Sebastian Vettel tests the Porsche 963
March 25, 2024 by Porsche• Quadruple Formula 1™ world champ drives Le Mans hypercar for the first time •Porsche Penske Motorsport conducts 36-hour test at Motorland Aragón •Professional preparation for the test outing in Mannheim and Weissach The Porsche Penske Motorsport works team and the winner of 53 Formula 1™ Grands Prix, Sebastian Vettel, are looking forward to putting the Porsche 963 through its paces. This coming week, the German will take the wheel of the 675 HP hypercar at the Motorland Aragón. In parallel, Porsche Penske Motorsport is forging ahead with its preparations for this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with a 36-hour-long run-in Spain. Vettel has already spent extensive time in a simulator to prepare for the Spanish circuit in Aragón. At a rollout of the Porsche 963 on the test track at Porsche's R&D Center in Weissach, he experienced his first laps in the hybrid prototype. Atlanta. Sebastian Vettel enters new terrain with this test drive. For the first time, the four-time Formula 1 world champion will gain experience in the cockpit of a hypercar prototype. 'I'm looking forward to testing the Porsche 963. I already got the chance to get a feel for the car during a rollout in Weissach,' says Sebastian Vettel. 'I've always followed other racing series and my curiosity for endurance events encouraged me to just give it a shot. Now I'm excited about the long run in Aragón and I'm looking forward to my time behind the wheel. It'll definitely take an adjustment and some getting used to but everyone in the team is very open and helps me. This will be a new experience for me. We will then see what happens next in this respect – at the moment there are no further plans for the future.' 'We're delighted that Sebastian Vettel is interested in our Porsche 963,' explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. 'There was no question for us that we'd be thrilled to support his request for an opportunity to test and provide him with extensive preparation and plenty of time to drive our hybrid prototype – there's no doubt we'll learn a lot from his valuable feedback. Our 36-hour long run with Porsche Penske Motorsport and our works drivers at Motorland Aragón offers a perfect environment for this.' Vettel has already prepared extensively for the test with the Porsche 963. On March 14, he met the operations crew at the Porsche Penske Motorsport facility in Mannheim, Germany. The next day, on March 15, the German completed an extended simulator session at Porsche Motorsport. There, he got to know the engineers and familiarize himself with the special features and complex control systems of the Le Mans prototype. On March 21, he got his first taste of the Porsche 963 on the in-house test track at the Weissach R&D Center. It proved to be an unusual experience for the 36-year-old. After 299 Grands Prix starts in Formula 1 single-seaters, it had been some time since Vettel had driven a racing car with a roof – previously only at the Race of Champions or turning demo laps. Next week, Porsche Penske Motorsport will head to the 3.32-mile (5.345-kilometer) circuit at Motorland Aragón near Alcañiz, Spain to conduct a 36-hour long run. Joining Vettel for the test are Porsche factory, also known as 'works' drivers Matt Campbell (Australia), Michael Christensen (Denmark), Frédéric Makowiecki (France), Kévin Estre (France), André Lotterer (Germany) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium). This endurance test serves as preparation for the highlight of the season in Le Mans, France on June 15 – 16. Porsche aims to secure its record extending 20th overall victory at the Circuit des 24 Heures.
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Since 2023, the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team along with several private teams have campaigned the Porsche 963 in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). After winning three IMSA races last year, Porsche Penske Motorsport succeeded in kicking off the 2024 season with a win in both championships including the car's first endurance race victory at the prestigious 24 Hours At Daytona in January. In the WEC, which is highlighted by the internationally recognized 24 Hours of Le Mans, the entire field including the 675 HP hybrid race car will run on biofuel. This fuel has been used in the WEC since March 2022. To increase the chances of winning at Le Mans, Porsche Penske Motorsport will field a third Porsche 963 hybrid prototype at the French endurance classic in 2024. Mathieu Jaminet from France has previously been confirmed to helm the No. 4 Porsche at Le Mans. The customer teams of Hertz Team Jota and Proton Competition have entered three more Porsche 963 race cars between the two privateer programs. Two Porsche 911 GT3 R races cars campaigned by Manthey EMA and Manthey PureRxcing will tackle the new LMGT3 category. Information, photo and video material are available on Porsche Newsroom: newsroom.porsche.com The 'X' channel @PorscheRaces and Instagram accounts @porsche.motorsport as well as @porschepenskemotorsport provide live updates about Porsche Motorsport from racetracks around the world.
