IMSA: Porsche to Quit GTLM after 2020

Porsche has announced it will leave the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans class at the end of the 2020 season.

Porsche had already announced last month that it will not bring its 2 IMSA GTLM cars to the delayed September Le Mans 24hrs, like it usually does, and its announcement leaves the GTLM category in IMSA on tenterhooks, as it leaves only Chevrolet and BMW as full-time manufactures in IMSA.

Chevrolet has only just introduced its new Corvette C8.R, so would be likely to stay beyond 2020 to make the manufacture of the new car economically viable for the company, however BMW are yet to confirm their IMSA plans beyond 2020. BMW pulled out of the World Endurance Championship last year after just 1 season.

Porsche Motorsport Vice-President Fritz Enzinger cited the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic as the key reason for its withdrawal:

"The decision to halt our factory involvement in the IMSA series was not an easy one for us. With a view to the current corporate situation in connection with the Coronavirus pandemic, it is only logical for Porsche Motorsport to make a contribution to coping with the economic fallout.

"We’ve openly discussed our exit with all involved. At this point, we’d like to convey our sincere thanks to Jim France and the colleagues at IMSA for their understanding. Porsche belongs in endurance racing. We will work hard to ensure that this is only a temporary Auf Wiedersehen."

Porsche are understood to be contemplating entering a new car under the LMDh prototype rules, set to replace IMSA’s current DPi top class in 2022, a category that would also be allowed to run in WEC and Le Mans with WEC’s new LM Hypercar rules. However, nothing is yet set in stone. Porsche’s commitment to WEC’s GTE Pro class (which uses the same GTE ruleset as GTLM) is also uncertain.