Yifei Ye secures Porsche Asia contract ahead of potential LMDh seat
Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 star Yifei Ye has landed a manufacturer contract with Porsche's Asia arm aimed at securing him a drive in the German marque's forthcoming LMDh prototype.


The 21-year-old Chinese driver has been named as a Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific selected driver after a year in which he won the both the Asian and European Le Mans Series and narrowly missed out on a Le Mans class victory.
The deal means Ye will receive funding towards his 2022 racing programme, which Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific boss Alex Gibot explained would be tailored to preparing him for a potential drive in the forthcoming Porsche LMDh programme straddling the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America.
"When we see the potential of Yifei, the target for us at Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific has to be to get him into LMDh in 2023," Gibot told Autosport.
"We will reveal the programme for Yifei at a later stage, but we are working to give him the best environment to convince the people at the Porsche factory who need to be convinced to have him in the LMDh from 2023.
"Having Yifei as our selected driver is super-exciting from the sporting point of view, but also on the promotional side: to have the possibility to leverage the brand in China, Porsche's biggest market since 2015, with such a local talent is amazing."
Gibot suggested that Ye's programme is likely to be in Europe because of the uncertainties over international travel in Asia as a result of the COVID pandemic.
But he wouldn't be drawn on "which championship or which category" it will be in.
Ye won the ELMS with the Belgian WRT team, sharing an ORECA-Gibson 07 with Robert Kubica and Louis Deletraz.

Yifei Ye, Porsche Asia
Photo by: Porsche
They were on course for victory in P2 at Le Mans until the final lap when the engine cut out on Ye as he passed under the Dunlop Bridge.
Ye said on the announcement from Porsche on Sunday: "It’s a huge milestone in my career to be teaming up with a manufacturer and sportscar brand such as Porsche.
"Motorsport is in Porsche’s DNA and it’s incredibly well known for driver development, which I plan to utilise to get myself in the best shape possible.
"I started endurance racing this year, and after winning Asian and European Le Mans Series, my clear goal is to enter LMDh with Porsche in 2023 and to be the first Chinese driver to win an FIA world championship and Le Mans.”
Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific named its first selected driver in Alessio Picariello ahead of the 2020 season.
The initial plan was for the Belgian to race in the GT World Challenge Asia last year, but the cancellation of the series forced a rethink.
He was subsequently placed with the Dempsey-Proton team in the ELMS, winning the GTE title with team boss Christian Ried and Michele Beretta.
This year 28-year-old Picariello made his debuts in the 24-hour enduros at Le Mans and Nurburgring with the Chinese entrant Absolute Racing and Falken Motorsport squads respectively, and has also contested two WEC rounds with Dempsey-Proton.
Gibot explained that "developing young drivers is a priority for Porsche Motor Sport Asia Pacific"
"We like to cultivate young talent and five years ago set up the Porsche China Junior programme and we now have the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia talent pool, so the next step was to support a driver internationally," he said.
Ye will also receive coaching from long-time Porsche factory driver Sascha Maassen, as well as physical fitness and media training.
Related video

Davidson to retire from professional racing after Bahrain WEC finale
WRT transformed car after "shocking" pace in Bahrain practice

Latest news
De Vries cleared of wrongdoing in dispute over €250K loan
Nyck de Vries has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an Amsterdam court over a claim launched against him by real estate magnate Jeroen Schothorst relating to a €250,000 loan.
Horner admits Red Bull’s real RB19 will be ‘somewhat different’
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the real RB19 that will appear in Formula 1 testing in Bahrain later this month will be ‘somewhat different'.
Horner hints at closer links between Mercedes and Williams F1 teams
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has hinted that there could be a closer relationship between the Mercedes and Williams Formula 1 teams in the wake of James Vowles’s move.
Ford remains committed to WRC amid F1 return
Ford has stated that it remains committed to its programme in the World Rally Championship following confirmation of its return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier from 2026.
Why the WEC should make space for modern garagistes in 2023
OPINION: There is plenty of excitement over the glut of manufacturers tackling the Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship this season. The selection committee is set to face headaches over who it decides to admit and who gets turned away from the 2023 entry list, but history tells us that the smaller entrants have a place
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022
Is Qatar the price motorsport fans have to pay?
OPINION: Fresh from hosting a controversial 2022 football World Cup, Qatar has added its name to the 2024 World Endurance Championship calendar. Although questions may be asked about its presence on the calendar, is it simply the price to pay for having a healthy racing championship?
How Toyota defeated Alpine for the 2022 WEC title
Toyota #8 trio Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa outscored their rivals in the last season before the World Endurance Championship’s top class gets ultra-competitive. Here's how their Hypercar battle with Alpine and the remaining class tussles played out in LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am
The long road to convergence for sportscar racing's new golden age
The organisers of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship worked together to devise the popular new LMDh rule set. But to turn it from an idea into reality, some serious compromises were involved - both from the prospective LMDh entrants and those with existing Le Mans Hypercar projects...
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
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.