Yifei Ye ready to tackle 1000 Miles of Sebring while Porsche 963 takes on WEC and IMSA

Chinese talent Ye begins his maiden WEC campaign with the trip stateside for Hertz Team JOTA alongside Will Stevens and David Beckmann. The British squad completed last weekend’s Prologue at the same venue, finishing second in the LMP2 class.

Porsche Penske Motorsport will also be competing on the Florida track with their quartet of Porsche 963, in both the WEC opener and in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

The German marque’s LMDh machine is set to make its WEC debut, as a pair of Porsche 963 take on Sebring’s infamously bumpy surface. The outing will be the car’s second official race appearance, following its IMSA debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January.

Meanwhile in Asia, four Porsche entries will represent the brand at the Sepang 12 Hours, with the race returning for the first time since 2016. Malaysian duo Adrian D’Silva and Nazim Azman will team up with New Zealander Reid Harker in EBM Giga Racing’s #16 Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2). Modena Motorsports’ John Shen, Francis Tjia and Christian Chia will also race in a Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2), while reigning GT World Challenge Asia GT3-Am champions AMAC Motorsport compete in the #51 Porsche 911 GT3 R (991), driven by Andrew Macpherson, Ben Porter and Andre Heimgartner. Finally, FM Motorsport x Silver Rocket complete the contingent, with Simon Chan, Li Jia and Shaun Thong piloting a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the GT Cup Class.

Yifei Ye, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver: “We had a successful two days at the Prologue last weekend and it felt great to finally be back on track with my new team Hertz Team JOTA. I knew how challenging Sebring was going to be as a circuit, but I adapted well and really enjoyed it by the end. We completed our testing programme successfully and we’re ready to tackle the upcoming race. The field is strong but we are confident in ourselves and will look to keep improving throughout the week and be ready to race on Friday.”

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “After a long off-season, it’s fantastic to have racing back. The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Official Test Days in Sepang went well last weekend, and we’ve got plenty more action in the coming days. We’re really excited for Yifei’s programme this year, he had a strong season in 2022 so it’s going to be great to closely follow his progress with Hertz Team JOTA. Of course the Porsche Hypercar programme is massive for the brand, so to have both the WEC opener and the next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship back-to-back at Sebring is brilliant. Finally, we’re very happy to see the return of the Sepang 12 Hours with four Porsche entries on the grid. Best of luck to everyone racing this weekend!”