Having finally got the blog as I’d always intended it to be, I decided the site needed more than just race reports, and that I wanted to really play around with what’s capable in a blog. So then, what better way to bring new articles with greater variety than a weekly column?

Welcome to Motornerd Mouthpeice, my brand new weekly column on sportscar racing, F1, rallying and anything I have a burning desire to share my views on. And boy do we have a hot topic to cover this week…

This week it was announced that Porsche are pulling out of the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2026 onwards as a result of budget cuts and business restructuring following a dramatic drop in sales, specifically in the brand’s Chinese market. It’s a controversial decision to say the least, with many left disappointed, baffled and disheartened that one of racing’s most iconic brands are essentially favouring Formula E over Le Mans.

But before I delve into my own thoughts, here’s a little disclaimer:

Porsche are absolutely within their rights to make this decision, just as I, and the fans, are within our rights to be shocked, sad, or otherwise disheartened by the announcement.

I’ll start with what a lot of us are thinking: Porsche have just thrown away a chance at the elusive 20th win at Le Mans. A potentially landmark victory may never come to pass, as with the rules stipulating Porsche must enter at least two factory cars for the full season to be eligible to do Le Mans, they will not be present on the grid. It’s the same for Lamborghini (who are pausing their entire SC63 LMDh programme come the end of this year) and Acura in IMSA.

Sure, they’ll still be able to extend their win records at the 12 Hours of Sebring (which after victory earlier this year ties Le Mans at 19 wins) and Daytona (which breached the 20 mark this year) and the brand have said they’re committed to IMSA for the long haul which I will give them credit for. Yet to think that a brand who’s been so focused on dominating sportscar racing for so long have given up on the highest profile championship in the discipline feels very out of touch.

I don’t need to regale the legends that are the 956 and the 962 – the direct predecessor to the current 963 – and with every Porsche mainline prototype having won the race going back to the iconic 917 the current offering from Stuttgart would be the first since the 908 of the late 60’s not to win at the Circuit De La Sarthe. It’s not a great club to join. And, judging by the reaction from the press and especially the fans, it’s not a great look for the brand either.

Sportscar racing is essentially Porsche’s motorsport identity. Yes, there was the short lived F1 team way back when, but even that started out using modified sportscars with the second seat left in. And yes, they may have also manufactured engines for the series too – peel off the TAG nameplate of the mid 80’s McLarens and you’ve essentially got exactly what you’d find in a 956 – but the last time they did so it was for Footwork. The V12 powered partnership lasted all of 6 races in 1991, and the cars failed to qualify on more occasions than not. Even when it made the grid, it never finished.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that this decision feels entirely made by executives who just don’t care full stop.

Honestly, as someone who is loving the Hypercar era thus far and is excited with all that’s to come – Ford and McLaren are building their cars as I write this – it’s a painful moment in which my passion is tainted by sadness.

Maybe this should be further north in the column, but this decision also asks questions of the factory driver lineup. Because after slimming the number of 963 drivers at the start of this year, with only two cars running in IMSA you wonder whether more may be on the way out. And that’s saying nothing of those who many – including myself – believe should’ve been given a shot in a prototype.

Drivers like Laurin Heinrich, newly crowned DTM champion Ayhancan Guven and 2023’s champion Thomas Priening all have metric tons of talent and yet they’ve thus far been confined to GT machinery. Granted, they’re making the most of it with all having won major titles – Laurin with Rexy in IMSA’s GTD Pro class last year – but it still feels unfair their talent hasn’t been rewarded with at least a test.

And that’s without mentioning the nearly 4,000 strong group of employees that Porsche plan to cut by the end of 2029.

Spare also a thought for the absolute underdogs of WEC, Proton Competition, who will also be affected by this. They could well be waving goodbye to the WEC programme altogether when the flag falls in Bahrain next month, as without technical support from Porsche – and with Genesis joining the Hypercar class from 2026 – the privateers face a difficult situation. Their only real hope is to be nominated by Porsche themselves as the brand’s representatives from next year onwards, which would require an extra car to be considered for the 2026 entry list. Personally, I could see them double up in IMSA next year by bringing the WEC car stateside if the funds dry up – just look at the demise of Glickenhaus and Isotta Fraschini.

Whatever your own thoughts, there’s no doubt this decision is seismic and could end up leaving quite the asterisk against the long term legacy of Hypercar. Porsche’s chances of going out with a championship are slim, but I just hope they leave the World Endurance Championship with their heads held high, as they did in 2017. Back then, they left Bahrain as dominant champions and that year’s Le Mans winners. There was a sense the 919 could retire satisfied with itself, having won Le Mans three times.

The 963’s story may not be over, but a shortened WEC chapter may well end on a low note.

I just hope it gets a good send off.

-Thomas.

thumbnail credit – By Kevin Decherf from France – Porsche Penske Motorsport – Porsche 963 #75, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137453045