Porsche formalizes its 2023 crews in WEC and IMSA

Porsche has revealed the composition of its crews which will participate in the WEC and IMSA championships in 2023 with its new prototype, the 963 LMDh.

Published on 18/12/2022 à 09:00

Dorian Grangier

0 View comments)

Porsche formalizes its 2023 crews in WEC and IMSA

Big names in Endurance will have the chance to drive the new Porsche 963 © LAT Images

It was eagerly awaited, now it is known: the composition of the crews Porsche en WEC and IMSA was revealed on Saturday evening, during the traditional “Night of Champions” organized by the German manufacturer. If the identity of the 10 drivers who will take part in the 2023 campaign was already known, Porsche-Penske has revealed the distribution in the two championships, with the presence of three French people in the squad.

In the World ChampionshipEndurance (WEC), in the Hypercar category, the No. 5 will be shared between Dane Cameron, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki. In No. 6, we will find the triple winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, André Lotterer, accompanied by Laurens Vanthoor and Kévin Estre. Estre and Christensen, used to driving together in GTE-Pro in the WEC championship, will therefore be in two different crews next year.

In the IMSA championship, in the GTP category, Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet will team up in the No. 6, and will be joined by Dane Cameron for the 24 Hours of Daytona. In the No. 7, Felipe Nasr and Matt Campbell will join forces to participate in the North American competition, alongside Michael Christensen for the Florida event. Cameron and Christensen could regain the IMSA championship at other Endurance Cup events, particularly at Sebring and Petit Le Mans.

Six more factory drivers for Porsche

In addition to its regular drivers, Porsche also announced that Gianmaria Bruni, Romain Dumas, Richard Lietz and Thomas Preining will also be part of the contingent of 2023 factory drivers. Antonio Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein, entered in the Porsche team factory in Formula E, complete the “pool” of official Porsche drivers. Detailed pilot programs are still being finalized. The Stuttgart firm also confirmed the supply of the 963 to customer teams, namely JDC Miller MotorSports in IMSA as well as Jota Sport and Proton Competition in WEC. However, due to a delay in supply, the 963 customers should only be available from April for these three teams.

Beyond the LMDh, the German brand has confirmed its participation in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. “Currently, the potential drivers are Michael Christensen, Kévin Estre, Frédéric Makowiecki, Nick Tandy and Thomas Preining as well as former Porsche Junior driver, Ayhancan Güven”, specifies the manufacturer.

The composition of the Porsche crews: 

WEC – Porsche-Penske n°5: Dane Cameron – Michael Christensen – Frédéric Makowiecki

WEC – Porsche-Penske n°6: André Lotterer – Kévin Estre – Laurens Vanthoor

IMSA – Porsche-Penske n°6: Nick Tandy – Mathieu Jaminet (+ Dane Cameron at Daytona)

IMSA – Porsche-Penske n°7: Felipe Nasr – Matt Campbell (+ Michael Christensen at Daytona)

ALSO READ > Ferrari, Porsche, BMW… an update on the LMH and LMDh projects

Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

0 View comments)