Roger Penske was far from pleased with Porsche Motorsport’s decision to turn its back on the WEC. Once the decision was made, The Captain began looking for a Plan B. A joint venture with Proton Racing to field privately entered Porsche 963s in 2026 was seriously considered. Unfortunately for Penske, the German manufacturer opposed the idea.
But Roger Penske is not one to give up easily. Still determined to fulfil his dream of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he has recently made contact with Cadillac, hoping to put a V-Series.R on the grid for the 95th edition of the French endurance classic next June.
When does the Porsche-Penske contract expire?
The relationship between Porsche and Penske began in 2022 with the development of the 963, before the car made its competitive debut in both IMSA and the WEC. It has been a remarkably successful partnership. In the United States, the German-American alliance has claimed two championship titles, three victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona, two wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and one at Petit Le Mans.
In the WEC, the 963 remains the only LMDh car to have won a world championship, courtesy of André Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor and Kévin Estre, who secured the Hypercar Drivers’ title in 2024. At Le Mans, the car took pole position that same year with Estre before finishing second in 2025 in the hands of Vanthoor, Estre and Matt Campbell.
Yet the relationship took a hit late last year when, shortly after Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, Porsche announced that it would leave the WEC at the end of the season. It is a decision Roger Penske reportedly still has not come to terms with.
Although the partnership continues to enjoy success across the Atlantic, it is due to end after the 2027 season. And Penske, never one to wait until the last minute, is already preparing for what comes next — and perhaps something more immediate.
Could Penske Race a Cadillac at Le Mans as early as 2027?
Roger Penske remains fixated on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the last major race he is determined to add to his extraordinary record.
For now, returning to La Sarthe with Porsche is not an option. The German manufacturer has no appetite for it, while the regulations require a manufacturer to have at least two cars entered for the full WEC season for its cars to be eligible.
That is clearly no longer the case for the Porsche 963. Cadillac, however, has two V-Series.Rs competing in the WEC with Cadillac Team JOTA. And therein lies the opportunity.
Discussions are understood to be at a very advanced stage. Should the entry be accepted by the Le Mans Selection Committee, it would bring the number of Cadillac V-Series.Rs on the grid to four.
That would not be unprecedented: Cadillac had four cars at Le Mans in 2025. Alongside JOTA’s two factory-backed entries, Action Express Racing is also expected to return with a V-Series.R, having earned an invitation following its IMSA championship success earlier this month.
But why 2027? While some have pointed towards 2028, our information indicates that 2027 is the target. That also explains why Team Penske president Jonathan Diuguid attended the 6 Hours of Barcelona, spending the event in Cadillac Team JOTA’s hospitality.
What could prevent Penske from racing at Le Mans?
Accepting a Hypercar entrant that competes in neither the WEC nor IMSA would be an unprecedented move. As things stand, there are no plans to enter the Penske Cadillac for the full WEC season, a commitment that would have made life considerably easier for the Le Mans Selection Committee.
A Cadillac entered by Team Penske could therefore take the start on 12 June only if it receives an invitation from the Selection Committee. But what would make Penske’s application more deserving than another? Judged against the established selection criteria, the American organisation would have a compelling case.
When assessing applications, the committee considers factors including the entrant’s reputation, racing record, previous appearances at Le Mans, regular participation in major endurance championships, the calibre of its drivers, the quality of its cars and the technical interest of the project.
The difficulty is that grid space will be extremely limited. If our calculations are correct, and assuming the ACO maintains a minimum allocation of 15 LMP2 entries — 19 were accepted in 2026 — just five places would remain available if every automatic invitation were taken up.
And what about Porsche? Would the German manufacturer and Penske effectively be free to pursue other relationships before their partnership formally ends? After the blow Porsche dealt its American partner late last year, it is difficult to imagine the manufacturer being in a particularly strong position to object, just months before their expected separation.
It is beginning to look rather like an amicable divorce, with one partner already spending its spare time getting to know a potential new companion.
Could Le Mans 2027 mark the beginning of a new chapter for Team Penske?
As mentioned earlier, the Porsche-Penske partnership is expected to conclude at the end of the 2027 season. And there are indications that the 95th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans would be more than a one-off appearance for the organisation that has won the Indianapolis 500 on 20 occasions.
Roger Penske has no intention of walking away from either IMSA or Le Mans. Having previously represented Acura and Porsche in IMSA, he could well switch to General Motors in 2028, a company with which he has longstanding ties.
Indeed, the first car entered in competition by Team Penske, at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, was a Corvette. Chevrolet has also supplied Penske’s IndyCar engines since 2012, with that agreement extended earlier this month.
Who would run the Car, and who would drive it?
The car would be entered under the Penske Racing name. But who would actually operate it? With limited preparation time, a likely shortage of testing opportunities and Penske’s Porsche GTP programme still running in IMSA, drawing heavily on the personnel already committed to that campaign would be difficult. A collaboration with Team JOTA therefore appears highly likely.
Furthermore, under the 2027 FIA WEC Sporting Regulations, Penske Racing would not appear to have its own private testing allocation without a full-season entry in either the WEC or IMSA. The ACO and FIA would still need to establish the conditions under which the team could conduct any testing ahead of Le Mans. Either way, preparation time would be extremely limited.
And what about the drivers?
Felipe Nasr would seem an obvious candidate. More closely associated with Penske than Porsche — he is the only Porsche factory driver outside Formula E who does not compete in GT racing — the Brazilian would have every chance of being involved.
Whether Porsche would be willing to release Julien Andlauer is another question. Then again, the German manufacturer is allowing Laurens Vanthoor to race for McLaren in the WEC while remaining a Porsche factory driver in IMSA.
Sébastien Bourdais, meanwhile, looks an ideal candidate. Few drivers know the Cadillac V-Series.R as well as the Frenchman, who has just completed two seasons with Cadillac Team JOTA.
Suitable options are not exactly plentiful, particularly as the IndyCar Series is scheduled to race in Madison, Illinois, on the very same weekend.