Ben Keating knows endurance racing like the back of his hand – but the Porsche 963 pushes the 52-year-old to his limits
Ben Keating has become an integral part of endurance racing. The 52-year-old regularly takes part in the major races at Daytona, Sebring and Atlanta, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the 2024 IMSA season, the Texan will be driving the Porsche 963 in the GTP class of the US sports car championship, for which Keating has great respect.
During the so-called “Roar before the 24”, the official test and qualifying session, Keating took his seat in the 85 JDC Miller Porsche to prepare for the 24 Hours of Daytona on January 27 and 28, 2024. He will share the car with Richard Westbrook, Tijmen van der Helm and Phil Hanson. In addition, the all-rounder will also take a seat in the United Autosports LMP2 Oreca to complete a double program in the “Sunshine State” of Florida.
Keating is used to competing for two teams in a 24-hour race, so this task does not particularly impress him, but the epitome of the gentleman racer has found his challenge: the Porsche 963, which he reports is far more difficult to drive than the Cadillac DPi-V.R., which he was still allowed to drive in 2022 under the old DPi regulations.
“The GTP car is the most complicated car I’ve ever driven,” Keating told Sportscar365.com. “It’s the first car that scared me.” But what makes the German manufacturer’s LMDh racer so challenging? “There are a lot more levers and buttons, things that you have to have under control as a driver,” explains Keating.
Compared to an LMP2 car, Keating says it was easier to drive a DPi car because the “best traction control” ensured that the driver could be “very aggressive”. “The system kept you in that range back then,” says the 52-year-old. “The GTP car is more difficult than the LMP2 car. The brake-by-wire system requires sensitivity, which you have to get used to, as do the tires.”
While Keating has to concentrate fully on the car, the Texan knows the Daytona circuit like the back of his hand. After all, he has contested the 24 Hours of Daytona 13 times in his career. For the eighth time, he is running a double program. “It doubles my chances [of a top result],” says Keating, explaining the reasons why he is competing for two teams.
But what does Keating have to achieve as a minimum according to the regulations in Daytona? In LMP2, he has to drive the start as a bronze driver and spend at least 4.5 hours in the car. In the GTP, the minimum driving time is 2.5 hours, but Keating is expected to be in the car for significantly longer. “I will drive the 2.5 hours in the GTP early in the race, which will put pressure on my three teammates, but not on me,” says Keating.
