IMSA Drivers Shuffled in Porsche’s Four-Car LM24 Entry

Photo: Porsche

Porsche will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year with a mix of unchanged and reshuffled driver lineups in its four-car GTE-Pro entry.

All four of its year-round IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans drivers, plus its four full-season FIA World Endurance Championship GTE-Pro drivers, are represented in the lineup.

Porsche’s two full-season WEC cars will have the same driver trios at Le Mans for the third year running, with IMSA drivers Laurens Vanthoor and Fred Makowiecki joining the full-season pairs.

Vanthoor will drive the No. 92 car with Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen, reuniting the manufacturer’s 2018-winning lineup, while Makowiecki will again race with Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz.

While Porsche will again have its two CORE autosport-run cars join the grid at Le Mans, with those lineups have been reshuffled significantly.

Year-round drivers Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy will both drive in the No. 93 car despite normally having separate cars, and will be joined by recent factory signing Matt Campbell, who raced with Tandy and Makowiecki at last month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

An entirely different trio of Patrick Pilet, Julien Andlauer and Mathieu Jaminet will share the No. 94 Porsche 911 RSR-19, meanwhile.

Factory driver Jaminet and Young Professional Andlauer were previously coached by Pilet earlier in their careers, giving the three Frenchmen a special relationship that will be reignited at Le Mans.

“Fielding the four works cars again in the GTE-Pro category at Le Mans underlines how important this classic is for Porsche,” said Fritz Enzinger, Porsche’s Vice President for Motorsport.

“With the championship squads from the FIA WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, we have a treasure trove of expertise at the start plus a good balance of experienced and young drivers.

“We aim to fight for victory, but we know from experience that such long-distance races are full of surprises.”

Pascal Zurlinden, director of GT factory motorsports added: “We’re traveling to Le Mans with a strong car and fast, experienced driver crews. With this powerful overall package, we intend to and will go for victory.

“The GT teams from the WEC and IMSA are extremely compatible. All drivers are familiar with the circuit and know what needs to be done at the 24-hour race.”

The entry list for the French endurance classic is expected to be revealed on Feb. 28.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.