Porsche to Return with Four-Car GTE-Pro Effort at Le Mans

Photo: Porsche

Porsche is set to defend its 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro class victory with another four-car effort in the French endurance classic, featuring a largely unchanged lineup.

The German manufacturer confirmed its 2019 plans on Saturday during its “Night of Champions” awards dinner in Weissach.

Laurens Vanthoor will rejoin full-season FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen in the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR, which led home the historic 1-2 finish in June.

Its sister, Manthey-run entry will again be piloted by Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Fred Makowiecki.

While the No. 93 entry will again see Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber at the wheel, Porsche Young Professionals Mathieu Jaminet and Dennis Olsen will make their Le Mans debuts in the sister CORE autosport-operated No. 94 car alongside the returning Sven Mueller.

Jaminet and Olsen replace Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas in the lineup.

Porsche holds three auto-invites to Le Mans, two via its full-season WEC entries and a third for this year’s class victory, meaning its fourth car is subject to approval by the ACO.

All Factory Drivers Retained for 2019

Porsche has elected to retain its full lineup of factory and Young Professional drivers for next year, although some are set to be placed in different roles.

In all, 24 drivers between the factory, Young Professional and Junior driver programs are slated to compete in 2019, including Brendon Hartley, who remains under contract following his exit from Toro Rosso in Formula 1.

The only addition to the lineup comes with Jaxon Evans, who will join Julien Andlauer in the Junior program.

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