Estre Joins TDS for 24H Le Mans LMP2 Entry

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Porsche factory driver Kevin Estre will make a return to LMP2 competition for the first time in over a decade after being confirmed as competing for TDS Racing in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

With Porsche Penske Motorsport withdrawing from the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of last season, Estre was facing the prospect of not competing at Le Mans for the first time since 2014.

However, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship regular has now inked a deal with TDS to crew its Oreca 07 Gibson in the endurance classic, sharing the car with Mathias Beche and debutant Tobias Lutke.

For Estre, this represents a first LMP2 outing since he contested the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of an OAK Racing Ligier JS P2 Honda.

Beche has made sporadic appearances with TDS at Le Mans, including finishing runner-up in the LMP2 Pro-Am class last year with the squad alongside Clement Novalak and Rodrigo Sales.

Canadian Lutke, however, will be making his event debut and is part of the TDS driver roster in the LMP2 ranks of the WeatherTech Championship.

Estre is not the first of Porsche’s WeatherTech Championship drivers to secure an LMP2 Le Mans seat, with Julien Andlauer recently being announced among the Duqueine Team lineup.

Source: Sports Car 365