Porsche announced on Friday it was leaving the top category of Le Mans sportscar racing at the end of the season to join German automotive rivals in the Formula E electric championship in 2019.
“Entering Formula E and achieving success in this category are the logical outcomes of our Mission E,” Development Chief Michael Steiner said in a statement.
Porsche, whose factory team have been Le Mans champions for the last three years and won the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2015 and 2016, has already taken the first steps towards developing its own Formula E racing car this year, the group said.
The announcement had been widely expected in the motorsport world and came after Mercedes confirmed on Monday its move into Formula E and exit from the German Touring Car (DTM) championship.
Audi, like Porsche also part of the Volkswagen Group, announced last October that it was quitting Le Mans and the WEC to shift resources to Formula E.
Other manufacturers already involved in the electric series, whose third season ends this weekend in Canada, include German rivals BMW as well as Renault, Jaguar, Citroen and India’s Mahindra.
Source: Motor racing: Porsche joins manufacturer rush to Formula E
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