it at a later date. We've had discussions with the ACO and IMSA, it's all on us now on when we can introduce it."

Though no specific date is yet confirmed for the update, Kuratle said that debuting it at Watkins Glen the weekend after Le Mans will not be possible either. It would be “too close” to Le Mans, he said.

"That would mean we would need to introduce it in Imola too. We have to come up with a realistic timeline. The engine is running on the dyno -- we haven't had it running in the car yet. We have to measure it and do all the endurance testing to ensure we really want the new crank."

Though there is still endurance testing required before the new crank is signed off, Porsche hopes this upgrade will make a substantial difference to the reliability of the 963 once it is introduced, adding to the minor software updates applied to the car ahead of the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.

"There are pros and cons to both types of crankshafts. At the early stage, we decided to go for the crankshaft we have in the car now for good reasons. But then we realized that it wasn't ideal for a number of other reasons. Now we are evaluating the next one and trying to overcome the downsides of a 90-degree crankshaft,” he explained.

"The updates were good for us at Rolex and they have the same impact here (in the WEC). The car has improved a lot with the software bits and pieces we changed.

"It's all about reliability -- we have suffered so many problems," he continued. "We had minor problems at Daytona. There were no show-stoppers, but we discovered problems in Daytona which we clearly relate to the vibration issue. This is the downside to the current 180-degree crank."

Ferrari too has plans in the works to bring updates to its 499P. However, the Italian marque seems likely to join Cadillac in waiting for the 2025 season to revise its challenger.

Antonello Coletta, Ferrari's head of global endurance, told the media in the Qatar that while there is an opportunity to introduce revisions to the 499P before the end of the season, it is prepared to wait before making a move.

"At the moment we have used zero 'jokers'," he said. "We have one chance in the second half of the season or for next year. Frankly speaking, we studied what we can make in the future, but I am not sure that we will spend some 'jokers' in the second half of the season; though it's not impossible.

"For 2025, I imagine we will put on the table some news. It is normal that we will improve our research in aerodynamics and mechanical issues. At the moment we are in the phase of studying, but we are not decided."

Should Ferrari bring a new-look 499P to the WEC next year, will we see an IMSA GTP program  for the car emerge alongside its current factory and privateer programs with AF Corse? While Coletta didn’t rule it out, it appears that the fallout from the Rolex 24 manufacturer points deductions handed to Ferrari and BMW in the GTD classes has dampened the brand’s enthusiasm at present.

"Now with IMSA we have other problems," Coletta said when asked about the potential for a 499P to race in GTP next season. "I prefer to speak about the WEC.

"We asked IMSA for clarifications because we understand nothing about the penalty. I prefer to receive the comment directly from IMSA so we can answer questions with a clearer idea.”

The next 12 months are set to be fascinating for the evolution of the LMH and LMDh prototypes currently racing, with a steady stream of upgrades planned by multiple brands.

Peugeot’s revised 9X8 is set to debut in Round 2 of the FIA WEC season at Imola before Porsche updates its 963 later in the year. Then in 2025, in addition to Ferrari likely improving the 499P, the Cadillac V-Series.R and potentially Toyota's GR010 HYBRID could see improvements.