Proton Competition has announced its full driver lineup for the 24 Hours of Daytona, the curtain raiser for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Proton debuted the Porsche 963 GTP machine last year at Road America, achieving a best result of third in the season-ending Petit Le Mans 10-hour entrance at Road Atlanta, beating both factory-run Penske Porsches.
“In order to be successful at Daytona, you need a perfectly prepared car, fast drivers and a strong team,” said Team owner Christian Ried.
“Together with our partners, we’ve worked hard to create the best possible conditions for a successful start to the new motorsport year.”
This year’s 24-hour endurance at Daytona marks Proton’s debut with the 963 at the world-famous speedway, where they will also debut the brand-new Ford Mustang GT3 machine in the GTD class.
Joining full-time drivers Neil Jani and Gianmaria Bruni in the Mustang Sampling-liveried #5 963 are Romain Dumas and Alessio Picariello.
The addition of Dumas at Daytona brings a driver with a decorated CV in endurance racing – with the 46-year-old having recently competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Glickenhaus, and every Le Mans 24 Hours since 2001.
A two-time Le Mans winner (the second being with Porsche in 2016), Dumas is currently competing in the Dakar Rally aboard a Toyota Hilux run by Rebellion Racing, lying 32nd overall after Stage 4.
Dumas returns to the Daytona 24 for the first time since 2019, when he finished fourth behind the wheel of a Nissan DPi.
Picariello meanwhile, is a Daytona addition well-acquainted with the Proton set-up after winning the GTE class title in the European Le Mans Series with the team in 2023.
This year’s Daytona enduro is his first since his debut in 2022 and will be the first time he competes in the top class.
The team’s debut with the #55 1st Phorm Mustang will see Ford factory driver Dennis Olsen join the squad in a Daytona-only capacity, with the four-strong driver lineup completed by the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup competitor Ryan Hardwick and full-season pairing Corey Lewis and Giammarco Levorato.
Hardwick makes the jump across the Atlantic after a successful campaign in Proton’s ELMS GTE efforts in 2023.
The same goes for full-time driver Levorato, who finished runner-up in the ELMS GTE Drivers’ standings last year with Proton.
Lewis joins from Paul Miller Racing with whom he won the GTD class with at Daytona in 2020.
Proton will have much to live up to at Daytona this year, after achieving a double-class victory in 2023 in LMP2 with an Oreca-07 Gibson and in GTD Pro with the WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The 24-hour enduro takes place across 27-28 January, with the three-day warm up ‘Roar Before the 24’ event commencing on January 19.
