Why WEC’s Bahrain finale was the ‘biggest disappointment’ for Porsche 963 programme

[ASFN Admin]

You must be registered for see images attach

Motorsport photo

Porsche has singled out Saturday’s World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain as the ‘biggest disappointment” for its three-year 963 LMDh programme.

The German manufacturer bowed out of the Hypercar class of the WEC with a nightmare race in Bahrain, as its two factory Penske prototypes finished a lap down in 13th and 14th positions.

This marked the first time since 963’s debut in 2024 that it failed to score a point in a WEC race, as a myriad of reasons contributed to its collapse down the order.

Porsche arrived into the bonus-points race with a shot at both the drivers’ and the manufacturers’ title, and was cautiously optimistic about its chance despite facing a tall order to eclipse Ferrari on both counts.

However, instead of putting up a fight to the Prancing Horse, it ended up losing second place in the manufacturers’ fight to Toyota, while drivers Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor also dropped to fourth in the final order.

When asked what was the biggest disappointment for Porsche in its three seasons in the top class in WEC, where it scored five wins (including one with Jota) and the 2024 drivers’ title, LMDh project director Urs Kuratle told Motorsport.com: “Saturday’s race. Not because it was the last one, but because of the result.

“Le Mans 23 was not [the one]. We screwed up Le Mans 23. If you screw up yourself, then it's not good, but then you have at least something that you can work on, that you can improve.

“Le Mans 23 was definitely not. Le Mans 24 was also not. Le Mans 25 was also not.

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Pascal Wehrlein​

You must be registered for see images attach

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Pascal Wehrlein

“On Saturday, we came here and had the chance to win the championship. We would have liked to do that.

“The minimal goal would have been second place in the world championship. We lost the championship without doing anything wrong. That was the problem.”

The title-contending #6 Porsche shared by Estre, Vanthoor and Matt Campbell qualified 18th after a lock-up from Estre, but the crew were able to haul the car inside the top 10 by the end of the third hour.

Porsche, like almost all other teams, pitted under the mid-race safety car deployed following the crash between the #38 Cadillac V-Series.R of Jenson Button and the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Thomas Flohr. But it brought both its factory cars into the pits again at the end of the fourth hour to essentially revert to its original strategy.

“That was an intense discussion and analysis in the background,” Kuratle explained the decision. “You start the race, you see where you stand, wherever it is during the race, and then you go back to the present. You come back and calculate how the race could go. That was the reason.”

Porsche’s misery was compounded by its struggles on medium tyres, which was the dominant compound during the night hours in Bahrain. Estre also struggled to ‘switch on’ the set of tyres he had previously used in qualifying.

Ultimately, the 963 could not reproduce the promising pace from practice, where it had been the fourth-fastest manufacturer despite an unfavourable Balance of Performance.

“What went wrong? That the race never came to us. That went wrong,” lamented Kuratle.

“I think it was not surprising that we were there, what we saw in the race.

“What we saw was that the practice sessions in the long runs looked somewhat better than what the race showed. But in the end, when you look at the numbers, it was not surprising, I have to say.

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Pascal Wherlein​

You must be registered for see images attach

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Pascal Wherlein

“The team did nothing wrong, of course and there has not yet been such a detailed analysis, but we didn't have any rough patches.

“In the end, I think it was more a discussion of kilos and kilowatts instead of tyres.”

The final nail in the coffin was the timing of the last caution period, with Porsche having both pitted its cars just before the VSC was deployed.

“That's racing, as they say,” Kuratle described. “Of course, that was unfortunate, if you lose the whole thing three quarters of an hour before the end of a season.”

Following its exit from Hypercar, Porsche will continue to race in IMSA’s GTP ranks, where it won back-to-back titles in 2024 and ‘25.

