In addition to its new trio of GT factory drivers for 2017, Porsche has announced at its Night of Champions that it will send a factory squad to the 2017 FIA WEC to race in the GTE Pro class with its new 911 RSR.

“This is a significant boost for our motorsport involvement and underlines that we have chosen the right platform with the WEC,” said Michael Steiner, member of the executive board for research and development at Porsche AG.

The Porsche Motorsport GT team will campaign a pair of new 911 RSR in the top GTE class, after the brand was represented by just a sole Proton Competition-run 911 this season. The drivers confirmed so far are Michael Christensen, Frédéric Makowiecki and Richard Lietz.

Next season the GTE Pro class has been granted FIA World Championship status for the first time, with factory efforts from Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Ford all confirmed.

The mid-engined 2017 Porsche 911 RSR was fully officially unveiled last month by the brand, and shown off to the WEC paddock at the Bahrain season finale.