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Thomas Laurent

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Thomas Laurent
Laurent in 2016
NationalityFrance French
Born (1998-04-05) 5 April 1998 (age 26)
La Roche-sur-Yon, France
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season2017
Current teamSignatech Alpine Elf
Racing licence FIA Gold
Car number36
Former teamsJackie Chan DC Racing, Rebellion Racing
Starts24
Wins3
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish2nd (LMP2) 3rd (LMP1) in 2017, 2018–19
Previous series
201518
2016
2016
Asian Le Mans Series
European Le Mans Series
Porsche Carrera Cup France
Championship titles
2017–18Asian Le Mans Series

Thomas Laurent (born 5 April 1998)[1] is a French racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for French team Signatech Alpine Matmut and in the European Le Mans Series with Graff Racing. He finished second in the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans and third in the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Career

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Born in La Roche-sur-Yon to go-kart racing mechanic Jean-Pascal Laurent and his wife Nathalie Laurent, he began karting at age three in a small custom-built go kart on an adapted circuit constructed by his father and began competing competitively from the age of seven.[2][3] He aimed to be in endurance racing from the age of either 11 or 12 and was an enthusiast of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[4] Laurent finished ninth at the 2012 World Karting Championship held in Portimão, Portugal.[5] He won the French Karting Championship every year from 2012 to 2014 and the World Karting Championship in 2015.[6]

2015

[edit]

He stepped out of karting aged 17 in late 2015 and had twice tested a Formula 4 car but he was unhappy with the amount of money he required to progress to the category.[7] He competed in 3 of the 4 rounds 2015–16 Asian Le Mans Series with Jackie Chan DC Racing alongside Ho-Pin Tung and David Cheng. They won all three races, but Laurent was only ranked second in the championship as Tung and Cheng won the opening round without him, leaving Laurent with a 25-point deficit.[citation needed]

2016

[edit]

Laurent raced in the 2016 European Le Mans Championship in LMP3 for YMR in a Ligier JS P3 alongside Alexandre Cougnaud and Yann Ehrlacher. He finished 8th in the championship despite three retirements, and took a dominant win in the final round at Estoril.[8] He also entered the Road To Le Mans race that year for DC Racing, alongside Cougnaud. Laurent took over the car in the lead and pulled away to win the race.[9]

Laurent returned to the Asian Le Mans Series for the 2016–17 season. He raced in LMP2, again for DC Racing alongside Tung and Gustavo Menezes. He missed the first round (which Tung and Menezes won in his absence) before they came second and first at Fuji and Buriram respectively. This left the No. 35 car with an 18-point lead coming into the final round. However they retired after a first corner accident, and lost the title. Laurent placed seventh in the drivers title.[10]

2017

[edit]
Laurent's Signatech Alpine Elf LMP2 car at the 2019 4 Hours of Silverstone

In 2017 it was announced that Laurent would race in the World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 class. He drove for Jackie Chan DC Racing in a Jota Sport run Oreca 07 alongside Tung and Oliver Jarvis.[11]

After winning on his debut at Silverstone and finishing third at Spa, Laurent had an impressive run at Le Mans. After helping his team get into the LMP2 lead, Laurent inherited the overall lead due to problems with LMP1 cars. In the end he won Le Mans in the LMP2 class, finishing second on the overall podium. He added to his win count with a dominant victory at the Nurburgring, but then finished ninth in class in Mexico due to a clutch issue. More successful races followed at the Circuit Of The Americas and Fuji with fourth and third-placed finishes respectively.[citation needed]

It was announced that Laurent was awarded an opportunity to drive a Toyota LMP1 car in the Bahrain post-season test.[12]

2018

[edit]

Laurent has a contract dispute with DC Racing, because he signed with Rebellion Racing.[13] Despite this he with Harrison Newey and Stéphane Richelmi took the 2017–18 Asian Le Mans Series title in the LMP2 category.[14] He got a green light to race for Rebellion in 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship, competing behind the wheel of Rebellion R13 car with Mathias Beche and Gustavo Menezes.[15] He finished his first LMP1 race on podium behind two hybrid Toyotas.[16] He joined the Signatech Alpine team the following season, finishing 8th in the standings with two podiums. In November 2018, Laurent tested a Dallara F2 2018 car for Arden International at the FIA Formula 2 Championship post-season rookie test session at the Yas Marina Circuit.[17]

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2015–16 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3 DC Racing 3 3 2 1 3 77 2nd
2016 Porsche Carrera Cup France Martinet by Alméras 12 0 0 0 1 93 6th
Porsche Supercup 1 0 0 0 0 7 19th
European Le Mans Series - LMP3 M.Racing - YMR 6 1 0 0 1 36 8th
Road to Le Mans - LMP3 DC Racing 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
2016–17 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 Jackie Chan DC Racing 3 1 1 0 2 44 7th
2017 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Jackie Chan DC Racing 9 3 1 0 6 175 2nd
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
2017–18 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 Jackie Chan DC Racing X Jota 4 3 2 1 4 95 1st
2018 French GT4 Cup - Pro-Am M.Racing - YMR 4 0 0 0 1 25 17th
24 Hours of Le Mans Rebellion Racing 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 3rd
2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship Rebellion Racing 8 1 0 0 4 114 3rd
2019 24 Hours of Le Mans Rebellion Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th
2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Signatech Alpine Elf 8 0 0 0 2 109 8th
FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP1 Toyota Gazoo Racing Reserve driver
2020 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Graff 5 0 0 0 2 43 6th
Alpine Elf Europa Cup Racing Technology 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 Signatech Alpine Elf 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 4th
2021 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 IDEC Sport 0 0 0 0 0 N/A WD
2022 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Mühlner Motorsport 6 0 0 0 1 19 15th
2023 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Boutsen VDS 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe - Pro 4 0 0 0 0 10.5 11th
24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar Glickenhaus Racing Reserve driver
2024 French GT4 Cup - Pro-Am AV Racing 10 2 0 0 4 120* 3rd*
Ultimate Cup Series - Proto NP02 Cogemo Racing Team

