WEC 2024: Porsche Enters This Weekend’s 6 Hours of Montréal as Marginal Favourites to Win
Porsche and Toyota have brought significant developments to the LMDh category in recent times, which has seen the lasting dominance of the Japanese marque in the top-tier hypercar class come under increased threat.
Neel Jani capitalized on Porsche’s latest updates to claim a remarkable podium finish at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, while he also pressured the Toyota GR010 Hybrid right to the checkered flag at Spa-Francorchamps. Meanwhile, Porsche was on hand to capitalize on Toyota’s struggles at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last time out, as the 963 LMDh secured a strong top-five finish.
Porsche’s edge at Le Mans derived from the 963 being the most compliant car over the kerbs and bumps, and that is set to be a decisive factor again at this event. “How you take the kerbs simply plays a big role here,” Jani explained. “It will be pretty close again.”
“For me, it is impossible to say whether we, Toyota, or Ferrari will be in front at the end. That is what makes it so exciting.” – Jani
“I would probably put Porsche as the favourite because of their strong top speed. If you look at the car all around, I think their car is the best fit for the track.” – Jani
But while Toyota’s Kazuki Nakajima suspects the marque has “good chances” to prevail this weekend, the Japanese driver has warned that Le Mans could have been an “outlier”. “At the same time, I don’t expect us to have the lead we had in Le Mans,” Nakajima cautioned. “It’s more of a normal track here in Canada compared to Le Mans.”
Sebastien Buemi declared that Toyota’s struggles in Le Mans demonstrated that a long-standing ride weakness had been exposed now the field spread has converged. Despite Buemi’s reservations over the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve suiting the GR010 Hybrid, Nakajima is adamant Toyota remains the benchmark on conventional circuits.
“On normal tracks, it’s just a very open playing field with Porsche, Toyota, and Ferrari, with Toyota being the favourite most of the time,” he concluded.
Porsche’s Gianmaria Bruni, who finished second in Le Mans, reiterated his stance that the team can be optimistic it will be competitive on each track.
“We’re definitely in the mix now, I think the last few weekends on very different tracks have proven that,” Bruni highlighted, adding: “It’s quite exciting to be honest.”
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