FIA World Endurance Championship

The FIA World Endurance Championship, in its current form, began in 2012, but the name was first used by the FIA from 1981 to 1985 and endurance racing itself dates back over 100 years. It began to boom in popularity after the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1923, and the World Sportscar Championship held its first season in 1953.

The 2024 WEC calendar comprises of eight rounds. Beginning in Qatar in March, the championship raced in Italy and Belgium ahead of the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. The second half of the year saw the championship visit Brazil, the USA and Japan before finishing the season in Bahrain in November.

The full FIA WEC features two classes: Hypercar and LMGT3. The Hypercar category - the top class - made its debut in 2021 to replace the LMP1 class. It accommodates cars built to both LMH and LMDh technical regulations. The former allows manufacturers to design every aspect of the car, while the latter requires manufacturers to use certain spec parts. The LMGT3 class replaced the LMGTE class for 2024. The Porsche 963 is built to LMDh rules and also competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport team fields two Porsche 963s in the WEC, with three drivers each, and with an additional entry for the 24 Hours of Le Mans taken from the IMSA programme. Customer racing team Hertz Team JOTA fields a further two Porsche 963, and Proton Competition runs one. In the LMGT3 class, Manthey Racing runs two Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Porsche has won 19 races in the top class of the World Endurance Championship since its inception in 2012. The most recent was at the Qatar 1812km in 2024. The marque has also won three manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and two GT manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles.