Gianmaria Bruni will race a Porsche 963 LMDh in 2025 despite losing his factory deal with the German manufacturer after signing with JDC-Miller MotorSports for the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The four-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner will contest the full season with the US team in its solo customer 963 alongside Tijmen van der Helm in place of Richard Westbrook, who called time on his driving career at the end of last season.
PLUS: Why Richard Westbrook has called time on his fairytale sportscar career
They will be joined in the GTP class entry for the season-opening Daytona 24 Hours on 25/26 January by 2023/24 Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein.
IndyCar driver Bryce Aron was also listed in the car on the release of the first entry list for Daytona in December, with a confirmation of JDC-Miller’s full line-up for the IMSA curtain-raiser expected in the coming days.
Bruni is moving over from the Proton Competition privateer Porsche with which he raced in IMSA and the World Endurance Championship over the past two seasons, during which time he did not have a seat in a factory Porsche team.
The 43-year-old Italian took part in the official IMSA test at Daytona in November with JDC-Miller.
Team boss John Church said: “We are incredibly excited to have Gimmi in the JDC-Miller family.
“His impressive track record and deep understanding of sportscar racing speak for themselves.
#85: JDC-Miller MotorSports, Porsche 963, GTP: Tijmen van der Helm, Oliver Gray, Gianmaria Bruni, Pascal Wehrlein, Chris Miller
Photo by: IMSA
“We believe his experience and skill will be instrumental in our pursuit of success.”
Bruni added that he is “very motivated” and “expects to see great results” with the team in 2025.
He contested the second half of both the WEC and IMSA series in 2023 with Proton before concentrating on North America last season.
It is possible he could continue with Proton with a drive in the WEC this year.
The German team has so far only confirmed Neel Jani, another former Porsche factory driver, for its 2025 world championship campaign.
It will field its second 963 in the five long-distance races that make up the IMSA Endurance Cup rather than the full schedule.
Jani is listed in the car for Daytona and is expected to contest all five enduros.
In this article
Gary Watkins
IMSA
Gianmaria Bruni
JDC/Miller Motorsports
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