Second Proton Porsche 963 on Le Mans Reserve List

A second Proton Competition-entered Porsche 963 has been named as the first reserve entry for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Released on Monday alongside the main 62-car entry list, the reserve list features seven cars listed in order of priority that could be called upon should any of the main entries drop out of the FIA World Endurance Championship showpiece event.

Proton’s second 963, the No. 79 car, is the only Hypercar entry on the list, and comes on top of the German outfit’s full-season No. 99 entry.

Gianmaria Bruni, who races for the team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, is the only driver listed against the car.

Should any of the LMP2 or LMGT3 teams that have been granted an entry drop out, it would mean the Hypercar class grows to 24 cars.

The remainder of the list is made up of three LMP2s, all Oreca 07 Gibsons, and three LMGT3 cars.

Second on the reserve list is a second Oreca from Inter Europol Competition, which also has a car on the main entry list, the No. 43.

The trio of LMGT3 cars come next in the sequence, with the No. 72 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage GT3 third on the list ahead of a pair of Ferrari 296 GT3s from Kessel Racing and Formula Racing.

Racing Spirit of Leman is the only team on the reserve list with a full complement of drivers named, with American Bronze-rated driver Derek Deboer joined by factory driver Valentin Haase-Clot and Maxime Robin.

The seven-strong list is completed by two more LMP2s, the No. 29 Richard Mille by TDS car and the No. 41 Staysail Motorsport entry.

Rodrigo Sales and Mathias Beche are listed against the TDS car, while Michael Dinan is the sole driver named by Staysail.