It’s been three years since Alvaro Parente has raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a lot has changed for the Portuguese driver; he’s since been named a factory McLaren driver and won the Pirelli World Challenge GT Championship in the United States.

It won’t be a McLaren Parente is driving at Le Mans, however, instead he teams with his friends at Clearwater Racing in the No. 60 Ferrari 488 GTE.

“I know Clearwater from my three or four races I did in GT Asia,” Parente said. “We met over there and the relationship was great. “(Team Principal) Arj (Kulasegaram) gave me a call at the beginning of the year and said ‘we’re going to Le Mans with a second entry, do you want to drive?’ I said ‘of course Arj, let’s do it!’ That’s how I ended up doing the race this weekend.”

Without a McLaren entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the British automaker was kind enough to loan Parente to Clearwater.

“(McLaren GT Managing Director) Andrew Kirkaldy is quite open in terms of us doing other races when there isn’t a McLaren racing and when it’s good experience for us,” Parente said. “When it gives us experience in a big race like this, that’s a good thing.”

Parente’s last trip to Circuit de la Sarthe was in 2014 driving a Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 for RAM Racing in the LMGTE Pro category. This will be his first race in the Ferrari 488 GTE.

“I’m very excited to be back,” Parente said. “I have a challenging week ahead of me, this being my first time in the GTE Am category and also being the first time driving the Ferrari 488. Luckily, the Clearwater guys have a very friendly atmosphere.”

Though he comes to Le Mans this year as the reigning Pirelli World Challenge GT Champion, it has not affected his approach to the race and his desire to support his teammates.

“I’m coming in with the same motivation that I come into with every race, which is I’m going to do the best I can and make the car as fast as possible,” Parente said. “I’m trying to be as helpful as possible with Richard (Wee) and with Hiroki (Katoh). We’re going to do the best we can, push hard, and fingers crossed the car works well. We’ve got a good setup and a comfortable car. I think that’s the trick and not making any mistakes.”