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.