Kevin Estre appears poised to undertake two premier-class campaigns next season, splitting time between the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship, a rare cross-manufacturer arrangement.
The French racer, holder of the 2024 Hypercar world title with Porsche Penske Motorsport, is slated to return to WeatherTech for a second full season, while also edging toward a WEC stint with Toyota Racing, probably taking over from Mike Conway in the endurance lineup.
Estre affirmed his intention to race full-time in WeatherTech with Porsche Penske, saying, “I’m planning to stay for another year,” during an interview with Sportscar365 at Road America last weekend.
Asked whether he would pursue an additional program amid growing speculation about a move to Toyota’s WEC operation, he replied: “I’m not sure about that. For the moment I’m focused on IMSA.”
“This is the one which I’m sure I’m going to be with Porsche next year here and let’s see for the rest.”
Nevertheless, Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach indicated that Estre and other drivers could explore WEC opportunities, given the German manufacturer’s absence from the world championship’s premier class this year.
In May it was announced that Estre’s longtime co-driver Laurens Vanthoor would split duties between two manufacturers next season, contesting the full WEC season with McLaren’s new Hypercar project and the trio of endurance races in WeatherTech with Porsche Penske.
This agreement preceded the release of the 2027 WEC schedule, which, unlike in previous years, avoids direct race clashes between the IMSA GTP and WEC seasons.
“Our philosophy [was to have] drivers just in our programs,” Laudenbach told Sportscar365. “Then we decided the WEC engagement, and I think it’s fair, and we always try to find solutions together with our drivers.
“Of course many of them would love to race Le Mans, where we do not participate, at least not in the Hypercar class.
“Yes, we try to find solutions which probably two years ago we would not have supported.
“The main point is that we always want to be a good partner also to our drivers and we try to find solutions with them.
“The answer is: yes, we are always prepared to talk about it, as long as long as we do not sacrifice our own program.”
Laudenbach said the no-clash situation for next year is a “door opener” for a Porsche factory driver to contest the full WEC season with another manufacturer.
It’s believed that Estre could be confirmed at Toyota by as early as next month’s round at Fuji Speedway, when Conway’s departure could be made official.
One Seat Yet to Be Announced At Porsche Penske for 2027
Confirmation that Estre will, at least, continue full-time with Porsche Penske means that the team already has its core drivers locked in.
As previously announced, Laurin Heinrich will step into season-long seat with the factory GTP squad, while Laudenbach indicated that both Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr will also be back.
However, the identity of the sixth driver, who would join Vanthoor on endurance-only duties, has yet to be announced.
Laudenbach said that driver, who would replace the Ford-bound Matt Campbell in the lineup, has already been confirmed internally.
“Where we are right now, I’m quite pleased because I still think we have a very strong driver lineup, and that’s important,” he said.
Sportscar365 believes that Nico Mueller would be the most logical driver, given his previous race experience with the Porsche 963 in a two-race program with JDC-Miller Motorsports last year.
The 34-year-old Swiss driver is a factory Porsche pilot in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, with the 2026-27 schedule not having clashes with either the Rolex 24 at Daytona or Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
When asked by Sportscar365, Mueller downplayed a full season program in sports cars but admitted he’d be be open to contesting “some events here and there.”
“At the moment the focus is really on Formula E,” said Mueller. “It’s exciting times with Gen4 coming. I have done a lot of development work, and I really can’t wait to see those cars race and experience that. That’s really in my head at the moment.”
“But there’s no question that in the back of my head, there’s always a passion for sports car racing.”
“I did Le Mans this year [in LMP2], I really enjoyed it, and at one point I want to be back fighting for victory there. But I am not that old yet that I feel like time is ticking. So my focus is here [in Formula E].”
“If you want to become world champion [in FE], and that’s my goal, you can’t make too many compromises.”
“That’s very much Porsche’s focus as well. We’ll see. Hopefully the door is open to doing some events here and there, but I think two full championships would be hard.”
Jamie Klein contributed to this report
