Andre Lotterer On The Porsche 963, The Centenary Of Le Mans & Comparisons With Group C

Andre Lotterer was one of the eight drivers confirmed with a place in the Porsche Penske team programme in WEC or IMSA competition from next season. The three-time Le Mans winner was present on Friday at the unveiling of the car, and for its first public run, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

So Andre, back in a prototype?

“I didn’t want to miss out on that opportunity. When that came on the table we jointly decided with Porsche that we shift a little bit from Formula E and back to sports car cockpits.

“I joined Porsche in 2017 with the idea of having more years in sports cars, but the programme prematurely stopped, and now it’s coming back. So I’m very happy about that.”

You’ve seen the car, you’ve tested the car. What do you think so far?

“It’s a beautiful livery, I really love the design. A bit of a tribute to the Group C era. And yeah, I’ve been testing it. So it’s going well, it’s fun to drive. It’s not as quick as the previous LMP1 hybrid cars. It’s different rules and so it needs a bit of a different driving style, but still a nice prototype.

“If they’ve got these rules right, with what we’ve got coming so far and what we know is coming over the next year or two, we could have fantastic racing?

“Yes, I think it’s a great time coming ahead for sportscar racing. And it’s always been a bit of a challenge for this category to sustain a packed grid for many years.

“It worked quite well in the Group C era, with the customer teams and works teams and I feel that we are back to something like this.

“And especially for the 100th anniversary coming and beyond with I think eight brands and probably well over 20 cars being able to fight for the victory,

“I think that’s going to be a sports car celebration that we haven’t seen in a long time. Because when we were in the LMP1, we had some great battles, but we were like what, six to eight cars, sometimes at best. And in the last few years, it’s been a bit less so. So I think this new platform will give a bright future for many years to come.”

It’s been 40 years since Group C started, we’ve got this new era starting next year, as you quite rightly say with the centenary race at Le Mans, what I think is going to be the biggest race meeting in the world, probably ever. And it won’t just be those other brands, as you quite rightly say there will be customer Porsches on the grid, you’re going to be battling Porsche customers?

“Yes, that’s what’s great about this, that we give the opportunity to Porsche customers to also have these cars. And that’s what I was saying. It’s a great platform for many years to come. It will be really nice to see all the participants and first time we get to do the first race for sure. But also, you know, first day when the cars are rolling out at Le Mans it will be definitely quite special.

“Already when I saw the presentation, the video it gave me goosebumps so yeah. But like you said, I think next year, Le Mans will be one of the biggest racing celebrations ever, it’s already a big race in itself. But then when you add all this extra, it will be quite impressive.”

You name checked 2017 That switch from Audi where you had massive success? It all went wrong in sports car racing for all sorts of reasons to that point. Did you ever believe you get that second shot of this new era at that point?

“Well, I tried to hang on to it. I found the opportunity to race with Rebellion. But that was not the same thing. It was a nice opportunity to still participate. let’s put it that way.

“But I’m not racing to participate, especially after experiencing what I’ve experienced with the success in 2011 12 and, 14 – it was such a team.
So I’m there to win and I knew that there might be a comeback, but after we stopped for one or two years it was it was tough, you know. But I found Formula E which I’m really thankful for because I’m really enjoying it. And then quite soon, the rumours came that Porsche might come back at Le Mans and then I always had that on my radar.

“Now here we are. And thanks to Porsche and Penske, that I can be part of this programme to get that fourth win – that’s unfinished business.”

We saw some Tom Kristensen sneak in at the back for this this launch. You’re experiencing something that many of us do with a few more miles on the clock, which is that you were the young gun. And now you’re the guy that knows how to win these races. Is that a different sort of pressure?

“I never really thought about it because I’m still very young at heart. But it’s true, when we got to Audi as a young gun and they were the experienced boys, but it was very nice to join a team with them because they welcomed us. They they showed us the way and it was a good atmosphere in the team. And I think this also can be replicated here and share my knowledge across the guys with maybe a bit less experience, but I think everyone will bring their best inputs to the team and do the best all together.”

You have been up the hill, this weekend at Goodwood, but not in the 963. How different is the car you have been driving this weekend to the new car?

Well for sure you make sure you don’t put it in the hay bales!

I was in a 956 today (pictured top and above – with Shaun Lynn, owner of 956-001). Yeah, that’s quite different. For sure. It’s nice to get an experience of how the guys were racing hard back in the day, very physical, and tomorrow I get a chance to drive the 963 so I can get a comparison!

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