Photos from Bahrain - Race​

#50 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#50 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 detail​

You must be registered for see images attach

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 detail

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Celia Martin​

You must be registered for see images attach

#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Celia Martin

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota Gazoo Racing​

You must be registered for see images attach

Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota Gazoo Racing

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Valentino Rossi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Valentino Rossi

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P team members​

You must be registered for see images attach

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P team members

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Kevin Magnussen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Kevin Magnussen

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

Theo Pourchaire, Peugeot​

You must be registered for see images attach

Theo Pourchaire, Peugeot

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Nicklas Nielsen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Nicklas Nielsen

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

Alpine Endurance Team members​

You must be registered for see images attach

Alpine Endurance Team members

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

Race start​

You must be registered for see images attach

Race start

AG Photo - Paglino

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries​

You must be registered for see images attach

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

AG Photo - Paglino

#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Celia Martin​

You must be registered for see images attach

#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Celia Martin

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button​

You must be registered for see images attach

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button

James Moy Photography via Getty Images

#27 Heart Of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Zacharie Robichon​

You must be registered for see images attach

#27 Heart Of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Zacharie Robichon

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Loic Duval, Malthe Jakobsen, Theo Pourchaire, #93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne​

You must be registered for see images attach

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Loic Duval, Malthe Jakobsen, Theo Pourchaire, #93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne

AG Photo - Paglino

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa​

You must be registered for see images attach

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

AG Photo - Paglino

#009 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Alex Riberas, Marco Sorensen, Roman De Angelis​

You must be registered for see images attach

#009 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Alex Riberas, Marco Sorensen, Roman De Angelis

AG Photo - Paglino

#009 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Alex Riberas, Marco Sorensen, Roman De Angelis​

You must be registered for see images attach

#009 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Alex Riberas, Marco Sorensen, Roman De Angelis

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries​

You must be registered for see images attach

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

Toyota

#99 Proton Competition Porsche 963: Neel Jani, Nicolas Pino, Nicolas Varrone​

You must be registered for see images attach

#99 Proton Competition Porsche 963: Neel Jani, Nicolas Pino, Nicolas Varrone

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Kevin Magnussen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Kevin Magnussen

James Moy Photography via Getty Images

Track action at night​

You must be registered for see images attach

Track action at night

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, Will Stevens​

You must be registered for see images attach

#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, Will Stevens

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

AG Photo - Paglino

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

AG Photo - Paglino

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Kevin Magnussen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Kevin Magnussen

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

Track action at night​

You must be registered for see images attach

Track action at night

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Julien Andlauer, Mathieu Jaminet, Laurin Heinrich​

You must be registered for see images attach

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Julien Andlauer, Mathieu Jaminet, Laurin Heinrich

James Moy Photography via Getty Images

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen, Nico Muller​

You must be registered for see images attach

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen, Nico Muller

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Rene Rast, Robin Frijns, Sheldon Van Der Linde​

You must be registered for see images attach

#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Rene Rast, Robin Frijns, Sheldon Van Der Linde

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen​

You must be registered for see images attach

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

John Elkann, #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco​

You must be registered for see images attach

John Elkann, #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

Ferrari AF Corse team members celebration​

You must be registered for see images attach

Ferrari AF Corse team members celebration

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#50 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#50 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

Ferrari AF Corse team members celebration​

You must be registered for see images attach

Ferrari AF Corse team members celebration

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi​

You must be registered for see images attach

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz​

You must be registered for see images attach

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz​

You must be registered for see images attach

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz​

You must be registered for see images attach

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz

Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz​

You must be registered for see images attach

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez, #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Martin Berry, Lin Hodenius, Maxime Martin, #27 Heart Of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Ian James, Zacharie Robichon,​

You must be registered for see images attach

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez, #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Martin Berry, Lin Hodenius, Maxime Martin, #27 Heart Of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Ian James, Zacharie Robichon,

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries​

You must be registered for see images attach

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez​

You must be registered for see images attach

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries, #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ry? Hirakawa​

You must be registered for see images attach

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries, #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ry? Hirakawa

Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries​

You must be registered for see images attach

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

Read Also:

You must be registered for see images attach

Antonio Felix da Costa tops WEC Bahrain test for Alpine

You must be registered for see images attach

Sebastien Bourdais rages about Jenson Button's penalty in Bahrain: “I’m tired of it”
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

Continue reading...