Porsche has confirmed reigning FIA Formula E World Champion Pascal Wehrlein for his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in the Hypercar category.
The 30-year-old will contest his first appearance at the race’s 93rd edition in the third factory 963 Hypercar entrant.
Wehrlein will co-drive the #4 Porsche Penske 963 with IMSA drivers and defending GTP champions Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr.
Tandy and Nasr both won the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12H and will race alongside the team’s FIA World Endurance Championship entries, the #5 and #6 Porsches.
Wehrlein said: “Competing for Porsche Penske Motorsport at Le Mans is a dream come true for me.
“I’m looking forward to this major challenge because, unlike in Formula E, I have to share everything in the Porsche 963 that I would normally tailor specifically to myself: Seating position, setup, strategy, and more.
“Of course, I want to add major titles in other series to my Formula E World Championship victory, but my primary goal is to do a strong job for the team and learn as much as possible.
“Porsche has such an iconic motorsport heritage; I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.”
Da Costa returns to Le Mans since 2023
Wehrlein already made his first appearance in a Porsche 963 at the IMSA-opening 24 Hours of Daytona whereby Porsche Penske scored victory.
Formula E team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa is competing in the 17-strong LMP2 category though Porsche has yet to specify which out of the 17 Oreca 07 LMP2s.
The 33-year-old also competed at Daytona albeit for Inter Europol Competition, who won the iconic Centenary Le Mans race in 2023 when Da Costa last entered the event.
Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, added: “The Porsche driver roster is absolutely top-tier and incredibly deep.
“It only makes sense to leverage our strong personnel from the Formula E factory team for the third Porsche Penske Motorsport entry at Le Mans.
“Pascal Wehrlein has fully convinced us with his performance in testing and his participation in the 24 Hours of Daytona.
“As the reigning Formula E World Champion, he has earned his Le Mans debut at the wheel of a Porsche 963.
“Antonio Felix da Costa, making his seventh start in France, will undoubtedly be among the fastest LMP2 drivers once again.”
Porsche are aiming to add to their 19 outright wins at Le Mans, which is the most out of any manufacturer, later this Summer.
READ MORE: Le Mans 24 Hours provisional entry list features 62 entries
Discussion about this post