André Lotterer Endurance racing specialist

Three-time Le Mans winner and self-confessed Porsche addict André Lotterer talks about the special cars in his life and why he'll continue racing for some time yet

- STEPHEN DOBIE

THE LAST THING YOU EXPECT WHEN you've just sealed a world title is to be looking for work. But that's the position André Lotterer found himself in as the 2024 World Endurance Championship drew to a close in Bahrain, the German sealing the drivers' trophy alongside Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor.

'It's the dream of a lot of drivers to race a Porsche,' says Lotterer today, 'but you want to be successful too. When that finally happened, the team changed their approach. They told me in the middle of the year that they weren't sure if we would continue, that it was the end of my contract and they wanted to reduce the driver pool. They offered for me to stay in GT and do ambassador stuff, but that didn't really stimulate me. I want to decide when I stop racing at the highest level.

Plenty of drivers might let fate guide their hand and take the GT seat, but 43-year-old Lotterer isn't prepared to turn the dimmer switch on his racing when WEC is enjoying its truly golden Hypercar era. From 2026 he'll target Le Mans and endurance glory once again, this time in the freshly unveiled, bright orange Genesis GMR-001. The Korean luxe brand may not immediately stand out as a favourite against the might of Porsche, Ferrari, et al, but the wider Hyundai Motorsport effort is already a major force thanks to its World Rally exploits - the new LMDh car's twin-turbo V8 is effectively two i20 N Rally1 four-cylinder motors, further galvanising the link.

'It was very clear for me early on that this is the way to go,' says Lotterer. 'It's the chance to be part of a new team and to channel my experience into more of a captain's role. It feels meaningful to be there from the beginning, and Genesis has intentions beyond just participating. Racing is my priority; I know it can't be forever, but at the moment I'm there mentally and physically and with a lot of motivation.'