Newly crowned FIA World Endurance Champions Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb will not return to Porsche's LMP1 program next year, the German manufacturer confirmed on Friday.
Both drivers, who combined with Neel Jani to win this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2016 Drivers' World Championship, will remain under contract at Porsche, in to-be-announced positions.
The news comes after a dismal second half of the WEC season for the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid, which failed to score a podium finish since its triumph in the French endurance classic, yet still claimed the world title.
Lieb and Dumas' seats in the factory LMP1 squad were under threat as early as September, with indications that one or both drivers could be replaced by 2015 Le Mans winners Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber, who were first on the team's list of drivers, as first revealed by Sportscar365.
With Mark Webber having since retired from driving, it now means Porsche has three full-season seats to fill for 2017.
“The LMP1 program has benefitted immensely from Marc’s and Romain’s experience, especially during the team’s build-up phase and in Le Mans," said Porsche LMP1 Vice President Fritz Enzinger.
"Together we went through some highs and lows in recent years. I am very pleased that both true racers can conclude this part of their Porsche career as Le Mans winners and world champions.
"I thank Marc and Romain from the depth of my heart for their high performance driving, their strong commitment and their loyalty."
While Porsche has yet to formally announce their replacements, it's understood that both Tandy and Audi refugee Andre Lotterer will take two of the three vacant seats, and Bamber likely to complete the heavily revised lineup for the 2017 WEC season.
Dumas, meanwhile, will likely be reassigned to Porsche's expanded factory GT program, having earned multiple titles in 911 machinery prior to his promotion to the LMP1 effort in 2014, with former GT champion Lieb, who holds an engineering degree, moving to a customer racing role in GT.
Porsche is expected to finalize its driver lineups for both LMP1 and GT factory programs at its end-of-year awards night on Dec. 3 in Germany.
