Looking ahead: August Porsche motorsport preview

With the motorsport calendar reaching its summer break, here’s a preview of Porsche activities in August.

Though August is traditionally a quieter month for motorsport, with many series taking a summer break, there is still plenty of action for Porsche.

The FIA World Endurance Championship returns for its sixth round of the season: The Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, from August 30 to September 1.

Heading to the US, Porsche Penske Motorsport leads both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships, and is hotly pursuing both titles into the closing stages of the year.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship hosts the IMSA Sportscar Weekend at Road America from August 1-4 before the IMSA Challenge at Virginia International Raceway three weeks later - though no Porsche Penske Motorsport cars will compete in the GT-only round.

The DTM will head to the Nürburgring from August 16-18, with its fifth round of eight taking it into the second half of the season.

The Esports calendar hosts its landmark event, with the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featuring the finals of the ESL R1 championship from August 22-25.

Here’s a full preview of all the Porsche motorsport activities taking place in August:

WEC: Lone Star Le Mans

The WEC returns at the end of August after over a month away, with the championship bringing the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, from August 30 to September 1.

The rollercoaster 5.5 kilometre / 3.4 mile track features 20 corners and was inspired by some of the world’s best race tracks. It regularly hosts Formula 1, MotoGP, NASCAR and more.

Though the championship last raced at COTA in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, it previously raced there from 2013 to 2017. Porsche was not competing in the WEC last time the race was held, but took victories in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The COTA round marks the sixth of the 2024 season, with two more after this - the 6 Hours of Fuji, in September, before the season finale at Bahrain International Circuit in November.

The #6 crew of Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor tops the standings by 19 points, having finished second last time out at the 6 Hours of São Paulo. It won the season-opener in Qatar, before finishing second at both Imola and Spa. The #6 car also finished fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, having lined up on pole.

The #5 car shared by Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki rounded off the podium in Brazil and is now fourth in the standings, having taken pole at Qatar before finishing third - a result it repeated at Imola. It also took pole at Spa and finished sixth at Le Mans.

Porsche has now had two cars on the podium at four of the five WEC races so far this season, and leads the manufacturers’ championship by four points.

IMSA: IMSA Sportscar Weekend

The GTP class returns to the IMSA bill in August, with the IMSA Sportscar Weekend taking place at Elkhart Lake's Road America from August 1-4.

It will be the 11th year of racing at America's National Park of Speed for the championship, though IMSA GT events were also previously held there. IndyCar also races at the circuit, which is in Wisconsin.

The #7 car of Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr currently leads the standings with three races to go. It won last time out at the Sahlen's Six Hours at the Glen for their second victory of the season after the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona.

The #6 is now only 39 points behind second in the championship, and took third-place last time out. Porsche also holds the manufacturers' and teams' championships.

The #7 car, driven by Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr, took a commanding victory last year after inheriting pole position, and the team will be hoping to repeat its success in 2024.

Esports: Esports World Cup

The Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will host the finals of the ESL R1 season from August 22-25.

After three teams’ rounds and three drivers’ rounds, the teams will head to the grand finale, with Joshua Rogers and Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team will be looking to reclaim their ESL R1 titles and take home the largest share of the $500,000 prize pool.

Three finals wins for Rogers across the drivers’ championship rounds meant he topped the online qualifiers standings and guaranteed his place in the finals, along with eight other drivers of the 48 competing.

Charlie Collins, Dayne Warren and Mitchell deJong will have to progress through the second chance qualifiers and finish on the podium in the sole second chance qualifying race in order to join Rogers in the final.

After the second chance qualifiers and the drivers’ championship final on August 22, the following three days will contain the group stages and finals of the teams’ championship.

All four days of action will be broadcast on the Porsche Twitch channel.

DTM: Nürburgring

The DTM heads to the Nürburgring for its fifth round of eight from August 16-18.

The iconic circuit in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, has hosted the DTM since 2000, with drivers tackling the 3.6-kilometre / 2.23-mile Nürburgring sprint circuit for spectacular action.

Defending champion Thomas Preining continued his title defence last time out at the Norisring with Manthey Racing, scoring 12 points across the weekend. He finished sixth in the Sunday race, gaining six positions, and is currently seventh in the standings.

The previous round at Zandvoort saw Preining score eight points amid a challenging weekend.

Team-mate Ayhancan Güven finished eighth in the Sunday race at the Nuremberg street circuit to score seven points.