Proton Competition’s brand-new Porsche 963 is set to make its FIA WEC Hypercar debut, after being added to the provisional 37-car entry list for the six-hour race at Monza in July.
The new 963 is the third customer LMDh chassis to be released by Porsche after JOTA and JDC-Miller received their cars last month.
As expected, Gianmaria Bruni and Harry Tincknell are listed to drive the Proton 963. The driver who will take the third seat is currently not confirmed.
The addition of Proton’s #99 963 brings the total number of Hypercars for the event to 13, matching the record high set a Spa for an FIA WEC race outside of Le Mans. The 963 also replaces Proton’s #88 GTE Am class Porsche 911 RSR 19, which had been present at the season’s opening rounds, bringing the number of GTE Am cars down to 13.
The only other car that competed at Spa which will not make the trip to Italy, is the #3 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, which competed at Spa as a one-off opportunity as part of the GM brand’s pre-Le Mans preparations.
Elsewhere on the Hypercar entry list, Glickenhaus’ effort goes back to a single car after its two-car outing at Le Mans with the 007. Only Romain Dumas is currently listed to drive the #708.
United Autosports again employ their pair of ‘Supersubs’ Ben Hanley in for Felipe Albuquerque in the #22 Oreca, Giedo van der Garde in for Tom Blomqvist in the #23, both otherwise engaged with IMSA at Mosport/ CTMP.
There’s another change in LMP2 with Mathias Beche listed in the #63 Prema Oreca, Mirko Bortolotti racing on the same weekend at the DTM’s Blue Riband Norisring demolition derby.
And in GTE Am, there is a blank in AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, in the seat previously filled by Diego Alessi and Stefano Costantini earlier in the season. Julien Piguet is due to drive the car alongside full-season drivers Simon Mann and Ulysse de Pauw at Le Mans next month.
Featured image courtesy of Porsche
