JDC-Miller MotorSports has announced its driver line-up for the 28th annual Motul Petit Le Mans, featuring two new additions to the team. Tijmen van der Helm will be joined in the No. 85 ‘Banana Boat’ Porsche 963 by 2016 FIA World Endurance champion Neel Jani and IMSA GTP rookie Max Esterson.
Porsche factory driver Nico Müller, who’d been previously announced for the final two races of the season – including the upcoming IMSA finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – will not drive for JDC-Miller at Petit.
Jani, a former Porsche works driver, won the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Endurance drivers’ championship during his time with the German manufacturer. The 41-year-old is a two-time, back-to-back overall winner of the Petit Le Mans in 2012 and 2013; in 2023, he drove Proton Competition’s then-new Porsche 963 to its first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship podium at Petit Le Mans. In that same race, JDC-Miller finished fifth, their best result of the season in their first year with the 963.
“I’m very excited to join JDC-Miller MotorSports at Petit Le Mans,” said Jani. “I’ve had great experiences there, including winning twice several years ago and earning a podium finish two years ago in the Porsche 963. I know the 963 well and am eager to see how the 85 car feels and drives compared to what I’ve been racing. I understand they had a solid test at Road Atlanta recently, so I believe the car will already be well set up, which is good because there’s not much time to prepare during the weekend. I’m looking forward to racing with Tijmen and Max at Petit Le Mans.”
Esterson will make his major sports car racing debut at Petit Le Mans as the third driver of the No. 85 Porsche. After starting in sim racing, the 22-year-old from New York enjoyed great success racing Formula Fords in the UK, winning the 2021 Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone and the 2022 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. But since moving up to FIA Formula 3 and then Formula 2, Esterson has yet to replicate that same level of performance – he was released from his Formula 2 ride at Trident with just three rounds remaining in the 2025 season, without a points-paying finish.
After testing with JDC-Miller at Road Atlanta, Esterson is looking for a fresh start.
“I’m really looking forward to my first endurance race at Petit Le Mans. I’ve grown up watching this race, so it’s awesome to be a part in it this year,” Esterson said.
“I have a lot to learn since this is quite different from the racing I’m used to – it’s actually the first time I’ll be racing a car with a roof! That said, the JDC-Miller MotorSports team has done a great job helping me get up to speed, and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve. It’s an honor to share a Porsche 963 with drivers like Tijmen and Neel.”
JDC-Miller Managing Partner, John Church, said ahead of next week’s race: “Adding Neel to our driver lineup provides a great mix of youth and experience. Neel has a couple of wins at Petit Le Mans and has a wealth of experience with the complex Porsche 963. He will integrate seamlessly with the team. Tijmen is now our journeyman driver with two previous Petit Le Mans starts. We had a very successful test with Max and Tijmen at Road Atlanta a few weeks ago, and we approach Petit with a lot of confidence.”
The full entry list for the 28th annual Motul Petit Le Mans is expected to be published by IMSA later this week.
