After a difficult season in the FIA World Endurance Championship, we reflect on the highs and lows for Porsche Penske Motorsport in 2025.
Another season is complete in the
As ever in such an action-packed championship, the year was full of highs and lows, with the team securing four podiums and one win across the eight rounds.
Entering the year as reigning champions, the #6 car was once again shared by
The #5 car was shared by
Here is a rundown of each car’s results for the 2025 FIA WEC season:
| Race | #5 | #6 |
| Qatar 1812km | 10 | 11 |
| 6 Hours of Imola | 11 | 8 |
| 6 Hours of Spa | 12 | 9 |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | 6 | 2 |
| 6 Hours of São Paulo | 3 | 4 |
| Lone Star Le Mans | 10 | 1 |
| 6 Hours of Fuji | 4 | 3 |
| 8 Hours of Bahrain | 14 | 13 |
Despite some challenges, there was much to celebrate. The #6 car finished third overall in the Drivers’ standings, and Porsche closed this era with a third-place finish in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
In the LMGT3 class, customer outfit Manthey successfully defended its FIA Endurance Trophy title, and the Drivers’ crown went to the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm crew of Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera. The trio also took class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Speaking after the season finale in Bahrain, Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, said: ‟Looking back over the past three years fills us with pride: we were the first to win a FIA WEC race with an LMDh car; in 2024 we claimed the Drivers’ title; and in Le Mans we came so close to overall victory with second place.
“My compliments go to the entire team for these outstanding performances. Our Porsche 963 has also set the benchmark for LMDh race cars in the FIA WEC.
“Congratulations as well to our GT3 customer team Manthey on once again securing the championship titles in the World Endurance Championship.”
So with eight rounds of racing behind us, we look back on the 2025 season - the highs and lows, the points and podiums.
A challenging start
Entering the season as reigning champions, the team had hoped to pick up where it left off after winning the Drivers’ title at Bahrain in 2024.
But it was a tricky opening round in Qatar, with both cars struggling for pace at the season opening Qatar 1812km.
After a difficult weekend, the top-finishing factory car was the #5 Porsche 963 in 10th, with the #6 car directly behind it.
A tricky qualifying put both cars out of place on the grid, and both cars suffered unlucky issues and were unable to progress into the top positions.
A damaged tire forced Andlauer to pit unscheduled after barely 30 minutes, and despite benefitting from an early refueling stop during a safety car phase, another tire defect cost them time again.
For Vanthoor in the sister car, things also did not go according to plan, as he suffered contact to the rear from an opponent at the start, forcing a rear wing replacement.
Moving on to the next round at Imola, the team was hoping for a change in its fortunes, but another difficult weekend lay ahead.
Though both cars were hampered by a difficult start, the team focused on making the most of the opportunities presented.
Thanks to an alternative tire strategy, the #6 car spent many laps at the head of the field. But towards the end of the race, the trio were unable to defend their lead against some significantly faster competitors, and ultimately finished eighth.
The sister car, driven by Dane Michael Christensen and Frenchmen Mathieu Jaminet and Julien Andlauer crossed the finish line in 11th place after suffering both a penalty and contact.
Round three took the championship to the Ardennes rollercoaster for the 6 Hours of Spa.
The #6 car, driven by Estre, Formula E factory driver Pascal Wehrlein and Vanthoor, took two points for finishing ninth in the last round before Le Mans.
The #5 car, shared by Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen and Nico Müller, narrowly missed out on points after suffering damage from contact on lap one.
It was a similar picture to the previous races, with both cars struggling for pace but maximizing their chances to score points where possible.
Turning a corner
With the biggest race of the season came a change in the team’s fortunes: A highly coveted podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Battling from the very back of the Hypercar pack, the #6 car fought tooth and nail until the very end to finish in second place just 14 seconds behind the winner.
All three drivers put in sensational stints, with Estre first to make the charge, running seventh by lap 10 and fifth by the end of the first hour.
The #6 was then promoted to third during a pitstop, and entering hour five was just 21.5s behind the leader, eventually taking control as the pit stops cycled through before a driver change put Campbell behind the wheel.
Estre took third place in hour eight, and the #6 car remained at the front of the field into the night, with the gap to the leader remaining around 20 seconds
By hour 22, Vanthoor had brought that car within 2.5s of the #50 car and, with brilliant work from the pit crew, was able to take the position with a four-second advantage in second place.
