Vandoorne will share the #94 Peugeot 9X8 in the six-hour fixture in Japan with Loic Duval and Gustavo Menezes for what would be his first WEC outing in any category since the 2021 season finale in Bahrain.
The Belgian has been called in by Peugeot following the news that Muller sustained an injury on his left collarbone in August. A decision was subsequently taken in consultation with his doctors to skip the Fuji 6 Hours in order to fully recover from the injury.
“Unfortunately, Nico won’t be able to race for this round and we wish him a speedy recovery,” said team director Olivier Jansonnie.
“Stoffel Vandoorne has all our trust, and we know that he will be able to step in quickly and give his maximum.
“We are entering the last part of the season and our aim will be to be 100% reliable for the last two races and fight at the front with both our PEUGEOT 9X8.
“We will get ready as best as we can for these two races, trying to be consistent in our performance and race results.”
Vandoorne moves up to a race seat two months after Peugeot scored its first Hypercar podium at Monza, with Jean-Eric Vergne, Mikken Jensen and Paul di Resta finishing third in the sister #93 car.
It followed an improved showing for the brand at the Le Mans 24 Hours, where Peugeot led for certain stages of the race and also showed markedly improved reliability, an area that the French manufacturer struggled with since the programme's bow at Monza last year.
Source: Autosport