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Second WeatherTech Porsche Unlikely for Petit Le Mans

“Slim Chances” for second WeatherTech Porsche 911 RSR-19 at Motul Petit Le Mans…

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Proton Competition team boss Christian Ried said the chances are slim of having a second WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 on the grid for next month’s Motul Petit Le Mans.

The German squad, the team behind WeatherTech’s GT Le Mans program in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, has refuted reports by other media indicating that it will field a second car in the final series’ race for the GT Le Mans class.

Ried admitted that the idea had been considered at one point but is unlikely to materialize due to the short timescale heading into the Nov. 11-13 event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“We’re still thinking about it but time is the main issue,” Ried told Sportscar365.

“We’ve has a good season with (79 car) and don’t want to ruin that at Petit Le Mans.”

Ried confirmed the No. 79 Porsche will feature Cooper MacNeil, Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell, reuniting the trio that claimed class victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

MacNeil and Campbell went on to also claim victory at Road America in August.

While the team has a second Porsche GTE chassis in its possession at IMSA races, Ried said it would take a significant effort away from the team’s primary car on short notice.

MacNeil Gets First Laps in Porsche 911 GT3 R Ahead of 2022 Campaign

MacNeil turned his first laps in a second-gen Porsche 911 GT3 R earlier this week at Portimao following a successful rollout for the car that he will utilize in the GT Daytona class next year.

Ried explained they brought in Porsche factory driver Julien Andlauer, who has GT3 experience, for the post-European Le Mans Series test to help acclimate the Silver-rated driver to the car.

It marked Proton’s first running of a GT3 car after previously operating exclusively GT2/GTE machinery.

Sportscar365 understands that the brand-new chassis was one of the last produced by Porsche, with production having since been stopped ahead of the manufacturer’s all-new 992-based GT3 car for 2023.

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

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