Andlauer Embracing Porsche Penske’s “Solid Structure”

Julien Andlauer says working as part of Porsche Penske Motorsport’s “solid structure” approach in the FIA World Endurance Championship gives him “good confidence” heading into his first season as an LMDh factory driver.

This weekend’s Qatar 1812km is set to be Andlauer’s first race with Porsche Penske, piloting the No. 5 Porsche 963 alongside Michael Christensen and Mathieu Jaminet.

The Frenchman earned a call-up to the factory squad after a year of eye-catching performance with the customer Proton Competition operation.

Andlauer’s work with Porsche Penske began straight after last season’s WEC season finale in Bahrain, flying over to Sebring International Raceway for testing.

After that, he took part in the IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway in November, which was part of what he described of “a proper, approachable winter preparation.”

“For me it was pretty much the first time I do a pre-season preparation which is so structured and organized, which is great because it gives you good confidence,” Andlauer told Sportscar365.

“You get to know the people you’re working with. You build the structure and the baseline and going on to the first test day or first race, you have a bit more information and you know what to do.

“So it’s good with some sim as well, many meetings through Teams, even when we were on holiday.

“So it was really good to catch up for many times in the winter. Good to be in the car for the first time and to have the action on track and working together with the crew. Life is good, happy to be here.”

Andlauer drew a comparison between his new life as a factory driver in the Hypercar squad to previous years of racing, when he often formed part of customer operations in various championships.

“I’m not saying that it was freestyle, but now it’s more solid structure and organized.

“Which for sure makes sense as well because there’s a few more tasks that the factory is doing, also developing the car [and] bringing the new Evo [joker update].

“It’s a factory team so for sure you have a bit more to do. I didn’t really even wonder anything because I mean, I’ve been part of the crew directly and I think it’s logical but it’s also like part of the deal.

“We’re all working together to make things work and at the moment it’s working quite well.

“It’s feeling good all working together towards the same goal, which is making the car quick and having a good execution on track.”

While Andlauer performed no further testing with Porsche Penske after November’s Daytona test, he remained active throughout the winter months.

A partial Asian Le Mans Series season saw him tackle the four final races of the season with the TF Sport-run Pure Rxcing effort, while he was also called up to join Proton’s customer GTP entry at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“I believe that it’s always a bit useful to keep your butt in the seat during the winter,” he said.

“Luckily I did Daytona but otherwise I would have not been in the car since almost like shortly after Bahrain to Qatar like it was the case for Michael [Christensen] for example and this is not ideal.

“You don’t want to have such a break, you know? So for sure, sometimes driving two different cars is not the best, driving back to back

“But I did it last year with the LMP2, GT and Hypercar, so it’s doable, you just need a little time of adaptation.

“But at the end, I still believe that staying in the competition mindset, staying in the car, is always quite helpful.”