Cairoli Set for GTE-Am Effort With Dempsey Proton

Photo: Porsche

Porsche Young Professional Matteo Cairoli is set for a full-season effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship, having been confirmed with Dempsey Proton Racing in the GTE-Am class.

The 20-year-old Italian, who finished runner-up in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup last year, will join Marvin Dienst and team boss Christian Ried at the wheel of the team’s solo Porsche 911 RSR.

It will mark Cairoli’s WEC debut following an impressive partial-season effort with Proton in the European Le Mans Series last year that saw the former Porsche Junior claim GTE class pole in his first weekend with the team.

Cairoli then went on to nearly claim Supercup title, but fell short after electrical issues in the season finale at Circuit of The Americas. He ended the year with four wins and six podiums.

The No. 77 Porsche will be the only full-season entry fielded by Proton this year, following a three-car effort in 2016, that included the GTE-Pro Porsche for Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen, plus the KCMG car, which the German squad also ran.

It is one of five cars represented in the GTE-Am class, which will allow both 2016-spec cars, as well as 2015 and older machinery into the category for the first time.

No word has been given on what configuration Proton’s Porsche will run.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John