This weekend a new season of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA)which will mark the debut of the new LMDh category, similar in performance to the LMh cars already competing in Europe within the framework of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
One of the rookies in the new regulations is the Porsche 963 developed by Porsche Penske Motorsportwhich after intense preparation that included more than 30,000 kilometers driven, will debut on the track together with the new prototypes of bmw, Cadillac Y Acura.
there will be two Porsche 963, with a hybrid powertrain that delivers 680 Hp of power, which will debut in the GTP category of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This three-day event serves as preparation for the 24 Hours of Daytona, which will take place on January 28 and 29 at the legendary Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
With the LMDh program, Porsche returns to the top category of the World Endurance Championship. With this model, it will compete both in the American IMSA, with 11 races scheduled for the year, and also in the world WEC, with 8 races including the mythical 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The fact that Porsche can participate with the same car in both championships dates back to a landmark agreement from January 2020when three associations, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), announced a new common regulation introducing the concept “Benefit compensation” (Balance of Performance, BoP), which allows cars of different construction to compete against each other.
The hybrid system together with the fully electronic control unit from Bosch and the battery from Williams Advanced Engineering are identical for all LMDh vehicles, as is the seven-speed Xtrac gearbox. Michelin supplies the same tires for everyone. For the monocoque and chassis elements, the associations approved four manufacturers: Dallara, Ligier, Oreca and Multimatic. Porsche is currently the sole partner of Multimatic.
The LMDh regulation leaves freedom in terms of displacement, construction and number of cylinders of the combustion engine. For the return to the premier class, the powertrain of the RS Spyder was chosen, an LMP2 prototype that was used as the basis for the 918 Spyder. The V8 acts as a load-bearing structural part in the entire vehicle, it was designed for use with renewable fuels and two powerful turbochargers have been incorporated.
