With the 2011 running of the historic 24 hours of Le Mans in our not to distance past, Porsche recently made the announcement that they will be returning. The company is currently working on an all new LMP1 prototype class race car that, if all things go well, should see its debut at Le Mans 2014. Their goal for the new program is simple: win outright.
“It was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing. Porsche’s successes in Le Mans are unrivalled. We want to follow up on this with the 17th outright victory,” said Matthias Müller, President of the Executive Board at Porsche AG. Porsche does have a very heavy history at Le Mans and still holds the title of most successful manufacture. But that being said, it has been a long time since they have factory raced in the top-dog prototype class. Their last Le Mans victory was in 1998 in the 911 GT1 and after that there have been a few GT class wins but no outright first place. The last prototype car to compete in a Le Mans series was the LMP2 RS Spyder which only saw duty in the American series.
“We’re looking forward to the task of developing new technologies and to continue on with the success of the Porsche RS Spyder,” said Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport.
