Tincknell joins Proton Porsche for Le Mans GTE Am assault
Two-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Harry Tincknell has received a late call-up for this year's edition of the French enduro with the Proton Porsche team in GTE Am.
The Briton, who won LMP2 in 2014 and GTE Pro in 2021 respectively, will race the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR as part of an all-new line-up for the double-points round of the World Endurance Championship on 21/22 August.
Tincknell has replaced Porsche factory driver Patrick Long as the professional in the car.
Porsche Carrera Cup France frontrunner Florian Latorre and Thai Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, pro-am title winner in the GT World Challenge Asia in 2019, will be the other drivers in place of Gian Luca Giraudi and Felipe Laser.
Tincknell explained that his relationship with Multimatic Motorsport, which runs the Mazda he drives in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, had facilitated what will be his eighth Le Mans start.
PLUS: Why Le Mans' hidden gem will produce its most unpredictable race
"Multimatic, Proton and Porsche have a close relationship, and I'm going there as part of a package along with engineers and mechanics," he told Autosport.
Tincknell revealed that it is planned for him to take part in Sunday's official Le Mans test day in the car.
He is in Berlin for this weekend's Formula E finale in his role as Audi reserve driver, but he is due to fly to France in time to drive the Proton Porsche in the test.
"All being well and if nothing untoward happens with the [Audi] drivers, I'll be able to head to France after the first race on Saturday," he explained.
#99 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR: Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, Lucas Légeret, Julien Andlauer
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
"It will be my first experience of a Porsche and it's all a bit last-minute, so I'm going to need every lap I can get.
"I want to make the most of the opportunity, but I know it is not going to be easy because GTE Am is highly competitive."
Inthraphuvasak, who made his Le Mans debut last year with Proton, and Latorre were able to test the car at Spa last weekend.
Proton is running four Porsches at Le Mans this year in the Am class: one as Proton Competition, two as Dempsey-Proton and the Absolute Racing entry.
It is also fielding the WeatherTech Racing car in the GTE Pro class.
Related video
Who is the most successful Le Mans driver? Kristensen, Ickx and more
Rigon ruled out of Le Mans 24 Hours due to Spa crash injury
BMW behind on pace, but confident of reliability for Daytona 24
Augusto Farfus admits BMW is lagging behind its GTP rivals on pace, but feels the German manufacturer has a reliable car in its arsenal for the Daytona 24 Hours.
How Formula E's new emergency braking system will work
Formula E has introduced an emergency braking kit for the Diriyah E-Prix as a failsafe should the rear powertrain stop working over the course of a race weekend.
Friday favourite: The Kent happy hunting ground that demands drivers' respect
Martin Donnelly's 100% International Formula 3000 record at Brands Hatch is one reason for him picking the famous Grand Prix circuit as his favourite track. But the Ulsterman also relishes its fast and challenging corners, which rewards thinking drivers just as much as bravery
Ford: F1’s boom means it "requires consideration"
Ford’s motorsport boss says it would be remiss of the American car giant not to be considering a Formula 1 return amid the series' rapid growth in the United States.
The plug in and play stand-ins who got their timing just right
Nyck de Vries’s Italian GP exploits weren’t the first post-eleventh-hour call-up in motorsport history, and won’t be the last either. Here are some offbeat tales from the past
The lesser-remembered sportscar exploits of BMW's two-trick pony
Steve Soper is so famous for his forays in touring cars that his sportscar achievements are often overlooked. But as the versatile Briton explained for Autosport's special issue commemorating 50 years of BMW's Motorsport division earlier this year, he preferred the cars
Porsche’s hopeful Le Mans future meets its illustrious past
Rising sportscar star Adam Smalley had to pinch himself when offered the chance to drive the car that won the world’s most famous enduro in 1987
How Porsche's Le Mans legend changed the game
The 956 set the bar at the dawn of Group C 40 years ago, and that mark only rose higher through the 1980s, both in the world championship and in the US. It and its successor, the longer-wheelbase 962, were voted as Autosport's greatest sportscar in 2020 - here's why
Why BMW shouldn't be overlooked on its return to prototypes
OPINION: While the focus has been on the exciting prospect of Ferrari vs Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year, BMW’s factory return to endurance racing should not be ignored. It won't be at the French classic next year as it focuses efforts on the IMSA SportsCar Championship, but could be a dark horse in 2024 when it returns to La Sarthe with the crack WRT squad
How Formula E's double-duty drivers influenced their Le Mans teams' fortunes
Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams' fortunes
Le Mans 2022: The team by team guide
The 90th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours is here. Here's Autosport's run down of the full field and who to look out for in each class
The great Le Mans garagistes that challenged factory might
Glickenhaus is the latest in a line of small-time constructors to take on the big names. Here are some of the finest in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.