Nasr, Cameron Named as First Porsche LMDh Signings

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship-winning drivers Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron have been named as the first two signings for Porsche’s factory LMDh program.

Announced on Saturday during Porsche’s annual Night of Champions ceremony, the two DPi stars will become factory drivers for the German manufacturer next year, working on the development and track testing of the Multimatic-based prototype.

Porsche Penske Motorsport will compete in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starting in 2023.

Both Nasr and Cameron are entering the Porsche fold from different manufacturers, with Nasr previously driving for Cadillac DPi outfit Action Express Racing and Cameron switching across from Honda Performance Development and Acura.

Nasr won the IMSA DPi title this year alongside Pipo Derani, three years after clinching his first sports car racing crown with Eric Curran.

The Brazilian ex-Formula 1 driver is known to have been in contact with multiple manufacturers about a potential future LMDh involvement.

Cameron piloted Meyer Shank Racing’s Acura ARX-05 this year, off the back of a three-year spell with the Penske-Acura squad during his time as an official HPD driver.

He graduated to prototypes after clinching the 2014 GT Daytona title and won his first top-category accolade in 2016 with Action Express Racing and Curran as his co-driver.

Cameron left Action Express for Acura Team Penske in 2018, with Nasr taking his vacated seat in the Whelen-sponsored Cadillac DPi-V.R. A second title for Cameron came in 2019 alongside Juan Pablo Montoya.

Cameron’s signing ensures that Porsche continues to have an American driver on its factory roster after Patrick Long retired from racing at the end of the 2021 season.

In addition to the driver additions, former Sauber F1 chief mechanic Urs Kuratle – who has been an operations manager at Porsche since 2013 – has been named as the head of Porsche’s LMDh project.

“We are working all-out with our partner Penske on the development of the new LMDh prototype and collaborate closely with the chassis manufacturer Multimatic at all times,” commented Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport.

“In January, we will begin intensive testing to ensure that we are optimally prepared for our 2023 competition debut.”

According to Kuratle, the LMDh car’s initial rollout is “on schedule” to take place before Christmas ahead of more thorough testing at the beginning of next year.