Laurens Vanthoor will continue his career in endurance racing with McLaren in 2027, which marks ‘the end’ of his extensive journey with Porsche. It wasn’t an easy choice, considering how long he has been one of the faces of the Stuttgart-based marque. Vanthoor looks forward to this new step at the same time.
On May 8 McLaren and Vanthoor announced that the two endurance giants were going to join forces. The British outfit will return to the World Endurance Championship in 2027, with their Hypercar debuting in Le Mans that year too. Vanthoor still has a dream: to win the 24-hour race overall in France.
Porsche’s withdrawal from WEC made the Belgian driver look for other opportunities. “I’ve won everything I wanted to win in my career,” Vanthoor says in an exclusive interview with GT REPORT. “It’s always been my dream. It got me thinking what would be the best future for me.”
Vanthoor goes Papaya
His departure at Porsche was not planned, having been with the German manufacturer since 2017, but he looks at things realistically: “I’m 35 years old now. I’m not near the end of my career, but it’s not like I have fifteen more years. I thought it was time to chase that dream,” Vanthoor adds.
“When McLaren announced that they would be participating in WEC, that already sounded attractive. From there I had good conversations with McLaren, with James Barclay. I think Porsche understood that I wanted to chase that Le Mans dream, and they cooperated.”
Vanthoor expresses his gratitude for Porsche not blocking the way for him to join McLaren. “It was a stressful time, and not easy to get it all done, but now we’re here,” he says. He still has a contract with Porsche until the end of the year and will, as he announced on his social media already, stay with Porsche Penske Motorsport in IMSA in 2027 as the third driver for the endurance rounds.
The first British chapter of his career is coming up, as he looks back at extensive partnerships with Audi and Porsche – both German marques. “It’s a new challenge. I’ve raced for German manufacturers for years and now I’m switching to a British team. I think it will be different from Porsche,” he says – positively.
Eyes on the IMSA championship
Vanthoor will not be joining this year’s edition of the 24 hours of Le Mans, but Porsche colleagues Kévin Estre and Julien Andlauer will, both joining LMP2 line-ups instead of competing in the Hypercar class. As Andlauer told GT REPORT, it still feels rather weird to not be at Le Mans with Porsche.
“It’s a bit weird for me in general to watch the WEC races on TV!” Vanthoor laughs a little. “Normally I’d be there. It’s not nice not to be there [this year].”
The 2024 FIA WEC champion has to wait until around this time next year to be back on the Le Mans grid. For now, full focus is on getting the IMSA championship and rounding off the partnership with Porsche in the best way possible. “It’s always a bit weird, knowing you’d be there for only a year,” he says.
“Nevertheless, the goal for me and Kévin is to win the championship. We won the WEC championship already, and it would be a great achievement for both of us, looking at the future plans we have.”
‘Sidequesting’ at the Nordschleife
Vanthoor continues with praise for Laurin Heinrich, who will join the Porsche Penske Motorsport programme full time next year. The two already shared the car on multiple occasions this year, including the N24, in the #24 Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo. Together with Ricardo Feller, they drove to P6 overall.
An impressive feat, considering how tough the weekend was for them. “I did do some simulator work, but that was before the Detroit IMSA race. I can’t call it a sidequest, but it actually was,” he laughs. “It was established a little bit last minute, and I didn’t know the team very well. We made the best of it,” he explains.
While Vanthoor dreams of that Le Mans win, the Nordschleife remains a special track too. He won the N24 in 2015. “This track gives you one of the biggest adrenaline rushes. There’s no room for error. If you drive on the absolute limit with a good car, it’s very exciting.”
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