Joel Camathias is preparing for another season at the highest level of GT racing : 2017 will see the Swiss driver competing in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) at the wheel of a Porsche 911 RSR of Proton Competition. His team mates will be Germany’s Christian Ried and Italian young gun Matteo Cairoli.
After an excellent 2016 season in the FIA-WEC with KCMG, the Hong Kong team technically supported by Proton, who has re-oriented its racing plans, Joel will remain linked to Porsche and Proton, as a consequence of the excellent cooperation established in 2016.
Joel will be part of Proton’s effort in the LMGT Am category of the ELMS, a series he last raced in 2013 and where he won the GT title in 2006, already with a Porsche, of Autorlando Sport, together with Marc Lieb. The ELMS, which has experienced a steady growth in recent years, is expected to be in 2017 one of the most well-attended and competitive series in the international GT scene. It includes six 4-hour races in Silverstone, Monza, Red Bull Ring, Paul Ricard, Spa and Portimão.
Camathias’ program may also include the mythical Le Mans 24 Hours, which he would contest for the third time. A confirmation is expected at a later stage.
Joel Camathias:
“I am delighted to announce a 2017 racing programme that will be extremely exciting. The ELMS is a series that I know well, and that I won back in 2006. It is bound to be the most closely-fought international GT endurance series this year and it will take us to some of the most prestigious tracks in Europe. I thank Proton Competition for their trust, after the excellent work done together last year in the WEC under the KCMG banner, and I am really looking forward to be part of their effort and to defend again the colours of Porsche. I am also working to do Le Mans, the greatest race of all, for the third time and hopeful to conclude a deal soon. I am really anxious to start the season and in the meantime, I am going through an intense physical training programme, as all aspects will be crucial to do well this year.”
