# Porsche Official Announces 2014 Return to Le Mans + Audi Sport Official Response



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

_*Editor's Note:* In a surprise move, Porsche officially announced its intent to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the 2014 racing season. This is big news for Le Mans fans, but one that leaves Audi fans wondering the future of Ingolstadt's role in La Sarthe with its iconic Volkswagen Group stablemate on the way back in. Below is the official Porsche press release and below that is the official response from Audi Sport._

Porsche today announces its return to Le Mans with a works-run sports prototype race car in the top LMP1 category. The first outing of the completely newly-developed car is planned for the year 2014.

“Motorsport was always an essential part of the Porsche brand,” emphasises Matthias Müller, President of the Executive Board at Porsche AG. “So for us it was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing. The success of Porsche at Le Mans is unrivalled.We want to follow up on this with the 17th outright victory.”

With the RS Spyder sports prototype that was run with great success from 2006 to 2008 by the factory-backed Penske Racing team in the USA, and to 2010 by several customer teams worldwide, Porsche has set the benchmark recently in the LMP2 category.

“With the RS Spyder we proved that our motorsport engineers in Weissach are at the forefront,” says Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG. “For instance, we were the first to run a high-revving race engine with direct fuel injection, DFI, setting new standards in performance and efficiency. Recently, with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, we adopted a completely new drive technology for racing purposes and achieved a considerable reduction in consumption.”

Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport, is already prepared for one of the most challenging development programmes in the company’s history. “We’re looking forward to the task of developing new technologies and to continue on with the success of the Porsche RS Spyder. After the conclusion of our works-supported sports prototype programme in the American Le Mans Series we have kept up with the latest technological advances. Now we will begin with detailed research in order to evaluate the various concept alternatives for our new car. These obviously depend on how the regulations for the year 2014 look in detail. In principle, these regulations are interesting for us because the integration of our hybrid technology in the vehicle concept is one possible option.”

With 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans. Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood claimed the first overall victory for Porsche in 1970 with the legendary 917 short-tail. The 16th and by now last overall win was secured by Laurent Aiello, Stéphane Ortelli and Allan McNish in 1998 with the 911 GT1. In the years 2008 and 2009, the Porsche RS Spyder sports prototype won the title in the LMP2 category.


*OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM AUDI:*"This is the decision of Porsche company, a decision in which Audi is not involved. Audi relishes the prospect of every strong new opponent at Le Mans and in the new FIA World Endurance Championship. Porsche’s entry into the LMP1 class is evidence of the high level of attraction of sport prototypes."


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