Nico Hulkenberg is to race in next year's Le Mans 24 Hours for Porsche
Force India driver to contest two WEC events in all
Thursday 27 November 2014 16:50, UK
Nico Hulkenberg is to race in next year's Le Mans 24 Hours after Force India gave him permission to drive a factory Porsche.
The German manufacturer announced the news on Thursday, three days after saying it would field a third 919 hybrid car in the classic endurance event on June 13/14. Hulkenberg will also take part in the preceding race at Spa on May 2.
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Among Porsche's current driver line-up is Mark Webber, who left Red Bull at the end of 2013 to concentrate exclusively on the World Endurance Championship.
Force India announced a month ago that Hulkenberg will be retained next season, when the 27-year-old German will again be partnered by Sergio Perez.
Although former F1 drivers like Webber and new World Champion Anthony Davidson compete in the WEC - the Sky Sports F1 pundit drives for Toyota - Hulkenberg will be first for some time to race both.
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Audi's Andre Lotterer recently moved in the other direction with a one-off appearance for Caterham at the Belgian GP. But while it was usually the case in years past that top drivers contested different motorsport categories, F1 teams have demanded exclusive contracts in more recent times.
Hulkenberg has thanked Force India team boss Vijay Mallya for giving him the opportunity and although there are no calendar clashes next season, whether other F1 regulars get the chance remains to be seen.
Fernando Alonso, who guest started this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, was recently linked with Audi while Jenson Button - whose F1 career lies in the balance as Alonso edges closer to a McLaren drive - has also been mentioned as a possible WEC convert.
