Porsche 963s lacked top speed – Sportscar365

The Porsche 963 has struggled in terms of top speed compared to its rivals, according to the manufacturer's LMDh factory director, Urs Kuratle, who lamented the results at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Porsche Penske Motorsport finished fourth and sixth with two of its factory LMDh cars, while Hertz Team JOTA brought its privateer 963s home to eighth and ninth in this weekend's French endurance classic.

It failed to reach the overall podium for the second year in a row, although it was significantly closer than the package's first outing at Le Mans in 2023, which was marred by various mechanical and operational issues.

“It was close,” Kuratle told reporters after the race. “The winner had 40 seconds left.

” What can I say ? You could say we had four cars in the top ten but no one [would care]. It's like that.”

When asked what the Porsches were lacking in racing, Kuratle was quick to point out the top speed deficit compared to the Hypercar competition.

While the No. 4 Penske Porsche recorded the fastest top speed of 344.5 km/h (214 mph), tying the Toyota GR010 Hybrids, the other two factory Porsches struggled to keep pace in a straight line compared to the victorious Toyotas and Ferrari 499Ps.

The No. 6 Porsche was considerably slower at 337 km/h (209 mph), while the No. 5 Porsche recorded its best top speed of 336 km/h (208 mph) in the speed cameras, suggesting both performances of the full season. The FIA ​​World Endurance Championship cars could have adopted a different aerodynamic strategy.

“We lacked top speed,” Kuratle said. “Somehow the others were faster.

“Even though it was much closer than everyone was shouting and screaming before the weekend, Porsche lacked top speed.

“If you don't have top speed at Le Mans, you're [screwed]. It's like that. It's a factor.

“The second factor is that we also made tire choices that were probably not correct at that time. We can say that it wasn't easy today, but anyway, it's a 24-hour sprint race.

“It was full speed ahead. Ferrari was fast and Toyota was fast too.

Kuratle added: “Congratulations to Ferrari. They were simply better than us. We weren't good enough today.

“We made too many mistakes but I’m still proud for the team… seriously.”

Kuratle repeatedly highlighted instances where he felt the factory cars had not made the right tire choices, in the middle of a tough race and in mixed conditions.

For example, Porsche Penske opted to leave Laurens Vanthoor on slicks for an extra lap during a downpour, which ultimately backfired.

“At lunchtime or early in the morning when the rain was coming, we thought we would do some things differently,” he said.

“We had safety cars. But also you hear that ten times up and down [the paddock] that you had no luck with slow zones, etc. But I guess everyone did.

“It’s not because we struggled or because of the BoP. We [screwed] up.”

Jamie Klein contributed to this report