- SportsCar365.com reported Tuesday (and the team shared on social media) that
Neel Jani and Max Esterson will drive the No. 85 Porsche 963 for JDC-Miller MotorSports in the Motul Petit Le Mans on Oct. 11 alongside full-timer Tijmen van der Helm. Nico Mueller was originally scheduled to be in the car, but cannot make the trip due to Formula E responsibilities.
Esterson will be making his sports car racing debut. He comes from Formula 2, where he raced in the
first 11 rounds for Trident. He has failed to score a point this season and has a best finish of 10th in the Sprint Race at the Red Bull Ring. His best Feature Race finish is 13th at Silverstone.
Jani has three previous starts at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. He is a two-time Petit Le Mans winner with Rebellion Racing back in 2012 and 2013 when the race was part of the American Le
Mans Series. More recently, he drove for Proton Competition in 2023 in a Porsche 963 where he finished third overall with Gianmaria Bruni and Harry Tincknell.
- Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian released their driver lineups for the Motul Petit Le Mans Tuesday. The lineup features one change of note. Tristan Vautier has been tapped to drive the No. 93 Acura alongside Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly.
The third seat in the No. 93 was Kakunoshin Ohta's at Indianapolis, but he was not scheduled to be in the car for Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Instead, the third seat was supposed to be Alex Palou, but he has opted out of the race.
Vautier has made two starts this season for Proton Competition in a Porsche 963 with a best finish of sixth at
Sebring. At Road Atlanta, he has eight previous WeatherTech starts (seven in Petit Le Mans and one in the six-hour race that ran in place of the Sahlen's Six Hours at the Glen in 2020). His best finishes are a trio of fourths (2018 and both races in 2020).
- Conquest Racing announced Tuesday that Mike Skeen will join the team for the Motul Petit Le Mans alongside full-time drivers Manny Franco and Daniel Serra. It will be the first time that Skeen has raced in WeatherTech since
Sebring.
He was originally signed to run the Michelin Endurance Cup races for Triarsi Competizione in the No. 021 Ferrari. However, that ride went away when full-time drivers Stevan McAleer and Sheena Monk, along with sponsor JG Wentworth, left the team in June.