Despite a brilliant effort from Estre in the final stint, he was unable to catch the leader, but secured a fantastic second place - albeit a frustrating one, given the team had run a flawless race.
The #5 car of Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen and Mathieu Jaminet finished seventh, with the sister #4 shared by Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Pascal Wehrlein in ninth overall.
The #92 Manthey 1st Phorm car driven by Hardwick, Lietz and Pera secured a class win, dominating to cross the line 33 seconds clear of its closest rival.
It marked Lietz’s sixth class win at the French endurance classic and Manthey's 24th WEC victory. The team also won the race in 2024 with the #92 PureRxcing car.
This positive momentum continued at the following round in Brazil: This time, the #5 car finished on the podium, taking second place in the 6 Hours of São Paulo.
Lining up second for the Brazilian race, a valiant fight from Andlauer and Christensen against the mighty pace of the Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac pair saw them battle until the very end.
After dropping to third around the two-hour mark, the #5 duo bounced back, slashing a 39-second gap to finish just 1.3 seconds behind the #38 car in second.
It was a brilliant result for the #6 car too, with Estre and Vanthoor narrowly missing the podium in fourth.
Victory at last
The team’s streak of success continued into September, finally the Porsche Penske Motorsport was back atop the podium, with victory at the Lone Star Le Mans.
Battling against tough weather conditions in a very wet, interrupted race, the #6 Porsche 963 fought hard for the whole six hours to claim the team’s first win since Fuji in 2024.
Estre and Vanthoor were once again joined by Campbell to take on the Austin round.
They started third, having been boosted one place by a penalty for another Hypercar, and after a stellar effort for the first four hours, took the lead with 1 hour and 45 minutes left on the clock.
From there, Estre brought the car home to the checkered flag at Circuit of the Americas for a well-earned victory - Campbell’s first in the WEC.
The win boosted the #6 drivers from fifth in the championship to third - 21 points off the #83 AF Corse drivers and less than 40 behind the leaders, the #50 Ferrari trio. It also boosted Porsche to second in the standings, 65 points behind Ferrari.
The sister #5 car of Andlauer and Christensen, joined by Jaminet, finished in 10th to secure an all-important world championship point.
Maintaining the pressure
After the high of a first victory of the season, the team continued its strong run of results with another podium finish in the 6 Hours of Fuji - the penultimate round of 2025.
The #6 car, shared by Estre and Vanthoor, secured a brilliant third-place finish, battling all the way from the back of the Hypercar pack to take a second consecutive podium finish.
The pair quickly made progress off the line, and battled back against adversity throughout the race, suffering contact before having to make an extra pitstop after an emergency fuel stop to avoid a penalty.
Heading into the closing stages, Vanthoor put in some fantastic moves in the #6 car across the final stint, but was unable to pass the Peugeot ahead and crossed the line in third.
The sister #5 car, shared by Andlauer and Jaminet, was just eight seconds behind in fourth.
End of a chapter
Finally, it was time for the curtain to close on the 2025 season, and the team prepared to wave goodbye to three years of thrilling competition in the WEC.
Though it was a challenging race, with the two factory Porsche 963 crossing the finish line in 13th and 14th, the #6 car ahead of the #5, there was much to celebrate.
Porsche finished third in the Manufacturers’ Championship, while in the LMGT3 category, customer outfit Manthey won the FIA Endurance Trophy title for the second consecutive year.
The Drivers’ crown went to Hardwick, Lietz and Pera, who also won this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
‟This was, for the foreseeable future, our final appearance in the World Endurance Championship,” said Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport.
‟Unfortunately, the top result we had hoped for eluded us. Overall, however, it’s been a fantastic and successful period. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with this outstanding group of passionate people.”
Read the full report
So, after three years, 22 races, and with 78,289 racing kilometers complete, the Porsche Penske Motorsport team packs up for the final time.
The team wishes all the best to the WEC, our drivers, and our fans.
This isn’t the end of the journey, though: The Porsche 963 and the Porsche Penske Motorsport team continues to race for victories in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
It returns in January with the season opening 24 Hours of Daytona on January 24-25.
With two consecutive wins under its belt, can the team make it three in a row? Find out in 2026.
