Motorsport Week spoke with Nico Pino, the youngest driver piloting Proton Competition’s Porsche 963 in WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP competition.
The 20-year-old is one of the rising talents within the thriving, golden era of sportscar racing across the FIA World Endurance Championship and the North American-based IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Compared to other upcoming drivers, however, Pino boasts outgoing experience in sportscar racing having contested his two 24 Hours of Le Mans starts in LMP2 and LMGT3 machinery – the latter of which during his first full WEC season.
Pino stepped up from Euroformula Open Championship into sportscar racing through the LMP3 platform in 2021, contesting the final two rounds of the European Le Mans Series with Centenary Le Mans LMP2-winning outfit Inter Europol Competition.
During the following year, Pino introduced himself to LMP2 machinery in the Asian Le Mans Series and primarily with Duqueine in the ELMS, partnering with 2016 WEC champion and Le Mans winner Neel Jani – and thus interweaving his Le Mans event debut at the 2023 Centenary running,
He then drove with United Autosports during their first season of the LMGT3 category and represented them in their 2024 IMSA Endurance Cup LMP2 driver line-up.
As of this year, he co-drives the #99 Porsche 963 in the WEC with Jani and two-time Le Mans class winner Nico Varrone. Jani and Pino contest IMSA with Tristian Vautier and the one-time addition of Julien Andlauer at the IMSA opener at Daytona.
Reflecting on his step to Hypercar racing
“It’s been a huge learning curve,” Pino told Motorsport Week ahead of the 6 Hours of Imola.
“First time in a Hypercar, we started off at the 24 Hours of Daytona, one of the most demanding races of the year.
“They [Proton] had a lot of running, so you’re learning through the race how the car works, behaves, systems and so on, but I rapidly started getting along with the car.”
Proton’s Daytona lasted 352 laps or 11 hours after they suffered a suspension failure.
“Then we came to Qatar, already in much better shape… And of course it was a difficult race for Porsche in general.
“And then on to Sebring, much better [and] starting to have some battles with the front runners (finished P6).
“It’s been a good season so far, I would say.
“Not in terms of results, but yes in terms of learning and also trying to show what we are able to do on track.”
Pino’s 2025 WEC and IMSA campaigns total 130 hours-worth of endurance races, 46 of which have been undertaken so far.
“I took the decision to go into prototype racing quite early on in my career,” he admitted.
“Of course it was just at the time that prototype racing started growing again so straight away, I aimed to be in the highest categories at the same time being between the (Stellantis Young Driver) Formula E development and also the prototypes in LMP2.
“It’s getting more difficult to jump into a Hypercar seat at this point because manufacturers and so on are already ongoing with their factory programmes.
“So I would say… It just came along together.”
Comparing three steps of Le Mans racing machinery
Pino has climbed up the traditional ladder of prototype racing in the sportscar discipline, having gone from LMP3 – LMP2 – and now Hypercar.
“So the LMP3 and LMP2 are more simple cars, of course the LMP2 is more aerodynamic. Let’s say it’s a formula car with a roof, pretty much nowadays.
“But now that you jump into a LMDh, it’s not completely different; still a prototype but it’s more of a mix between different classes in a way that you have the systems that I would see in a Formula E.
“You have the aerodynamics much lower in a sense than the LMDh has much more weight but more power.
“So you do have to adapt your driving a little bit, you cannot try to overdrive it because with extra weight, the penalty of making a mistake is much bigger.
“So you just have to adapt and build up through it slowly, have to make sure that tyres are on the window because tyres take much longer to heat up.
“It’s a topic in the Hypercar compared to the LMP2 or LMP3, where you just come out of the box and start pushing straight away.”
Settling in at Porsche’s only WEC and IMSA customer team
Proton Competition, aside from the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P Hypercar, is the only privateer team in WEC after JOTA made their switch to a factory effort with Cadillac.
Pino explained what it was like to familiarise himself with the privateer outfit, uniquely participating in both WEC and IMSA championships.
“It’s a very familiar team. I’ve had mechanics coming from different categories in the past so, I knew a few of the mechanics.
“I knew the teammates already so in the end, it’s all very friendly straight away. And everyone has the same aim.
“We have a good team overall – good mechanics, good engineers – and of course we’re constantly learning.
“Now there are going to be a few tracks that suit us the best on the philosophy, but having limited testing impacts a lot on the results at a later stage because you’re always a bit on the back-foot arriving each weekend with only the knowledge from previous years and the cars evolved.
“So overall I would say it’s a very good team to get familiarised with, to work with and also to learn because they are there to help you all the time.”
Pino being the youngest driver in the category
The current golden era of Hypercar racing has created a field crammed with competition as sportscar drivers hail the chance to secure such a seat.
Factory-backed programmes dominate the scene with extensive investment into the effort in addition to utilising their junior programmes to elevate the careers of young, establishing stars into the Hypercar or GTP categories.
There are 52 full-season Hypercar drivers in the WEC, excluding the boosted field for Le Mans, and 39 taking part in IMSA’s Endurance Cup rounds – excluding both the possible additional driver for Daytona.
“You start with less experience than the others,” he said, “but they all have two hands, two legs, one racing helmet.”
“So there’s no other chance than learning faster and being able to fight with the older drivers, more experienced drivers.
“Then you see Neel [Jani] – he is twice my age. So of course there’s a lot to learn from them.
“You are constantly learning, watching videos, trying to understand what they do on-track and then of course get used to it.
“There are not many excuses to give – you cannot say you are too young or whatever.
“In the end it’s your career and you take care of it and of course fight as everyone else is doing.”
An important year to prove Pino belongs in Hypercar
Pino is the only FIA Silver-graded driver in the Hypercar category, though his recent experience in sportscar racing has set an early foundation for his career.
The WEC has already commenced their 2025 season with the Qatar 1812 km and the 6 Hours of Imola on 20 April marks the second round.
Meanwhile in IMSA, after Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, the next Endurance Cup round will be the Six Hours of the Glen on 29 June, two weeks after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Before then, and before Le Mans, Imola and the 6 Hours of Spa on 10 May are Pino’s immediate focus.
“Lately it’s been an important couple of years for me,” he admitted.
“Stepping into LMP2, it was a critical year also to be competitive. Then going into the GT3s in the WEC, doing IMSA and the ELMS was also important to keep the performance.
“And then, yeah, that also came along and brought the opportunity to be in the Hypercar today.
“Every year is as important as the previous one. You just need to take every chance.
“The main goal is to prove you belong within those drivers but at the same time, not overdo it.
“You start making mistakes, crashing, of course it doesn’t show a good image either.
“You need to be fast, take risks, but not make mistakes in the end.
“Try to avoid as many mistakes as possible and learn consistently.
“Just because you did one good race, it does not mean you are at the top all of a sudden.
“You can go from hero-to-zero pretty quickly.”
READ MORE: McLaren announce long-awaited WEC Hypercar programme
