The Porsche 963 is now entirely off the FIA World Endurance Championship grid map with the WEC has issued its full entry list of 35 cars in the Hypercar grid in 2026 stating the apparent satisfaction of the German brand off the premier scaffold since its resurgence in the front line prototype racing. The new entrant list includes 35 cars in two divisions including 17 Hypercars and 18 LMGT3 cars. The observable plot that is filling in the grid reveal is that Porsche 963 will not be racing at all in Hypercar in 2026 after its carting workforce Porsche Penske Motorsport and disengaged group Proton Competition pulled out.

The state of events with Porsche 963 had seemed to be insecure since October in which Porsche had stated that it was closing its factory Hypercar programme following the decrease in global sales of its road car and the effects this had on the firm plan. The presence of the car was referred to as having come to its very last frontier in the form of proton, but publicly it was confirmed that as a result of the customer team the car had no budget to be able to expand to have two cars as it is so mandatory that any manufacturer is seeking to be considered within the car. An eleventh-hour effort to keep the Porsche 963 on the 2026 grid with help of Penske never happened, and Proton confirmed last week that it was not rejoining the model after 2025.

The 2026 Hypercar entry list includes the following 17 confirmed cars and elite driver talent:

The LMGT3 division once again features 18 cars from nine manufacturers and notable reshuffling of teams and identities.

Consequently, Porsche Penske Motorsport will remain an automatic entrant and thus take part in the Le Mans 24 Hours, which it has earned due to winning IMSA GTP title in this season, but it cannot claim the entry unless it remains a full-season participant in WEC. Having lost the Porsche 963, the Hypercar grid of the 2026 will consist of 17 cars rather than 18 vehicles as compared to the previous season. Although the departure will leave a big vacuum to long-term Porsche enthusiasts, the competition will be lacking in the class. The brand Genesis of Hyundai is a luxury brand that is coming to the field with two Hypercar prototypes created based on Oreca (named as GMR-001) that is launched during an intensive one-year of testing.

In LMGT3, the number of entries will be 18, including 9 manufacturers and a set of changes in structures. The Iron Dames leave the classroom; Manthey DK Engineering is the new owner of the second Porsche 911 GT3 R which is now run by Ayhancan Guven. McLaren LMGT3 ceases operations as Garage59 replaces United Autosport with McLaren 2027 LMDh development. Aston Martin transports both vehicles to Racing Spirit of Leman to Heart of Racing on a full time basis. Racing Team Turkey has gone back to endurance racing under TF Sport-sponsored Corvette management and ASP has lexus RC F GT3 before the next generation toyota GR GT3 in 2027.

Even though the departure of Porsche 963 is the end of a dynasty, the competition to win the best championship is tough with eight rival firms and improved equipment offered by Toyota, BMW, Cadillac and Alpine. Despite the absence of the giant, the season 2026 will offer new competition and a highly competitive situation.

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