Porsche is starting the 2022 motorsport season with high goals and extensive programmes. The focus is on the two factory appearances in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC. The expansion of the customer sports activities as well as the intensive preparation of the new LMDh program complement the activities.

"Motorsport has always played a special role in Porsche's corporate strategy. For more than 70 years, we have been using the racing stage as a test laboratory for the latest technologies. We are facing major challenges – both athletically and organizationally. We will actively develop the future while retaining our motorsport DNA," said Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, as part of the digital Porsche Night of Champions.

"We see the topics of sustainability and electrification at the top of our list of priorities," added Michael Steiner, Member of the Board of Management for Research and Development. "This will also be reflected in future motorsport. The development of the eFuels together with our partner ExxonMobil and our Mission R concept study will reveal the first major steps in this direction." The all-electric Mission R racing car study caused enthusiasm at its presentation at the IAA MOBILITY 2021 in Munich, among other things. The spectacular all-wheel drive racing car is the vision of a possible customer racing vehicle of the future and delivers up to 800 kW (1,088 hp).

TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team aims for first race wins
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship enters its eighth season in 2022.

The two race cars will tackle the upcoming six races under the leadership of the overall project and operations manager Alexander Stehlig and will compete with a slightly changed driver crew. In the #91 car, the Italian Gianmaria Bruni and the Austrian Richard Lietz will once again take turns. In the sister car with the number 92, the experienced Dane Michael Christensen will act next to Kévin Estre from France. Three years ago, the duo had jointly won a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the title in 2018/2019. The first race of the new season will take place on March 18 at Sebring (USA). On 11/12 June 2022, the two Porsche 911 RSR will compete in the 90th edition of the endurance classic in France. The two driver crews will be supported at the highlight of the year by factory drivers Frédéric Makowiecki from France (#91) and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor (#92).

Preparation for LMDh races: Cameron and Nasr complement the driver squad
Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr will join the Porsche Motorsport works driver squad from 2022.

33-year-old American Cameron won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title in 2016 and 2019. The 29-year-old former Formula 1 driver Nasr from Brazil secured the championship in the North American endurance racing series in 2018 and this year. The two new additions will be intensively involved in the further development of Porsche's LMDh prototypes. The experienced Swiss Urs Kuratle has taken over the management of these groundbreaking Porsche activities in the field of endurance racing. The 500 kW (680 hp) hybrid racing car will complete numerous test drives in the course of 2022.

From 2023, the LMDh prototype from Porsche Penske Motorsport will be used in both the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC and the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar

Championship. For the first time in around 30 years, it will then be possible to fight for overall victories with identical cars at the endurance classics at Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona. "Together with our partner Penske, we are consistently working on the development of the new LMDh prototype and are in constant contact with the chassis manufacturer Multimatic," explains Thomas Laudenbach. "In January, we will start intensive test drives in order to be optimally prepared for the 2023 competition."

Customer racing programmes: Strong presence in the USA, DTM and the classics
Porsche will continue to support numerous customer teams using the 911 GT3 R on global stages in the 2022 season.

In Germany, these are mainly races in the ADAC GT Masters and also for the first time in the German Touring Car Masters (DTM). Experienced partners will contest a full season here: The SSR Performance team, which has been extremely successful in the ADAC GT Masters so far, will field two nine-elevens. Team 75 Bernhard is sending an identical, over 500 hp car in accordance with FIA GT3 regulations into what is likely to be eight events of the coming year. Works driver Thomas Preining (Austria) is behind the wheel in the squad of two-time Le Mans overall winner and Porsche brand ambassador. Porsche supports the two DTM customer teams according to a proven scheme with engineers, spare parts service and drivers from the squad of the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer.

In the North American IMSA racing series, customer teams will once again be fighting for victories after six title wins in an extremely successful year in 2021.

In the new GTD Pro class, Pfaff Motorsports will field a Porsche 911 GT3 R with two works drivers Matt Campbell (Australia) and Mathieu Jaminet (France). Further GT3 cars from customer teams are planned for the competition in the GTD category. At the European endurance classics at the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps, the partners will send numerous nine-elevens from Weissach into the competition. Team Manthey – defending champion and record winner at the Nürburgring 24 Hours – will once again compete with an extremely powerful crew. Works drivers Kévin Estre, Michael Christensen, Laurens Vanthoor and Frédéric Makowiecki share the cockpit of the Porsche 911 GT3 R called "Grello". The start of four more copies of the over 500 hp nine-eleven at the classic in the Eifel is already confirmed at this time.

The customer teams in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the GT World Challenge, the FIA WEC, the European Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series, among others, will receive the same support from Porsche as in the previous
year. In the numerous GT4 racing series worldwide, including the German DTM Trophy, the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport presented in November will be on the grid for the first time in 2022. The homologated racing car delivers 368 kW (500 hp) and is therefore significantly more powerful than the predecessor model. The development of the new GT4 car also focused on drivability and even more efficient aerodynamics.

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup before season 30: new Porsche Junior in focus
The current, 375 kW (510 hp) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup will enter its second racing season in 2022 in numerous one-make cups worldwide.

Next year, the focus will once again be on the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. The international Porsche one-make cup will be held as part of Formula 1 and will also reach a special milestone in 2022: the Supercup will start its 30th season. As a great beacon of hope from the ranks of the Porsche squad, the German Laurin Heinrich is preparing for the competition, which will comprise a total of eight races: The 20-year-old impressed in November during a screening with a total of twelve participants and, as the new Porsche Junior, will receive extensive support from Porsche Motorsport.

Porsche Cup: Jan Heylen prevails over Alfred and Robert Renauer
The traditional Porsche Cup, which has been awarded annually to the most successful private driver since 1970, will go to Jan Heylen in 2021.

The experienced Belgian won the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup this year together with works driver Patrick Long and his American compatriot Trent Hindman at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Wright Motorsports. This classification summarizes the four largest endurance races in North America. Heylen also won the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for GT4 cars together with American Ryan Hardwick. Here, the customer team from the US state of Ohio used the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The 41-year-old cycling enthusiast, who has lived in the USA for many years, will receive a new Porsche sports car worth 150,000 euros in addition to the coveted trophy. The award for successful amateur drivers, which has been presented for 52 years, is based on an idea by Ferry Porsche.

Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup: Joshua Rogers celebrates second title
Australian Joshua Rogers was honoured for the second time as champion of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup at the digital Porsche Night of Champions on 18 December.

After 2019, the 22-year-old from Team Coanda Simsport once again secured the title in the racing series held on the iRacing platform. The Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup 2022 starts on 5 February on the virtual version of the GP circuit in Hockenheim.