Was Porsche’s Hypercar exit just a brief interlude?

Will we see Porsche Penske Motorsport return to the FIA World Endurance Championship's Hypercar class sooner rather than later? Team founder Roger Penske and Thomas Laudenbach (VP of Porsche Motorsport) explained during a roundtable with select media today ahead of this weekend's Rolex 24 At Daytona that there remains a strong desire to take the 963 back to the world championship before the end of the decade.

When asked about his long-held desire to win Le Mans overall and the impact that Porsche's withdrawal from the WEC in 2025 has had on his aspirations, Penske said: "We've been there [Le Mans], have had good success there, and obviously we all wanted to go (in 2026), but I think it was a business decision that was not for me to make.

"We want to go back and hopefully that'll be the case. We've made some changes in the company, and we'll see what the new leadership's decisions are. Running in both places [WEC and IMSA] is financially a big commitment and I think it was wise for them based on the situation. We were close at Le Mans last year and we want to go back and we will."

He then made it clear that if and when Penske goes for the Le Mans win overall again, it would be with Porsche. "I wouldn't want to go anywhere else," he added. "I've had other opportunities, which we've turned down.

"We're a business partner with them around the world, Monday through Friday, and certainly we've committed that way, I think they've committed to us that if business decisions are made within the company, that we would continue on.

"We've kept all the infrastructure (in Mannheim), and we've got the best people. We kept a number of key people. We can backfill some areas, but we brought a number of those people here this weekend because it's just more domain knowledge that gives us the benefit of hopefully producing another victory."

Could Porsche return as soon as 2027, the same year that McLaren and Ford are scheduled to join the WEC's top class?

"I'd love it to be [the case]," Penske said. "But it's not my decision."

There's a growing expectation that a new, more streamlined set of regulations is coming for the FIA WEC's top class for 2030, which would replace the current ruleset that allows for both LMH and LMDh prototypes to compete together. Asked by RACER if 2030 would be a more realistic target for a return to the world stage for Porsche Penske Motorsport, Penske said: "I would hope we're back way before that."

Laudenbach added, "First of all, we try to stay prepared. When we said we're going to pause and stop in WEC, this never meant we're turning our back on endurance racing. It has never meant that. The connection between Porsche and Le Mans is a huge one and this didn't change. Our goal is to keep in a good shape, keep everything prepared to come back, but we stepped back for good reasons. Once we see that this changes, of course, we want to come back. But no decision has been made."

The financial state of Porsche was a key part of its decision to scale back its sports car program to IMSA GTP-only for 2026, in addition to frustrations with the Balance of Performance process in the WEC. "We had to make a business decision and motorsport had to give a contribution to that," Laudenbach explained.

In the meantime, there are no plans for Porsche to exit IMSA GTP anytime soon. Laudenbach was quick to quash any idea of stepping away from GTP: "We are committed. If we race, we race together, and yes, we are committed to carry on after that (2026)."

Whether the funding can be secured to return to operating dual LMDh programs any time soon is at the crux of this story.

Ferrari and McLaren have taken steps to add commercial punch to their sports car efforts by producing track-only editions of their Hypercars. Porsche produced an exclusive RSP special edition of the 963 (pictured above) last year for Roger Penske ahead of Le Mans, but Laudenbach doesn't feel that a customer program for high-level track-day-only Hypercars would be an avenue to exploit to help fund a return to the WEC.

"There are considerations to do something with the 963 beside the racetrack, on a different basis, but I wouldn't connect this to a return to the WEC or not."

Roger Penske wants to take his team back and Porsche still regards Le Mans as a key pillar of its sporting heritage, but it will take a joint decision to see both organisations return to the Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA WEC in the future. Watch this space.