The two Porsche 963s fielded by the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team finished 13th and 14th respectively at the season finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Porsche thus ends the 2025 season in third place in the manufacturers' standings.

There was once again reason to celebrate in the LMGT3 class: The Manthey customer team won the FIA Endurance Trophy for the second time in a row, with Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Ryan Hardwick securing the drivers' title.

In its 50th race appearance, the Porsche 963 went unrewarded: After a mixed qualifying session on Friday, a challenging 8-hour race on the Formula 1 circuit in Bahrain followed. Kévin Estre from France and Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium, the 2024 drivers' world champions, crossed the finish line in 13th place together with Australian Matt Campbell. The sister car of the two Frenchmen Julien Andlauer and Mathieu Jaminet as well as the German Laurin Heinrich finished 14th. The identical hybrid prototype of the Proton Competition customer team finished in 17th place.

"Today we simply didn't have the pace to be at the front," Thomas Laudenbach sums up. The Head of Porsche Motorsport adds: "But looking back at the past three years makes us proud: we were the first to win an FIA WEC race with an LMDh car, in 2024 the drivers' title went to us and in Le Mans we came very close to a great triumph in second place – compliments to the entire team for these great performances. Our Porsche 963 was also the benchmark for LMDh racing cars in the FIA WEC. Congratulations to our GT3 customer team Manthey on winning the title again in the World Endurance Championship."

Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, Urs Kuratle, Vice President Factory Motorsport LMDh (l-r)

"I would like to thank the entire team for the three years in the World Championship," commented Urs Kuratle, Vice President Factory Motorsport LMDh. "My special thanks also go to Penske, Multimatic and all the other partners who have always supported us on this exciting and eventful journey. Congratulations to Ferrari for winning the title and to Toyota for winning today's race."

"It was our last appearance in the World Endurance Championship for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, we were denied the top result we had hoped for," says Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. "Overall, we have had a great and successful time. I had a lot of fun working with this great group of passionate people."

Despite the result in the final race of the 2025 season, the works team can look back on a successful time in the World Championship: With three wins, 15 podiums, three pole positions and two fastest race laps, the Porsche 963 has clearly established itself as the most successful LMDh car since the regulations were introduced in 2023. The hybrid prototype with around 500 kW (680 hp) will continue to compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next year, where Porsche clinched all the titles for the second time in a row.

LMGT3 class: Manthey 1st Phorm wins the title with the 911 GT3 R

In the LMGT3 class, the Manthey customer team was once again able to prove its master class. In the Porsche 911 GT3 R, named 1st Phorm by Manthey, works driver Richard Lietz from Austria, Italian Riccardo Pera and Ryan Hardwick from the USA drove a flawless race. After starting from 18th place, the team consistently worked its way up to fourth position. The team from the Eifel and its drivers won the FIA Endurance Trophy. For Manthey, it was the second title win in the second year of the LMGT3 category. In June of this year, the team also clinched its second consecutive class victory at Le Mans.

"This success story in the LMGT3 category can hardly be surpassed – two class wins at Le Mans and the title wins in LMGT3 are not for free," emphasises Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R. "The teams at Manthey in Meuspath and at Porsche Motorsport in Weissach can be proud of what they have earned as a basis and fought for in racing."

The Iron Dames also put in a strong catch-up race on race day. France's Célia Martin, Switzerland's Rahel Frey and Denmark's Michelle Gatting brought their 911 GT3 R fielded by Manthey, also with up to 416 kW (565 hp), to the finish line in twelfth place.

Drivers' comments after the race

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #5): "I enjoyed my last two stints in the car. Unfortunately, we lacked the necessary pace in the race to be able to do more. The entire team would have deserved that as a farewell and I would also have wished for a top result in my last outing with the Porsche 963."

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #6): „Wir haben alles versucht und auf eine mutige Strategie gesetzt. Leider blieben wir dafür unbelohnt. Anstatt um die Weltmeisterkrone zu kämpfen, haben wir den zweiten WM-Platz noch an Toyota verloren. Das letzte Rennen von Porsche Penske Motorsport in der WEC hatten wir uns anders vorgestellt.‟

Laurens Vanthoor

Riccardo Pera (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): „Unglaublich – ein Traum ist wahr geworden! Mein großer Dank geht an das Team Manthey und an meine Fahrerkollegen. Einen solchen Triumph in einer Weltmeisterschaft kann ich im Moment weder in Worte fassen noch richtig begreifen. Aber der größte Tag in meiner bisherigen Karriere fühlt sich natürlich super an!‟

Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera, Ryan Hardwick (l-r)

Michelle Gatting (Porsche 911 GT3 R #85): „Das heutige Rennen spiegelt die gesamte Saison wider – es lief erneut alles gegen uns. Im gesamten Jahr haben wir uns immer wieder Fehler erlaubt, aus denen wir aber auch enorm lernen konnten. Gratulation an die Kollegen im Schwesterauto: ein toller und verdienter Titelgewinn!‟

Results race

Hypercar class:
1st Conway/Kobayashi/de Vries (GBR/JPN/NLD), Toyota #7, 237 laps
2nd Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa (CHE/NZL/JPN), Toyota #8, + 19.378 seconds
3rd Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen (ITA/ESP/DNK), Ferrari #50, + 26.342s
13th Campbell/Estre/Vanthoor (AUS/FRA/BEL), Porsche 963 #6, - 1 lap
14th Andlauer/Heinrich/Jaminet (FRA/DEU/FRA), Porsche 963 #5, - 1 lap
17 Jani/Pino/Varrone (CHE/CHL/ARG), Porsche 963 #99, - 2 laps

LMGT3 class:
1st Umbrarescu/Schmied/López (ROM/AUT/ARG), Lexus #87, 216 laps
2nd Berry/Hodenius/Martin (AUS/NLD/BEL), Mercedes-AMG #61, + 0.786 seconds
3rd James/Robichon/Drudi (USA/CDN/ITA), Aston Martin #27, + 1.837 seconds
4th Hardwick/Lietz/Pera (USA/AUT/ITA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92, + 14.205 seconds
12th Frey/Gatting/Martin (CHE/DNK/FRA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #85, - 1 lap