Porsche Confirms IMSA, WEC Factory LMDh Lineups

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Porsche has set the final driver lineups for its factory FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship programs with the Porsche 963.

As previously announced, ten drivers will pilot the Porsche Penske Motorsport-entered prototypes between the two series in 2023, with specific combinations having been confirmed Saturday evening during the manufacturer’s ‘Night of Champions’ awards ceremony.

In the WEC, Dane Cameron will team up with Michael Christensen and Fred Makowiecki in the No. 5 entry, with Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 6 Porsche for the entire seven-round world championship, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Porsche Penske’s WeatherTech Championship lineup will consist of Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 6 Porsche, with Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 car. They’ll be joined by Cameron and Christensen, respectively, for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

While currently only announced for Daytona, Sportscar365 understands that Cameron and Christensen will also likely contest the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans as third drivers.

The lineups are consistent of Porsche Penske’s recent outing at Daytona International Speedway, which saw all six of its Rolex 24 drivers present for the two-day IMSA-sanctioned test.

The German manufacturer has so far completed 29,713.8 kms (18,463 miles) in testing with the Porsche 963.

“We were immediately impressed by the new regulations that have been introduced in the World Endurance Championship and the North American IMSA series,” said Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle.

“We were among the first manufacturers to commit to this in December 2020. Establishing the globally-operating Porsche Penske Motorsport was another important milestone.

“Porsche and Penske have a very successful shared history. We now want to build on that together.”

Porsche also confirmed that it has retained Gianmaria Bruni, Romain Dumas, Richard Lietz and Thomas Preining as factory drivers for next year, with their exact assignments still being finalized.

Bruni is understood to be on Proton Competition’s short list of drivers for its privateer Porsche 963 program, which is not slated to debut until late April due to revised delivery dates for customer cars.

Preining, meanwhile, will return to DTM next year alongside Porsche-affiliated driver Dennis Olsen, although the teams they will race for have not been confirmed.

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