The starting grid of the FIA World Endurance Championship for the 6h of Monza is fleshed out thanks to Porsche, which shows up with four cars in the Hypercar class over the weekend.
As already anticipated, the official 963 LMDh managed by Team Penske will be joined by the private ones of Jota – already seen in action at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans – and for the first time that of Proton Competition.
In Brianza the German cars want to redeem themselves because if it is true that the performances have been quite positive up to now, unfortunately we have still seen some technical and management problems in past races.
The official riders (Michael Christensen/Frédéric Makowiecki/Dane Cameron of the #5 and Kévin Estre/Laurens Vanthoor/André Lotterer of the #6) (Germany) are aware of this, as well as the top management of the German-American team, who in Brianza want to return to fight for that podium achieved only on one occasion this year.
#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki
Photo by: Porsche
“We have to put the events of Le Mans behind us. Even if we are carefully analyzing what happened, we obviously look ahead and a great show awaits us in Monza – says Urs Kuratle, LMDh Official Program Director – I hope the enormous potential of the car turns into so many points taken”.
Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, adds: “Our WEC team in Mannheim only had a few weeks after Le Mans to prepare for Monza. The 24 Hours race didn’t deliver the results we would have liked. But a lot was done road from Sebring to Le Mans and we are growing as a team with visible improvements on track.”
“We just need to find consistent pace and reliability to turn this into regular podium results. We are up against extremely strong competition, but our target for the Monza race is clear: we want to bring home another podium with Porsche. 963″.
Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, is also convinced that the season is now at a turning point: “Due to the results at Le Mans, we have lost contact with the top in the fight for the championship, so we will focus on individual successes for the next races “.
“We know the Monza circuit well. We did some tests with the 963 and we will make the most of what we have acquired there. Monza is Ferrari’s home race and it would be really nice to be able to make them… pissed off! . I am also keen to assist at the first outing of the Porsche 963 of the Proton Competition customer team”.
Proton Competition Porsche 963
Photo by: Proton Motorsport
And speaking of Proton, on the 963 #99 in white livery with WeatherTech Racing colors we will be pleased to see Gimmi Bruni again in the series, who will share the cockpit with Harry Tincknell and Neel Jani in a challenge with nothing to lose.
“Finally I’m back in the WEC! I am very excited to race with the 963 of Proton Competition and it will be very interesting because we are at the debut with this hybrid car – explains the Roman – We have not had the opportunity to carry out tests, so we will go directly to the race”.
“For this reason we shouldn’t have too high expectations: our competitors are mostly officially managed teams with many months and countless kilometers of experience. We want to catch up quickly, but we have a lot to learn. For me, as an Italian, it is naturally something very special to celebrate our debut with the Porsche 963 right in Monza!”.
Christian Ried, owner of the Proton Competition team, adds: “We only received the car last Thursday and we didn’t have the opportunity to carry out any tests before the race weekend in Monza, which we therefore consider as testing. For us it is above all about accumulating the highest possible number of kilometers with the 963 to collect the greatest amount of data and information”.
“As far as our sporting goals are concerned, we are obviously limited in these circumstances. I am sure that with our experienced team and strong driver trio we will make rapid progress.”
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