Hong Kong-based outfit KCMG is planning to contest the 2022 Rolex 24 at Daytona in the newly formed GTD Pro category.
The team would be entering at least one Porsche 911 GT3 R with some level of factory backing at the Florida endurance classic, with the driver line-up also likely to feature Porsche factory drivers.
Philippe Charissoux, KCMG team principal, told Endurance-Info that the team is looking to contest the twice-around-the-clock enduro, which forms the season opener for the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
“KCMG will have a GTD Pro car at the 24 Hours of Daytona next January,” Charissoux said. “The number of cars and drivers remains to be confirmed.
“After Spa, we will think about 2022. We have to give ourselves a third year at the Nürburgring [24] with Porsche.”
“The idea is clearly to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the [overall] victory. When, how, with whom, that remains to be determined.”
The team is set to contest this weekend’s Spa 24 Hours with a factory-backed Porsche effort, featuring factory driver Laurens Vanthoor alongside Nick Tandy and Le Mans class winner Maxime Martin.
The team has itself previously taken a class win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 in 2015, while it has also previously raced Porsche machinery in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
KCMG’s plans to run a customer-based 911 GT3 R with factory support in GTD Pro lines up with comments previously made by Porsche’s Director of Factory Motorsport Pascal Zurlinden, who has commented that Porsche will not run full factory squads in GTD Pro, but would offer factory support to customer squads.
Charissoux, meanwhile, expressed the ambition for KCMG and team owner Paul Ip to step into the LMDh category, although stated it was a long term goal.
“LMDh with Porsche makes sense,” he said. “There can be different opportunities even if you don’t know if it’s good to be there, from the start or to wait a bit.
“KCMG’s beginnings go back to 2007 and Paul is 43 years old. So we can afford to wait a bit. Going to Le Mans in GT can also be a step even if the idea is to eventually run in the premier class.”
