Porsche tweaks Imola WEC driver line-up to prepare for Le Mans

Porsche will run three drivers per automotive moderately than two on the Imola World Endurance Championship spherical in April as a part of its preparations for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport squad will delay its plan to area simply two drivers within the six-hour WEC races till after the second spherical of the 2025 marketing campaign on 20 April, because it gears up for the French enduro in June. 

Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell, regulars with Porsche within the IMSA SportsCar Championship, will be part of the respective #5 and #6 PPM automotive crews in Italy for the second race in succession after the 10-hour season-opener in Qatar on the finish of February. 

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach described operating three drivers per automotive at Imola as “the absolute best preparation we will do” for Le Mans. 

PPM managing director Jonathan Diuguid defined the race at Imola represents one other alternative for the complete Le Mans crews to drive collectively and for Jaminet and Campbell to extend their relationship with the engineer groups on their respective automobiles. 

The German producer is not going to, nevertheless, be capable of deliver them in for the Spa spherical in Might as a result of the race clashes with the IMSA occasion at Laguna Seca. 

Porsche introduced forward of final yr’s WEC Bahrain finale in November that Michael Christensen and Julien Andlauer will drive the #5 entry as a duo within the majority of WEC races and reigning world champions Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor will do likewise in #6. 

It made the transfer as a result of it believes {that a} lowered squad of drivers affords benefits when it comes to seat time throughout follow and fewer compromises on automotive set-up.

Porsche revealed on the similar time that the 2 crews could be bolstered by Jaminet and Campbell for the longer races: Le Mans and the respective 10 and eight-hour occasions in Qatar and Bahrain that bookend the season. 

However Porsche has at all times insisted that it could make use of what it termed a versatile strategy concerning its plan to slim down its common WEC squad to 4 drivers throughout the 2 automobiles. 

Diuguid burdened that no choices had been made concerning the three six-hour races between Le Mans and Bahrain. 

“We don’t should make any choices 1738154554,” he mentioned. “We’re going to do two races with three drivers [Qatar and Imola] and one race with out [a third driver] at Spa, so we’re going to get suggestions from the engineering crew. 

“They may have a seat on the desk – we’re fairly open.”

Diuguid admitted that Porsche may usher in a 3rd driver for one in every of its 963s at Spa to offer expertise to whoever joins its further third entry for Le Mans. 

He mentioned it “is one thing that we now have mentioned”. Porsche has the fitting to a 3rd entry for Le Mans after profitable final yr’s IMSA title, however PPM solely has a complete of eight drivers on its books. 

Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy, winners of final weekend’s IMSA season-opener with Vanthoor, are sure to be within the further Le Mans entry for a 3rd yr – however Porsche is but to verify the identification of the third driver. 

Laudenbach, who stopped wanting confirming that it’s undoubtedly taking over the auto entry, mentioned: “We’ve got eight common drivers and also you want 9 for 3 automobiles. 

“We’ve got bought so many drivers contracted, so we don’t have an issue. For instance we now have Method E drivers, and a few of them have already carried out endurance racing, and so many different expert GT drivers that if it occurs we can have a aggressive third automotive.”

Porsche FE manufacturing facility driver Antonio Felix da Costa is a category winner at Le Mans in LMP2, whereas reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein made his race debut within the 963 at Daytona driving the JDC-Miller MotorSports buyer automotive. 

Nico Muller, who has been positioned with the Andretti FE group after becoming a member of Porsche on the finish of final yr, has raced at Le Mans 3 times. 

Laudenbach refused to debate the possibilities of four-time Method 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel becoming a member of Porsche’s Le Mans assault. 

The German was within the combine for a seat final yr after testing a manufacturing facility 963 at Spain’s Aragon circuit in March, however has not pushed the automotive since.