Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle is continuing to evaluate the future of its program, Porsche Penske Motorsport, in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship beyond the 2026 season, outlining the key factors for the factory team to stay in the series it dominates.
“A level playing field,” Kuratle told Motorsport.com. “That would be the key factor. That's what we want to have. We want to have a big competition. We want to compete against big brands and that's the goal. That would make us continue the whole thing.”
There is also an element from a technological standpoint that Kuratle would like to see in IMSA and that is the infusion of Hypercar, something he believes everyone should be striving for.
“It would be nice to have also LMH cars over here in the IMSA running, so that's one technical rule set,” Kuratle said.
“That would be a big next step for something everybody should head for, to have one technical rule set for LMH and LMDH, to have a bigger competition or more competition over here in the IMSA as well. That would be really nice to see actually.”
The questions come in the wake of the German manufacturer pulling the plug on its joint venture with Penske running Hypercar in the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of 2025, ending a three-year effort that featured three victories and 15 podiums in total across its two entries.
While the initial plan for Porsche Penske Motorsport’s LMDh program is set through the end of 2027, the withdrawal from WEC has presented a question on its GTP entry in IMSA - a series they have amassed 13 victories, including the last three consecutive in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and finished 1-2 in the championship each of the previous two years.
“Porsche Motorsport is constantly checking the right way of doing things, how we're going to do it, how we want to proceed in the future,” Kuratle said.
“We're constantly checking the best way of the operation. I won't say it's the last year or next year or whatever. We're checking it and hopefully we continue with a bigger competition here in the IMSA as well.”
