With a five-star calendar featuring one race at the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans and a popular format combining sportsmanship and enjoyment, the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup France once again promises to be a true success. On March 30th, twenty-seven Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 992s will be gathering in Magny-Cours for the traditional preseason tests.
This increasingly attractive programme relies on three main ingredients: the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 992 – a car that is unrivalled in terms of driving experience – prestigious circuits that allow the drivers to enjoy its full potential, and a rigorous yet friendly environment. The Porsche Carrera Cup France has always managed to renew itself while remaining true to its founding principles. This year, eleven Pro cars (including four rookies), eight Pro-Am cars, and eight Am cars will be hitting the tracks, with no less than five different nationalities represented.
As for the teams, some of them will be new to the championship (Team Clairet Sport, F4 Events Motorsport, Herrero Racing), while others will be returning to it (Porsche Lorient, Speed Lover, Tsunami RT). Enough to shake up the series’ regulars (Martinet by Alméras, Racing Technology, ABM, CLRT, IMSA LS Group Performance, TFT Racing).
During the off-season, a game of musical chairs somehow reshuffled the cards. Two-time defending champion Marvin Klein will try to notch up a third win, but will be racing for TFT Racing this season. His toughest rival in the last two seasons Dorian Boccolacci has joined Team CLRT. 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup France Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (Martinet by Alméras) is the only driver within last season’s top three to remain with the same team. He will try to shake up the current hierarchy. So will Louis Perrot, who will now drive for Imsa LS Group Performance, while Victor Blugeon has sticked with the Savoie-based team ABM. 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup France Junior Mathys Jaubert will get the opportunity to learn alongside Marvin Klein at TFT Racing.
In the Pro-Am class, it will not be an easy task for Jérôme Boullery (Racing Technology) to defend his title given his competitors: Maxence Maurice (Imsa LS Group Performance), Christophe Lapierre (Martinet by Alméras), and 2022 Am class champion Sébastien Dussolliet (ABM). The Am category promises to be very competitive too. Sébastien Poisson (ABM) will want to build on last year’s promising results, racing against a crowd of newcomers as well as against Christian Jaquillard (Racing Technology) who will be returning to the competition.
With six events and eleven races, this 2023 season promises to be once again particularly exciting and competitive. The track will deliver a first verdict for the official season-opener held in Barcelona as part of the ELMS (April 21st-23rd). The teams will then head to Magny-Cours for another two races (May 5th-7th), before the season’s highlight as part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 8th-10th). This also coincides with Porsche’s return to the main endurance class as well as with the brand’s 75th anniversary. Having partnered with Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia, Porsche France will offer its drivers one of the finest playing fields in the world, with no less than 71 flat-six engines roaring through La Sarthe during this legendary race. After the summer break, the second half of the season will be just as exciting, including one event at the Red Bull Ring in Austria (September 8th-10th), another one at Monza – Italian temple of speed – (September 22nd-24th), and the two traditional finale races at the Paul Ricard circuit (October 6th-8th), for what promises to be a thrilling finish.