Formula E champion Wehrlein to make Daytona 24 debut in Porsche LMDh

Reigning Formula E champion Pascal Wehrlein will join Porsche customer JDC-Miller for his maiden outing in the Daytona 24 Hours next month.

The factory Porsche driver will share the #85 963 LMDh with Tijmen van der Helm and Bryce Aron in the blue riband round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship on 25-26 January, 2025.

The announcement follows Wehrlein making a surprise appearance with JDC-Miller in last month’s IMSA-sanctioned test at the Daytona International Speedway, where he got to grips with the championship-winning 963 prototype.

The German had previously driven the Porsche LMDh when it was still in development stages in 2022. He was then believed to be in contention for a seat with the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport team in the World Endurance Championship, although this never came to fruition.

“I’ve always wanted to drive sports cars – that’s one of my goals as a racing driver,” said the 30-year-old, who started the 2024/25 Formula E season with pole position in the Sao Paulo opener.

“Now I have the opportunity to prove myself there too. I’m very happy about that! The test drives with JDC-Miller MotorSports in mid-November went well. 

“The Porsche 963 reminded me of the DTM cars of my time – I felt comfortable. I’m currently recovering from my accident in São Paulo. But I want to get back to full speed in January.”

Wehrlein, who won the 2015 DTM title with Mercedes prior to his move to Formula 1 and later Formula E, won’t be the only Porsche Formula E driver on the 2025 Daytona grid.

His team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa will get behind the wheel of an ORECA 07 entered by Inter Europol Competition in the LMP2 class, sharing driving duties with Tom Dillmann, Bijoy Garg and Jon Field.

Da Costa has extensive sportscar experience from his time in the WEC, including a 2023 campaign with then-Porsche customer Jota. This would be his first appearance in the Florida endurance classic since 2018 when he drove the ORECA LMP2 prototype for the Jota-run Jackie Chan DC outfit.

“I’m very happy to finally be able to attack at the 24 Hours of Daytona again – especially with the LMP2 championship-winning team from the last IMSA season,” he said.

“Inter Europol has achieved great things in recent years. The team is therefore perfect for my return to the LMP2 class. I can hardly wait to finally get started and work with the team and my teammates.”

Porsche will be represented by four GTP cars in the IMSA season opener, with a pair of factory-entered 963 LMDhs complemented by one entry each from JDC-Miller and Proton Competition.