The 1996 Le Mans colors return to the Porsche 963

Porsche Penske Motorsport will field its two 963 cars at the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 21st adorned in the blue, red, and white colors of Mobil 1, the same livery the 911 GT1 wore at Le Mans in June 1996 when a partnership that now celebrates 30 years began. It is only the second special livery the 963 has carried since the program debuted in 2023, when both prototypes raced at Le Mans with multi-colored stripes for Porsche's 75th anniversary, and the first commemorative one within the IMSA championship. The team arrives at the second round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as the leader in both standings after winning the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, the only race contested so far in the 2026 season.

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Sebring's concrete, the toughest test for machinery

Sebring International Raceway will host the 74th edition of its endurance race, an event that historically punishes machinery like few others on the North American calendar. Approximately 30 percent of the 6.02-kilometer circuit's surface retains the concrete slabs from the original military airfield, and the pronounced bumps generated by the transition between asphalt and concrete add a variable that exists on no other track in the championship. Porsche holds 19 overall victories at this track, an all-time record among all manufacturers that have competed in the event.

From the GT1 to the 963, three decades of joint development

The agreement between Porsche and ExxonMobil was signed on the same day as that Le Mans race in 1996 and from the start included the supply of lubricants for all new Porsche vehicles worldwide. Two years later, the evolved version of the GT1 won overall at La Sarthe in those same colors. The collaboration in development also yielded results with the RS Spyder in North American and European championships during the 2000s, and reached its peak between 2014 and 2017, when advances in engine oils and battery cooling fluids helped the 919 Hybrid accumulate six FIA WEC world titles and three overall victories at Le Mans.

Currently the alliance extends to Formula E, where Mobil 1 is an engineering partner of the factory team, and since 2007 has given its name to the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup that supports Formula 1 in Europe.

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"Even with the current Porsche 963, we benefit in many areas from Mobil 1's innovations and expertise. In a championship as competitive as IMSA, the smallest details make the difference, and recently we have been consistently at the front. The championship titles over the last two years and another victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January confirm this," explained Urs Kuratle, Director of Factory Motorsport LMDh at Porsche.

40 points separate Porsche from Cadillac in the overall standings

The #7 car of Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer, and Laurin Heinrich leads the drivers' standings with 380 points following the victory at Daytona. The Cadillac #31 of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, and Frederik Vesti is second with 340 units, and the BMW M Hybrid V8 #24 of Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns, Sheldon van der Linde, and René Rast occupies third position with 323. The second factory Porsche, the #6 of Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, and Matt Campbell, is fourth with 306 points.

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The advantage of the #7 was built at a Daytona where Porsche Penske won for the third consecutive edition. Nasr became the third competitor in history to win the 24 Hours three times in a row, joining Peter Gregg and Helio Castroneves. For Heinrich, it was only his second race in an LMDh prototype, and Andlauer scored his first victory in that event. Sebring will also be the first race of the year in which Porsche Motorsport celebrates 75 years and Team Penske marks its 60th anniversary.