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Keating returns to WEC with Proton Ford squad for Austin
Ben Keating set for one-off WEC return at the Circuit of the Americas
Gary Watkins
Published: Aug 14, 2024, 2:01 PM
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Two-time World Endurance Championship title winner Ben Keating will make a return to the series for his home race in Austin next month.
Keating will join up with the Proton Competition Ford squad in LMGT3 at the Circuit of the Americas on 1 September for his first appearance in a regular WEC race since leaving the series, in the wake of winning his second GTE Am title last year.
The 52-year-old American will race the #88 Ford Mustang GT3 together with factory driver Dennis Olsen and Mikkel Pedersen.
He takes the seat for the mandatory bronze-rated driver in a LMGT3 line-up filled for the first four races by Giorgio Roda and then team boss Christian Ried last time out at Interlagos in July.
The winner of the GTE Am title with the Corvette Racing and the TF Sport Aston Martin squads in 2022 and ’23 respectively opted not to chase a hat-trick of GT titles in WEC this year in the first season of LMGT3.
He told Motorsport.com last September that he wanted to scale down his racing activities in 2024 and focus on a single programme in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America.
#33 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R: Ben Keating
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Keating explained that time constraints when the WEC calendar was expanding by one race were behind his decision.
But he is coming back to the WEC, a series in which he competed from the 2019-20 campaign, for his local race in what is expected to be a one-off.
Keating’s dealership group is based in Texas and includes multiple Ford outlets around the state.
An appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC round in June was part of his programme with United Autosports in LMP2 in IMSA, in which he is seeking a third title after his 2021 and ’22 triumphs with the PR1/Mathiasen squad.
The only other change to the WEC entry for Austin, released on Wednesday, is the return of Harry Tincknell to Proton’s Hypercar class Porsche 963 LMDh.
The Briton missed Interlagos because as a Ford factory driver his IMSA GT Daytona Pro campaign with the Multimatic Motorsports squad took precedence and he contested the Canadian round of the North American series at Mosport instead.
#64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3: Harry Tincknell, Mike Rockenfeller
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
Neel Jani and Julien Andlauer raced the car as a duo in Brazil.
Track action for the Lone Star Le Mans WEC round in Austin kicks off at 12:40 local time on 30 August.
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