Porsche Just Announced Their Retirement From Le Mans

An era came to an end when Audi retired from Le Mans in 2016. Now, Porsche has announced that they will retire as well, leaving only Toyota and a small private team to fight for the title.

Many German newspapers reported that the decision to retire after the 2017 season was made last Wednesday. Although Porsche has been very successful since they joined in 2014, they are not happy with the current state of the LMP1-category. As Audi and the Swiss private team Rebellion retired, only three teams were left in the expensive hybrid class: Porsche (2 cars), Toyota (2 cars) and Austrian private team ByKolles (1 car).

A big problem of the LMP1-category are the high costs. The LMP1 race cars with their complex hybrid drivetrains are almost as expensive as Formula 1 cars, but they make far less money in advertising as Le Mans is far less popular than Formula 1. Good news is that Porsche will still participate in the 24 hour race, however only with the less powerful GTE-class 911 RSR. Toyota officials meanwhile declared that they are not planning to retire.

Porsche’s retirement may be a hint for a Formula-1-comeback. In 2021, the rules are going to change, allowing for cheaper V6 biturbo engines with a less complex hybrid system. Porsche officials have been spotted at many Formula 1 meetings about the new regulations, which caused speculations about them becoming a future engine supplier. Porsche might just as well participate in Formula E which is getting more and more popular, as this would be a great advertising campaign for the production model of the Mission E concept.

Tobi aka The Stig’s German Cousin