Lotterer ‘Felt Like a Stranger’ Returning to WEC

Andre Lotterer said he ‘felt like a stranger’ returning to the FIA World Endurance Championship paddock after a multi-year absence, gearing up for a comeback to top level prototype competition with Porsche Penske Motorsport.

The German, who became one of the inaugural WEC LMP1 champions with Audi in 2012, will pilot the No. 6 Porsche 963 alongside Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor.

Lotterer was a constant presence for the vast majority of the globetrotting series’ opening decade, moving from Audi to later compete with both Porsche and Rebellion Racing.

His final outing to date came during the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, before solely concentrating on Formula E until last year.

“Very exciting to be back in the WEC,” Lotterer told Sportscar365. “That’s where I came from and then Porsche obviously left the program in 2017.

“For sure, I wanted more but then I enjoyed Formula E as well. For sure it’s top class motorsport as well, the competition is very high.

“Now to be back with Porsche, feeling very privileged and motivated. It’s a new era, new cars.

“It’s very different to the LMP1 times but it is great to see so many manufacturers on the grid and the competition for sure will be interesting.”

The three-time Le Mans winner admitted he needed to resettle into the WEC paddock after several years away, noting he felt like ‘a bit of a stranger’ at first.

“It’s very interesting to realize the feeling of being back in WEC,” Lotterer said.

“I have to be able to realize and grab it first. I can’t really believe that I’m somehow back in this paddock which was home for so many years.

“So I feel like a bit of a stranger initially, coming back and seeing this environment.

“But then all the memories come back from before and it’s my home. It’s a nice paddock, lots of people I know.”

Lotterer Having Exchange of Knowledge with Co-Drivers

Lotterer and co-drivers Estre and Vanthoor largely come from different racing backgrounds, with the Frenchman and Belgian stepping up from Porsche’s now-shuttered GTE-Pro program.

In contrast, Lotterer has only rarely competed in GT machinery outside of his early-career success in Super GT.

With the mixed experience levels for the three drivers aboard the No. 6 Porsche, Lotterer said that each driver brings their own specific knowledge to the lineup.

“Also in terms of traffic management, it is good to hear their perspective, not that it has ever been too much of a problem,” the German said.

“They’ve also been working with some of the engineers much more than I did because they were part of the RSR program and now these guys are in the LMDh program. We all bring our bits and piece to raise the level.”

While Lotterer is the only driver with experience in top-level prototype competition, he admits that the nuances of racing in Hypercar differ significantly from LMP1.

“It’s a different game this time,” he noted.

“It’s a new game with these cars. In the LMP1 times it was completely different because we had this 1000 horsepower, four-wheel drive, accelerating out of corners much more powerfully.

“Now it will be a bit more difficult to overtake, because there’s less speed delta.

“It’s all things to be discovered but we are all drivers experienced in endurance and we all know what to do, hopefully.”

“I think all drivers in the team are very experienced in different ways, which will benefit the whole crew together, also on the IMSA side.

“Of course the whole paddock, everyone is strong. For sure there are some drivers that are a bit younger and a bit newer in those programs but they are all very carefully picked by the manufacturers because they are very talented.

“So we are all going to try our best and try very hard and hopefully all the talent and experience of each other will be strong and then we have to show that we have a bit more.”