For Proton Competition, 2023 marks the beginning of a new chapter in its successful motorsport history. With two Porsche 963s, the team from Ummendorf in Swabia, led by Michael and Christian Ried, moves up to the elite class of sports car races. In the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the USA, it will each field one of the hybrid prototypes newly developed by Porsche Motorsport in accordance with the LMDh regulations.

These world-class endurance racing series include classics such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Further details on the programme and the drivers will be announced at a later date by Proton Competition, which will continue to be represented in GT racing.

"This step marks the beginning of a new era for us. After more than 25 years of successful GT motorsport with Porsche, we are delighted to tackle a new challenge in top-class endurance racing and to compete for overall victories in the two most important endurance racing championships," says Christian Ried. His brother Michael adds: "We would like to thank all partners for the successful cooperation in GT racing and look ahead to a common, hopefully no less successful future."

Numerous victories and titles in GT racing
Proton Competition was founded in 1996 by Gerold Ried and celebrated numerous victories and titles in various GT championships with Porsche racing cars. Among the greatest successes are two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (GT2 2010 and GTE 2018). In addition, Proton Competition won the team classification in its class in the Le Mans Series (2009, 2010), the International Le Mans Cup (2010) and the European Le Mans Series ELMS (2018, 2020, 2022). The team won the drivers' championship in the World Endurance Championship WEC (2012), the Le Mans Series (2009, 2010) and the European Le Mans Series (2018, 2020, 2022). Another significant success was victory at the 2019 1000 Miles of Sebring held as part of the WEC.

In the 2022 season, Proton Competition secured the team and driver championships in the European Le Mans Series (GTE class). In the WEC, the team won at Spa and Monza. The Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Proton Competition for WeatherTech Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans crossed the finish line in second place in its class.

With the Porsche 963, the team is fielding a prototype in the elite class of endurance racing for the first time. At the heart of the drive is a 4.6-litre V8 biturbo engine with an output of 500 kW (680 hp). The design of the new Porsche 963 is based on the classics 956 and 962, with which Porsche celebrated numerous successes at the world's most important endurance races in the 1980s.

Source: Proton Competition