GT specialist Laurens Vanthoor got his prototype chance with Porsche and Penske in the World Endurance Championship and grabbed it with both hands.
He was consistently the quickest of the six drivers in the factory 963 LMDhs over the season. That’s all the more impressive given he’d only made three race starts aboard prototype machinery, and always in LMP2, before this year.
The high point came at Fuji, and not just because Porsche posted its most competitive showing on the way to third position. His opportunistic move at the start to take a lead the Porsche would hold for four hours proved that Vanthoor is a real racer at heart.
Laurens Vanthoor on his 2023 prototype breakthrough
“If you are a good driver, you should be able to drive anything. An LMDh is just another racing car with a steering wheel and pedals in front of you and four wheels on the ground. You just need to figure out how it works and then drive it as quick as you can. I don’t buy the idea that you are a prototype driver or a GT driver.
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
Vanthoor, a regular at Le Mans since 2015, made his top class debut at the event this year
“You have to adapt to whatever car you are driving. I wouldn’t have been afraid to get in an LMP1 car a few years back. You have to work at it.
“Last year [2022] was pretty terrible for me in every aspect, so I asked myself a lot of questions through the winter. What could I do better and am I focusing on the wrong things? All kinds of stuff. I think that made me a better driver this year, and also a better person.
“My dream for a while has been to be in the top class of endurance racing and I’m so grateful to get the chance with Porsche and Penske, two great names. I came on the radio after my first lap of Le Mans at the Test Day, and said, ‘This is cool!’
“I always felt good in the 963 right from the very beginning of our test programme last year. I understood the car relatively quickly and knew what I had to do with it to be quick” Laurens Vanthoor
“I approached it with the view that I should always do my job 100%. There were times when we weren’t performing as we wanted to, but I tried not to let the negativity affect my mindset.
Insight: The brothers giving a different perspective to sportscar racing
“Although I’m a driver who has always believed that you have to work hard to be quick in whatever car you are driving, I always felt good in the 963 right from the very beginning of our test programme last year. I understood the car relatively quickly and knew what I had to do with it to be quick.
“Everyone remembers Fuji. That was our race that was really in the spotlight because of what happened at the first corner and that we led for more than half the race. But there were other races where I felt I drove just as well; Portimao and Spa for example. I felt really good in the car both times.”
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Leading a large chunk of the Fuji 6 Hours and finishing on the podium stood out as a highlight for Vanthoor in 2023