Fritz Enzinger hands over management of Porsche Motorsport to Thomas Laudenbach
Thomas Laudenbach (53) will take over the management of Porsche Motorsport on October 1, 2021. The experienced German engineer succeeds Fritz Enzinger (65), who has led the racing department of the sports car manufacturer from Stuttgart to countless successes since 2011. “We cannot thank Fritz Enzinger enough for his enormously successful work over the past ten years. He shaped an era at Porsche Motorsport that brought us incredible triumphs and many title wins, ”comments Michael Steiner, Member of the Board of Management for Research and Development at Porsche AG. “Motorsport has always played a very special role in Porsche's corporate strategy. We have always used the racing stage as a test laboratory for the latest technologies. Thomas Laudenbach has everything to continue on this path successfully. We look forward to the future of motorsport, which we want to actively shape. The Mission R concept study presented at IAA MOBILITY gives an exciting outlook. "
The Austrian Fritz Enzinger came to Porsche in 2011 and initially built up the successful LMP1 program with the 919 Hybrid. In the course of the events between 2014 and 2017, he achieved three overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as winning a total of six world championship titles in three consecutive years. In 2019, Enzinger took over overall responsibility for Porsche Motorsport. Two more world titles followed this year, this time with the 911 RSR in the GTE-Pro category of the FIA WEC endurance world championship. Under Enzinger's leadership, the sports car manufacturer also entered the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and won the title in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) in the hard-fought GTLM class with the 911 RSR.
"I look back with pride and gratitude on what we have achieved together," explains Fritz Enzinger. “It was an incredibly intense time. The development of the LMP1 program, the hat-trick in Le Mans and the world championship titles with the 919 Hybrid, the title wins with the 911 RSR, the entry into Formula E and the preparation of our LMDh engagement from 2023 on have all given us strength and concentration demanded. Such successes are always the result of excellent teamwork. My greatest respect and thanks go to everyone who contributed to this - in the cockpit, on the racetrack, in Weissach, Flacht and in Zuffenhausen. My thanks also go to the strong Porsche customer teams who, among other things, clinched overall victories in the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and in Spa-Francorchamps, ”the Austrian continued. “Motorsport, like the entire automotive industry, is changing. Thanks to his experience and expertise, Thomas Laudenbach is exactly the right man to lead Porsche Motorsport into this future. "
"I am really happy about the trust you have placed in me and about the tasks ahead," comments Thomas Laudenbach. “The big goal is to build on the great successes that have been achieved under the direction of Fritz Enzinger. It's a wonderful challenge. We will adapt motorsport to the changed conditions in the automotive industry - from customer racing to factory engagements in the largest racing series worldwide. We have our 20th Le Mans victory firmly in our sights, we want to win world championships - both on the endurance circuit and in Formula E. It is also important to further develop customer racing. With the Mission R concept study, we are showing how attractive it can look. "
Graduate engineer Thomas Laudenbach, born in Santiago de Chile, completed his mechanical engineering studies at the Technical University of Karlsruhe. His path then led him to the DTM and to a service company that developed drive components for various European vehicle manufacturers. In autumn 1998 Laudenbach switched to Porsche AG. Until 2013, as Head of Development Drives Motorsport, he was involved in racing and sports car projects such as the 918 Spyder, 911 RSR, 911 GT3 R and the 911 GT3 Cup.
As the lead developer of the 3.4 liter V8 direct injection engine for the Porsche RS Spyder, Laudenbach also got to know the North American motorsport scene. This will soon come full circle: From 2023, Porsche Motorsport will drive for overall victories with a new LMDh hybrid prototype in the US IWSC racing series and the FIA WEC endurance world championship. As with the RS Spyder between 2005 and 2008, the US top team Penske will once again act as cooperation partner of Porsche.