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Porsche Plans Driver Line-Up Adjustments for Upcoming Racing Seasons
Porsche has announced upcoming modifications to its LMDh driver line-ups for the 963 models competing in both the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and IMSA SportsCar Championship in the next season.
The changes concerning the two-car Porsche Penske Motorsport (PPM) teams will be relatively modest. The formal announcement regarding the new line-ups is expected to come before the conclusion of the current WEC season, which wraps up in early November in Bahrain.
Jonathan Diuguid, managing director of PPM, communicated to Autosport that the driver teams for 2025 are not anticipated to deviate significantly from those of this year. “All options are on the table and we are getting close; hopefully, there should be some news before the end of the WEC season,” he stated.
Echoing Diuguid’s sentiments, Porsche LMDh programme manager Urs Kuratle confirmed that changes are forthcoming and that an announcement is imminent. “The line-ups will not be the same as this year, but we are not 100% there yet, only 99%,” Kuratle remarked.
When questioned about the potential for reshuffling drivers among the four PPM 963 LMDh entries, Kuratle noted, “That is part of the missing 1%.” This hints at the likelihood of at least one new addition to the PPM roster.
Julien Andlauer a Strong Candidate for 2025 Porsche Penske Appointment
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Among those potentially in line for a position is Porsche-contracted driver Julien Andlauer, who has garnered attention after his strong performances in the Proton Competition customer 963 this WEC season. One likely scenario could involve Andlauer taking over a seat on the IMSA team, potentially replacing Dane Cameron.
Additionally, there have been discussions within Porsche about possibly scaling down their WEC driver line-up to field two drivers per car during six-hour races, similar to the approach taken by Cadillac this year. If this strategy is adopted, it could lead to drivers being borrowed from the IMSA programme for longer WEC events, including the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours.
In this compact scenario, with just eight full-time drivers, Porsche would face a shortfall if they decide to enter three factory cars at Le Mans. However, it appears they may have flexibility in this regard, as a proposed rule change suggesting a necessity for three drivers per car in the Hypercar category seems to have been dismissed by manufacturers.
During the Austin round of WEC earlier this season, Diuguid stated Porsche’s opposition to any such regulatory changes. Notably, the only alteration to the PPM line-up this season involved a swap between Cameron and Matt Campbell, with Cameron joining Felipe Nasr in IMSA and Campbell partnering Frederic Makowiecki and Michael Christensen in the WEC.
Meanwhile, the pairing of Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet has remained intact in IMSA. In the WEC, Andre Lotterer, Kevin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor have also maintained their alliance and are on track to contend for the Hypercar drivers’ championship.
Source
www.autosport.com