Proton Competition Reveals John Hartshorne as Third Driver for 24 Hours of Le Mans Debut in FIA WEC 2024
In a recent announcement, Proton Competition confirmed that John Hartshorne will join forces with Ben Tuck and Christopher Mies in their third Ford Mustang LMGT3 entrant for the highly anticipated 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking place on June 15-16. This news comes after the team secured an invitation to the prestigious event by claiming the 2023-24 Asian Le Mans Series title in the GT class.
The team has also unveiled the livery for their third #44 Ford Mustang LMGT3, which will feature a striking black and yellow design. Notably, team owner Christian Ried will not be participating in the event, as initially suggested by the provisional entry list in February. Instead, John Hartshorne will take on the role of the Bronze-graded driver in the lineup.
“Ried, a veteran of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), retired from competition last year after an impressive streak of participating in every WEC race since its inception in 2012.”
Hartshorne, on the other hand, will be making his fourth Le Mans start, having previously driven for TF Sport in 2021, where he finished eighth in the GTE Am class behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage AMR.
Hartshorne will be reunited with Tuck, who is making his Le Mans debut, as the pair also compete together in the European Le Mans Series and the GT World Challenge Europe series, albeit in Ferrari 296 machinery. The experienced Mies, a Ford Multimatic factory driver, will provide valuable support to the duo.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans serves as an exception to the two-car mandate in the LMGT3 category, allowing for additional entries, including Proton’s #44 Mustang, alongside the WEC #77 and #88 regulars. As expected, Ryan Hardwick, Zacharie Robichon, and Benjamin Barker will pilot the #77, while Giorgio Roda, Mikkel Pedersen, and Dennis Olsen will take the wheel of the #88, with one factory driver in each car for the new Mustang’s first-ever Le Mans effort.
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