Vanthoor, Heinrich to Swap Roles at Porsche Penske in 2027

Photo: Porsche

Porsche Penske Motorsport has announced a shakeup already to its 2027 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship lineups, with Laurens Vanthoor set to scale back to a endurance-only role and Laurin Heinrich securing a full season seat in one of the team’s factory Porsche 963s.

The news comes on the heels of Heinrich taking JDC-Miller Motorsports to victory in last weekend’s StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship, marking the first GTP win for a privateer in the series.

As first reported by Sportscar365, Vanthoor, who will remain under Porsche contract, is expected to be loaned out to another top-class manufacturer for next year, believed to be McLaren, with an announcement that could come later this week by the British manufacturer.

The 2024 WEC Hypercar world drivers’ champion made the switch to full-time WeatherTech Championship competition this year, alongside fellow title winner Kevin Estre, amid the withdrawal of the Porsche Penske effort from the WEC.

Vanthoor has been vocal on wanting to be in a position to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, something that Porsche cannot currently provide by no longer having a factory 963 program in the WEC.

“My journey as a Porsche factory driver has brought me tremendous success over the past ten years, and I am very grateful for that,” said Vanthoor. “Together, we want to win more trophies and titles.

“Nevertheless, I personally have a big dream that I would like to pursue.

“At the same time, I am very happy for Laurin Heinrich that he will be joining the permanent IMSA roster at Porsche Penske Motorsport in 2027. He absolutely deserves this opportunity.”

Heinrich, meanwhile, has impressed since his first race with the 963 in last year’s WEC season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain, with the 24-year-old German currently holding a 60 percent win record with the car.

He kicked off the season with wins in the No. 7 entry at both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and took the aforementioned first victory for JDC-Miller Motorsports in GTP competition last weekend.

“Porsche has played a fundamental role in my racing career right from the start,” he said.”I therefore feel a strong connection to the company and am delighted to be competing for the IMSA title with Porsche Penske Motorsport in 2027.”

Heinrich, who currently leads the GTP drivers’ standings, is slated to contest the majority of the remaining WeatherTech Championship races this year with JDC-Miller, except for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, where he has a clash with the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, and season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans, where he’ll be back in the No. 7 Penske Porsche.

The status of Porsche’s remaining drivers, namely Kevin Estre, who is understood to be opting for a similar loan-out situation to Toyota in the WEC, was n0t confirmed by the German manufacturer in its announcement on Wednesday.

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