Porsche driver Michael Christensen said he would like to remain in the World Championship next year despite speculation linking him with a move to the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Porsche revealed last month that it would be making changes to its factory crews for its third season with the 963 LMDh in the Hypercar and GTP classes of WEC and IMSA respectively.
These could include potential driver swaps between the two series, similar to how Dane Cameron and Matt Campbell switched positions ahead of 2024.
There also remains a possibility of Porsche downsizing its WEC line-ups to run two drivers in each car for the six-hour races that make up half of next year’s eight-round calendar.
Amid a possible shuffle in drivers, including rumours that Christensen could be moved to IMSA, the Le Mans 24 Hours class winner has said he would prefer to remain in the WEC in 2025 for what would be his 10th straight year in the world championship.
He explained that familiarity with the WEC side of the Porsche Penske Motorsport operation, as well as having an automatic entry to Le Mans, were key reasons why staying put is more enticing to him than returning to the series where he spent a single season racing the Porsche 911 RSR in the GTLM class a decade ago.
“My preference has always been WEC, I really like that [series],” the Dane told Motorsport.com.
“I did race in IMSA in 2014, my first year of the factory driver contract and I liked it. I really think IMSA is cool as well, but I felt more at home in WEC.
Christensen raced in IMSA during the 2014 season
Photo by: Richard Dole
“The way the championship is built up, it is [based] in Europe, the race tracks, the team and the way pitstops are done, all these things are more familiar [to me].
“On top of it, and probably the most important [thing] is that you have the security to do Le Mans. You are working with the [same] team in Le Mans that you are racing with [in all other] all races as well. So, of course, that’s why I prefer to do WEC.
“Speaking about next year, there has been no communication really between us, or me at least and Porsche. So far they have not communicated anything.
“The only thing I know is the rumours which are around the paddock, but whether that is true or not, no idea.”
Christensen and his team-mates in the #5 Porsche, Campbell and Frederic Makowiecki, currently sit fifth in the drivers’ standings heading to the Bahrain finale in November.
The championship is led by the sister Porsche crewed by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer, with the trio holding a 35-point lead with only 39 up for grabs in the bonus-points decider.
Porsche is yet to announce when it would be invoking first of the five evo jokers allowed to it under the original five-year rule cycle of the 963 LMDh.
A planned upgrade of its hybrid engine, which centred on a switch to a 90° crankshaft from a 180°, was abandoned after it was able to get through this year’s Le Mans without any major reliability issues.
#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
The German manufacturer heads the standings in both the WEC and IMSA, as their respective seasons draw to a close in November and October respectively.
Christensen said there are still some areas where Porsche can improve the 963, highlighting a straightline speed deficit at Circuit de la Sarthe that contributed to it finishing outside the podium in the WEC’s centrepiece event this year.
“There are always things to update, there are always things to improve and we also saw that early in the project and still have some things which are not solved and which can’t be solved with set-up,” he explained.
“So for sure we have some things that I believe we should focus on to try to improve. Whether this is possible or not in terms of regulations, I have no idea. This is the management who knows that.
“But for sure we have things to improve and this you can say wish more for, Le Mans top speed for example.
“I can’t tell why we are not good enough there, but we lack a lot [of stop speed].
“And when you look at the data from Le Mans, of course it’s just one race but it’s the biggest race and with a lot of points, so that and some [other] mechanical stuff for detail.
“A few things we should be focused on. I’m not sure if it is possible to change. There is always something to improve.”