No. 6 Porsche disqualified from Le Mans qualifying for technical infringement

The factory No. 6 Porsche Penske 963 has been disqualified from qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans for not complying with the minimum weight requirement.

Porsche’s team manager was summoned to the stewards following the opening segment of qualifying for an alleged breach of Article 4.1 of technical regulations, which stipulates a minimum weight limit for each car in qualifying.

With scrutineering checks revealing that the No. 6 Porsche was underweight, the stewards informed Porsche of its decision to send the car to the back of the Hypercar field.

Kevin Estre had originally qualified the No. 6 Porsche he shares with Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell in fourth place, two tenths down on the session-topping #12 Cadillac of Alex Lynn.

It was the best-placed Porsche in the session, with the No. 5 963 finishing seventh and the additional No. 4 entry ending up 14th.

The biggest beneficiary from the No. 6 Porsche's exclusion is the No. 009 Aston Martin of Valkyrie of Alex Riberas, Marco Sorensen and Roman De Angelis, which has been promoted into Thursday’s Hypercar qualifying on the British manufacturer's return to the top class at Le Mans.

Full stewards verdict

“The Technical checks was conducted at the end of the qualifying session with the presence of Team representatives,” it said. “There, after having examined the Technical Delegate report, the Stewards considered the minimum car weight did not comply with the relevant regulations.

“During the hearing, the Team Manager confirmed and accepted the procedure of the scrutineering and the measurements. Consequently, the Stewards decided to impose the disqualification of car 6 from the qualifying session. The car 6 will start at the back of the grid of his category according to the Article 10.2.2 of 2025 24 hours of Le Mans supplementary regulations.”

"As a result, the Stewards decided that the competitors classified behind car 6 at the end of the qualifying session will be moved up in the classification in accordance with article 12.19 of FIA Sporting Code. 

"Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits."

Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh for Porsche said: "With the number 6 car we have fallen below the minimum weight as stated in the regulations for our race cars. For this reason, the vehicle was relegated to the back of the hypercar field. We are now concentrating on preparing for the race. 

‟We still have two more irons in the fire in the battle for pole position and are hoping for a top result tomorrow."