Long still can't believe promotion

The American has been contracted to Porsche for several seasons, but until last year his efforts were focused on their GT2 teams.

But with Ryan Briscoe leaving the ALMS to race for Penske in the IndyCar Series, Porsche have promoted Long to race the RS Spyder full-time, after he raced the car for the first time last year.

"Honestly, it still hasn't really hit me yet," said the 26-year-old. "It was one of those things where I saw my name on the news releases but I didn't think it was a reality."

Long added that there hadn't been any talks with Porsche during last season regarding his future.

"I was aware of Ryan and Sam (Hornish) and their potential moves and what that meant as far as an opening in the RS Spyder programme," he said. "But it wasn't on my mind.

"There was never any discussion or promises made by Porsche. I never thought it was my position or mine to gain.

"There is so much that goes into selecting a driver in a Porsche prototype effort. I've just always let my driving do the talking."