Julien Andlauer jubilated in stepping up to the Porsche Penske factory effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the 2025 season.
“It was a big achievement,” he told Motorsport Week at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
“The word is like—finally! Finally, I’m able to join the factory programme.
“I’ve worked very hard over the last few years to get there, and I think it’s a bit deserved.
“I’m really happy to join the programme because it’s been very successful, especially last year. I’m super proud to be part of it.”
Andlauer, aged 24, progressed through five WEC seasons with the Proton customer team in GTE-Am and Hypercar, before earning a spot in Porsche’s works lineup.
He now shares the #5 Porsche 963 with former GTE-Pro champion Michael Christensen and ex-Peugeot Hypercar driver Nico Müller.
The trio will be joined by Mathieu Jaminet at Le Mans, who co-drove with them at the Qatar 1812 km season-opener.
“It’s been a great journey,” Andlauer added. “Becoming a factory driver was an objective, something I really wanted to achieve.”
Despite the milestone, the start to his 2025 campaign has been challenging, having scored two points so far from the 10-hour Qatar race.
“It’s maybe not the ideal start to the season—missing a bit of performance and also execution.
“We’re not perfect, so there’s work to do on both sides to pick up performance and execute better on track. But there’s a good feeling and good mood, so I’m confident we can bounce back.”
The #5 crew currently sit 12th in the standings as they target a stronger result in the third round of the WEC on Saturday, 10 May, among the mixture of manufacturers in the 18-strong Hypercar field.
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