Varrone: Hypercar Seat Was “Always The Goal”

Photo: MPS Agency

Nico Varrone says a seat in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar category is something he has been targeting for a long time following the news he will race for Proton Competition in the top class this season.

The factory Corvette driver was named last month as part of the lineup for Proton’s No. 99 customer Porsche 963 together with Nico Pino and Neel Jani, marking his full-time return to WEC competition after a year away from the series.

Having climbed the endurance racing ladder via LMP3, GTs and LMP2, including winning the 2023 GTE-Am title in the WEC for Corvette Racing together with Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg, Varrone said he was delighted to have finally reached his goal of being in a position to fight for outright honors.

“Honestly, I’m pretty happy,” Varrone told Sportscar365. “I have been working to be in the top class of the WEC for a long time.

“It was always the goal [to be in Hypercar]. Whatever you do in life, you want to be in the top. It doesn’t always happen, but I always try my best to show my performances and what I can do.

“I was lucky that everything went well this year, and I can say I am in the top class.

“I’m super excited. I’ve done everything [else], GT, LMP3, LMP2, so to reach Hypercar with Proton and Porsche is something special.”

Varrone said his close relationship with Proton owner Christian Ried was instrumental in getting the drive, the Argentinian driver having shared a team with Ried’s son Jonas in the Asian Le Mans Series in 2023.

He revealed that he had come close to joining full-season Proton driver Gianmaria Bruni aboard the team’s No. 5 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry last year.

“It all came all of a sudden last year,” he said. “I almost had the chance with them; always we were really close, trying to find a way to be in one of their cars, but it never quite happened. But last minute there was a chance, there was an open seat.

“I’ve had a good relationship with Christian Ried and his son Jonas for a long time, we are really close. He told me about it, and I said for sure, no doubt.

“We closed the deal here at Daytona on Wednesday [prior to the Roar], so we started making the seat on Wednesday.

“There was also a chance at Laguna Seca in IMSA last year, but with the commitments I had with Corvette I couldn’t do it,” he said. “This year everything fell into place and we are working together, which I am very excited about.”

Varrone added that his commitments for Corvette in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup did not pose any issues for his Proton deal.

The 24-year-old raced together with Catsburg and Tommy Milner in the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona last month and is set for further outings in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans.

“Contract-wise, there is no clause that I cannot race against Cadillac or Corvette in other championships,” he clarified.

“In IMSA I am doing only the three long races, so it’s fine. It opens this chance to do Hypercar with Proton. It’s a really nice calendar to have.”

Jonathan Grace contributed to this report