Porsche has confirmed that Mark Webber has signed a contract that extends over several years and will see him compete in the new LMP1 at the Le Mans 24 Hours and in the Sports Car WEC.

The 36-year-old Australian has already raced at Le Mans twice. In 1998 he finished runner-up in the FIA GT Championship at the wheel of a sports prototype. Over the course of his F1 career from 2002 until today, he has achieved 36 podium places, nine race victories and has started from pole position eleven times.

"It's an honour for me to join Porsche on its return to the top category at Le Mans and in the sports car World Endurance Championship and to be part of the team. Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level," said Webber.

"I'm very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula 1. Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to drive one of the fastest sports cars in the world."

"I'm very pleased to have secured Mark Webber for our LMP1 project as one of the best and most successful Formula 1 drivers of our time," added Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG. "Mark is without doubt one of the world's best race drivers, he has experience at the Le Mans 24 hours race, and on top of that he's been a Porsche enthusiast for many years."

"I learned to appreciate Mark's qualities when we were both involved in Formula 1," said Fritz Enzinger, Head of LMP1. "He is one of the best drivers I could imagine for our team. I'm absolutely delighted that we have such an experienced and fast regular driver on-board from 2014."

Competing in the new LMP1 car – which has been designed and built by the Porsche Motorsport factory team in Weissach, Germany – alongside Webber are the two long-standing Porsche factory drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France), and ex-Formula 1 test driver Neel Jani (Switzerland).

Bernhard and Dumas joined forces in 2010 to achieve overall victory in the Le Mans 24 hours. In 2007 and 2008, they secured the American Le Mans Series title at the wheel of the Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 sports prototype. Neel Jani has contested the LMP1 class since 2010.

Meanwhile, sources close to Webber dismissed claims that the Australian got the drive after answering a classified advert in the Queanbeyan Chronicle.