{"id":636560,"date":"2026-04-28T16:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T16:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/636560\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T16:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T16:36:13","slug":"laurens-vanthoor-addresses-porsche-future-le-mans-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/636560\/","title":{"rendered":"Laurens Vanthoor Addresses Porsche Future, Le Mans Absence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For the first time since 2017, Laurens Vanthoor has no plans to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.<\/p>\n

Following Porsche Penske Motorsport\u2019s withdrawal from the FIA World Endurance Championship, Vanthoor admits that it\u2019s more likely he\u2019ll be watching the race from home, instead of following IMSA teammates K\u00e9vin Estre and Julien Andlauer into LMP2 drives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do admit \u2013 sorry for the language \u2013 it sucks a bit. I was also watching (the 6 Hours of) Imola on TV. Not gonna hide it, I would have loved to have been there,\u201d Vanthoor said during a media conference ahead of this weekend\u2019s StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying that I would trade frames or whatever, but, you know, I\u2019ve been there the last couple of years. Especially Le Mans is something which is very close to my heart, but I\u2019m not planning to go there this year, not in a race car. Maybe I\u2019ll be there for whatever, this sometimes comes last-minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andlauer will drive for Duqueine Team in a car he\u2019ll share with Richard Verschoor and Doriane Pin, and Vanthoor\u2019s co-driver Estre will drive for TDS Racing alongside Tobias L\u00fctke and Mathias Beche.<\/p>\n

But an LMP2 one-off didn\u2019t appeal to Vanthoor as much. \u201cI understand why K\u00e9vin does it, and Julien, for example \u2013 but I didn\u2019t see the added value for myself. I like to work with a team long-term and build toward that race. And you know, showing up for one event is not easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout it sounding stupid or cocky, we were that close to the victory last year, and I\u2019ve won it in class in the past. My only dream left is to win it overall, and that\u2019s the only thing I feel I\u2019ve left to achieve there. So unless it\u2019s for that, I don\u2019t see the added value for me to go there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I\u2019ll be watching on TV\u2026but that\u2019s the way it goes sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, Vanthoor nearly accomplished the unpredecented feat of winning all three Triple Crown of Endurance Racing events \u2013 Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans \u2013 in the same calendar year. He, along with Estre and Matt Campbell, finished second at Le Mans for Porsche Penske.<\/p>\n

The rumor mill has been buzzing with speculation as to whether the current crop of Porsche works drivers will stick around: New manufacturers like Genesis, McLaren, and Ford have just entered or are planning to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship, offering a more immediate ticket back to Le Mans in the wake of Porsche\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n

But although overall victory at Le Mans remains a goal for Vanthoor, he stated his desire to continue as a Porsche factory driver as he\u2019s been for nearly a decade. \u201cI\u2019ve been dreaming to be part of this project with Porsche and Penske since the beginning, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any driver in the paddock who doesn\u2019t dream to be part of two names like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s, for sure, unfortunate that we stopped racing at Le Mans. But I\u2019m almost now ten years at Porsche, and I will be at Porsche for longer,\u201d Vanthoor declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see what the future brings if plans change or anything else, but that\u2019s the situation at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feature image \u00a9 Dailysportscar.com<\/p>\n

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