Swiss driver Neel Jani has been named as the third man in the driver line-up for Porsche‘s return to the LMP1 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) next season.
The 29-year-old was part of the Rebellion Racing squad at the weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 2013 event his fourth start in the race and his third under the Rebellion banner, after converting to sportscars after a single-seater career that included successful stints in A1GP and Champcar as well as time as a test driver for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
He will complete the season with the team in both the WEC and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) as well as testing the Porsche design with Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard.
“To compete for Porsche in the sports car World Endurance Championship WEC and at the Le Mans 24 Hours is a dream come true,” said Jani. “I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel for the first time and contributing my test driving experience. Porsche is incomparable with any other marque in sports car racing and I’m proud to now be a part of the Porsche works team. My goal is to win the Le Mans 24 Hours and secure the WEC World Championship title with Porsche. I don’t just want to build on Porsche’s successful history, I want to add a new chapter.”
“Neel Jani is extremely talented and is currently one of the best sports car pilots altogether. I’m delighted that we can already confirm three drivers for the 2014 season of the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours,” says Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG.
Porsche’s LMP1 design broke cover for the first time earlier this month, Bernhard completing initial shakedown laps around the manufacturer’s Weissach test track.
