Despite being one of the most successful teams out there, Porsche will be pulling the plug on their GTLM program in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship at the end of the 2020 season due to financial crisis surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
The German sportscar manufacturer made the announcement on Thursday where they said the termination of such program will make a “significant contribution” to overcoming the economic effects brought by the COVID-19 virus to the company.
This move will leave the championship with two factory teams given that they chose to stay: BMW with their M8 GTE, and Chevrolet with their new C8.Rs. This move from Porsche however will not affect any of their customer racing programs in North America such as the teams in the GT Daytona class, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.
“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,” said the head of Porsche Motorsports, Fritz Enzinger.
Porsche fields the 911 RSR for the IMSA GTLM category which surged to a lot of victories over the years. The RSR is powered by a water cooled 4.0-liter six-cylinder boxer pushing out 510-horsepower which is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox.
