Porsche Penske Motorsport has announced its driver lineup for June’s Le Mans 24 Hours and Mathieu Jaminet will share the #4 963 with fellow factory drivers Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy.
Porsche Penske Motorsports has announced it will field drivers Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, therefore Sebastian Vettel will not be racing for the outfit in the French endurance classic.
The two full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers will pilot the No. 4 Porsche 963 alongside Mathieu Jaminet, as confirmed by an updated entry list released by FIA WEC on Monday.
Sebastien Vettel was widely anticipated to be Penske’s third 963 driver at Le Mans 24 Hours after the four-time Formula 1 World Champion tested with the team earlier this year. However, the German has not been included in the team for the race.
Instead it has confirmed the same trio of IMSA GTP drivers that took part in the centenary running of the French endurance classic last year when Nasr, Tandy and Jaminet drove the No. 75 car. Meanwhile, the #5 and #6 sister cars will be shared by the regular Penske WEC crews, with Dane Cameron on standby as a reserve driver for the race.
“After announcing the entry of a third car in Le Mans, we still had two driver positions available,” said Urs Kuratle, Porsche’s director of factory LMDh motorsport. “The decision was not easy for us given our very strong and equally skilled squad.
“Ultimately, one of the deciding factors was having Le Mans experience. Nick Tandy has competed there eleven times and won with Porsche in 2015. Felipe Nasr has four races at the Sarthe under his belt.
“Moreover, the trio impressed us with strong lap times and great teamwork during their joint campaign at Le Mans in 2023.”
Across the team’s lineup of factory drivers for Hypercar this year, the nine drivers and reserve driver Dane Cameron have four overall wins, five class victories and a total of 75 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“By fielding the third car in Le Mans, we want to maximize our chances of achieving a possible 20th overall victory for Porsche,” said Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomas Laudenbach. “This also means that we rely on experienced and fast drivers.
“Over the past few months Mathieu, Felipe and Nick have consistently impressed with powerful performances in the North American IMSA series. The three are a sure thing in the Porsche 963.
“I’m positive that we’re perfectly prepared for the highlight in June. We want to win – there can be no other goal for Porsche!”
All driver lineups for the 92nd edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours have been confirmed, with a number of TBCs across all classes now filled up. Peugeot, which had four names not yet listed across its pair of 9X8 Hypercars, has named its regular full-season FIA World Endurance Championship driver combinations.
As confirmed earlier on Monday, Felipe Drugovich will drive the No. 311 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R alongside Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken.
Alpine has listed Ferdinand Habsburg aboard the No. 35 Alpine A424 alongside Paul-Loup Chatin and Charles Milesi. He will be replaced at this weekend’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps by reserve driver Jules Gounon.
In the LMP2 class, Proton Competition European Le Mans Series regular Bent Viscaal has been confirmed aboard the No. 9 Oreca 07 Gibson alongside Maceo Capietto and Jonas Ried. Meanwhile, Viscaal effectively replaces Matteo Cairoli, who will pilot the No. 19 Lamborghini SC63 in the Hypercar class instead.
Alex Quinn has been named as the final driver aboard the No. 14 AO by TF entry, teaming up with PJ Hyett and Louis Deletraz. Nielsen Racing has revamped the lineup for its No. 24 car, with Albert Costa replaced and the British squad welcoming Kyffin Simpson and Fabio Scherer alongside David Heinemeier Hansson.
