Porsche confirms Kevin Estre in final GTE Pro WEC full-season seat - MotorSportsTalk

Porsche has confirmed that Kevin Estre will join its full-season line-up in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s GTE Pro class.

Porsche’s factory effort returns to GT competition in the WEC this year after a season away, with a mid-engined 911 RSR set to battle with rivals Ford, Ferrari and Aston Martin for GTE Pro class honors.

Porsche confirmed at its Night of Champions event that 2015 champions Michael Christensen and Richard Lietz would be joined by Frederic Makowiecki for 2017, with the fourth full-season seat left open.

Ferrari factory driver Gianmaria Bruni had been in the running for the drive, only for the terms of his exit from Maranello to prevent him from joining Porsche until July.

As a result, Porsche factory driver Estre will take the fourth full-season WEC seat, as confirmed by the German marque on Thursday.

Lietz and Makowiecki will share the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR in 2017, with Estre racing alongside Christensen in the No. 92 entry.

“In the fight for the maiden GT World Championship title in the FIA WEC we’ve put together two strong driver pairings,” head of Porsche motorsport Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser said.

“And all four pilots come from the world’s best GT hotbed of talent, Porsche’s one-make race series.”

The new WEC season begins with the 6 Hours of Silverstone on April 16.

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With three multiple winners now vying for the championship, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads to Round 11 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Chase Sexton earned his second victory of the season in Detroit when Aaron Plessinger fell on the final lap. Though he was penalized seven points for disobeying a flag, Sexton is third in the championship race. The Honda rider trails leader Cooper Webb (two victories) by 17 points, and defending series champion Eli Tomac (five wins) is three points behind Webb in second with seven races remaining.

Tomac won last year in Seattle on the way to his second season title.

Honda riders have a Supercross-leading 20 victories in the Seattle event but none at Lumen Field since Justin Barcia in 2013. Tomac and Barcia are the only past 450 Seattke winners entered in Saturday’s event.

Here are the pertinent details for watching Round 11 of the 2023 Supercross season in Seattle:

(All times are ET)

BROADCAST/STREAMING SCHEDULE: TV coverage of Round 11 will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock with a re-air Monday at 1 a.m. ET on CNBC. The Race Day Live show (including qualifying) will begin on Peacock at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

NBC Sports will have exclusive live coverage of races, qualifiers and heats for the record 31 events in SuperMotocross. The main events will be presented on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock will become the home of the SuperMotocross World Championship series in 2023 with live coverage of all races, qualifying, and heats from January to October. There will be 23 races livestreamed exclusively on Peacock, including a SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff event. The platform also will provide on-demand replays of every race. Click here for the full schedule.

POINTS STANDINGS: 450 division l 250 division

ENTRY LISTS: 450 division l 250 division

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET):

Here are the start times for Saturday’s Supercross Round 11 in Seattle, according to the Monster Energy Supercross schedule from the AMA:

4:50 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 1
5:05 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:20 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:35 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 1
6:25 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 2
6:40 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 2
7:55 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 2
8:10 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 2
10:06 p.m.: 250SX Heat 1
10:20 p.m.: 250SX Heat 2
10:34 p.m.: 450SX Heat 1
10:48 p.m.: 450SX Heat 2
11:22 p.m.: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:34 p.m.: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:54 p.m.: 250SX Main Event
12:28 a.m.: 450SX Main Event