Proton Competition runs out of money for Porsche 963 LMDh in WEC Hypercar 2026

Proton Competition will likely withdraw from the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2026. Christian Ried, owner of the German team, confirmed that he lacks the budget and infrastructure to operate two Porsche 963 LMDh cars, a minimum requirement of the regulations that no other customer team seems willing to meet following the withdrawal of Porsche Penske Motorsport.

No resources for two cars

"Adding a second car isn't exactly double the cost, but it's close to double, and we simply don't have the budget to operate two cars," Ried explained to Motorsport.com. He was more specific about the structural shortcomings with Sportscar365: "I don't have the people, I don't have the infrastructure. You need a team, the mechanics to operate it. It's complicated."

The regulations require each manufacturer to enter a minimum of two vehicles in the Hypercar class to maintain eligibility. With the confirmed departure of Porsche Penske at the end of 2025, Proton would need to double its current operation of the #99 car to keep the 963 in the world championship.

Photo By Maxime Lantz

Sole customer since JOTA's loss to Cadillac

Proton became the sole customer team for the 963 when Hertz Team JOTA switched to Cadillac for 2025, becoming a semi-factory operation for General Motors. JOTA's defection eliminated any possibility of sharing the regulatory burden of entering two vehicles among privateer teams.

Porsche had limited the production of customer 963 units, further complicating the search for new interested parties. Without JOTA or additional prospects, the entire responsibility of keeping the program alive falls on Ried's family-run team.

Photo By Maxime Lantz

Since its debut in mid-2023, Proton has not achieved a podium in Hypercar with the #99. Their best moment came at the 2025 6 Hours of São Paulo, where Neel Jani, Nicolás Varrone, and Nico Pino climbed as high as sixth place during some segments. At Fuji 2025, they briefly led through strategy before falling to a final 12th place.

During 2024, the team had competitive moments: they ran temporarily in third place at Spa-Francorchamps before finishing fifth. These results, although showing gradual progress, do not generate the necessary economic return to justify doubling the investment in 2026.

The departure of Nico Varrone to the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2025 worsens the financial situation. The Argentine brings considerable sponsorship to the current program, leaving an economic void in an already strained project.

Porsche Penske abandons WEC but continues in IMSA

Porsche Penske Motorsport will end its participation in the WEC at the conclusion of 2025 but will maintain its full program in the American IMSA championship. The decision responds to a severe financial crisis: Porsche's profits plummeted 90% in the second quarter of 2025. The collapse of the Chinese market, US tariffs, and disappointing electric vehicle sales forced CEO Oliver Blume to reduce the workforce by 10% before 2029.

Leaving the WEC while maintaining IMSA represents savings of over 50 million euros annually for Porsche. The factory team won the 2025 IMSA GTP Championship with the #6 car accumulating 2,907 points, while the #7 finished third with 2,689. Thomas Laudenbach had expressed frustration with the WEC's Balance of Performance, especially when he considered that the #6 Porsche "should have won" the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans but finished second behind Ferrari.

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Ford GT3 new priority for the German team

Proton is reallocating resources towards its Ford Mustang GT3 program in LMGT3, where it achieved second place at Spa 2025 with Stefano Gattuso, Giammarco Levorato, and Dennis Olsen. The team, which switched from Porsche to Ford when the GTE era ended, will benefit from the Mustang Evo update in 2026.

"We want two Fords, LMP2 in ELMS and some GT cars," Ried detailed about the reorganized priorities. "We have the Fords, we have ELMS, we have the Asian Le Mans program, so everything is fine."

Photo By Maxime Lantz

Second 963 chassis in IMSA

Proton owns a second 963 used partially in IMSA during 2024, a program reduced this year to the Michelin Endurance Cup and interrupted by severe damage at Watkins Glen. "We have two cars and we'll see what we can do. Maybe we won't do anything and just focus on the other programs," Ried stated. Although Laudenbach mentioned that Porsche would "discuss" paying the €538,000 WEC entry fee, this contribution would not cover the enormous operational costs of a full season with two prototypes.

963 close to disappearing completely from WEC

Without Proton or new customers, the Porsche 963 would disappear from the WEC in 2026, becoming the fourth Hypercar exit since 2021 after Lamborghini, Isotta Fraschini, and Glickenhaus Racing. Ironically, Porsche Penske's automatic invitation to the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, earned via IMSA, would be invalidated without a presence in the world championship.