As Laurent was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete European Le Mans Series results

[edit]
Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2016 M.Racing - YMR LMP3 Ligier JS P3 Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 SIL
Ret
IMO
5
RBR
10
LEC
Ret
SPA
Ret
EST
1
8th 36
2020 Graff LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
9
SPA
2
LEC
3
MNZ
9
ALG
7
6th 43
2022 Mühlner Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
9
IMO
11
MNZ
3
CAT
9
SPA
Ret
ALG
Ret
15th 19
Sources:[18][19]

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

[edit]
Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2017 Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL
1
SPA
3
LMS
1
NÜR
1
MEX
9
COA
4
FUJ
3
SHA
4
BHR
2
2nd 175
2018–19 Rebellion Racing LMP1 Rebellion R13 Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 SPA
3
LMS
3
SIL
1
FUJ
Ret
SHA
5
SEB
7
SPA
2
LMS
5
3rd 114
2019–20 Signatech Alpine Elf LMP2 Alpine A470 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL
2
FUJ
6
SHA
4
BHR
4
COA
6
SPA
Ret
LMS
3
BHR
5
8th 109
Sources:[18][19]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

[edit]
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2017 China Jackie Chan DC Racing China Ho-Pin Tung
United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 366 2nd 1st
2018 Switzerland Rebellion Racing Switzerland Mathias Beche
United States Gustavo Menezes
Rebellion R13-Gibson LMP1 376 3rd 3rd
2019 Switzerland Rebellion Racing France Nathanaël Berthon
United States Gustavo Menezes
Rebellion R13-Gibson LMP1 370 5th 5th
2020 France Signatech Alpine Elf Brazil André Negrão
France Pierre Ragues
Alpine A470-Gibson LMP2 367 8th 4th
2021 France IDEC Sport United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel
United States Dwight Merriman
Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2
Pro-Am
0 WD WD
Source:[20]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Thomas Laurent: Racedriver biography - career and success". www.speedsport-magazine.com. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  2. ^ "24 Heures du Mans: du karting à l'endurance, la brillante ascension de Thomas Laurent" [24 Hours of Le Mans: from karting to endurance, the brilliant rise of Thomas Laurent]. La Croix (in French). 16 June 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  3. ^ Ramelet, Quentin (16 June 2018). "24h du Mans: Thomas Laurent, du pilote précoce au prodige de l'endurance" [24 Hours of Le Mans: Thomas Laurent, from precocious driver to endurance prodigy] (in French). France Info. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  4. ^ Doublet, Jean-Louis (15 June 2019). "24 Heures du Mans: Thomas Laurent ou comment tomber dans l'endurance tout petit" [24 Hours of Le Mans: Thomas Laurent or how to fall into endurance as a child]. La Croix (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Les malheurs portugais de Thomas Laurent" [The Portuguese misfortunes of Thomas Laurent]. Ouest France (in French). 20 December 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  6. ^ Festor, Gilles (15 June 2017). "24 Heures du Mans: Thomas Laurent, la pépite française de l'écurie Jackie Chan" [24 Hours of Le Mans: Thomas Laurent, the French nugget of the Jackie Chan team]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  7. ^ Mercier, Laurent (26 February 2018). "Nathalie et Jean-Pascal Laurent, des parents comblés..." [Nathalie and Jean-Pascal Laurent, happy parents...] (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  8. ^ "G-Drive Wins Estoril; Steals LMP2 Title from TDS – Sportscar365". Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  9. ^ "DC Racing Duo Win Road To Le Mans Race – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Algarve Pro Wins 4H Sepang, Asian LMS Title as DC Racing Retires – Sportscar365". Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Jackie Chan DC Racing Driver Line-Up Announced | Endurance info English spoken". www.endurance-info.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Laurent To Test With Toyota At Bahrain – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  13. ^ Dagys, John. "DC Racing Disputing Laurent's Rebellion Contract". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  14. ^ Kilshaw, Jake (4 February 2018). "DC Racing Sweeps Asian LMS Season; Wins Title at Sepang". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  15. ^ Dagys, John (5 February 2018). "ORECA-Built Rebellion R13 Gibson Confirmed". Sportscar365. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  16. ^ Dagys, John (5 May 2018). "Alonso Holds Off Conway for Toyota 1-2 at Spa". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  17. ^ Businaro, Martin (13 November 2018). "Laurent en essais avec Arden à Abou Dhabi" [Laurent testing with Arden in Abu Dhabi]. Auto Journal (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Thomas Laurent Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Complete Archive of Thomas Laurent". Racing Sports Cars. pp. 2. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Thomas Laurent". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Andrea Roda
Asian Le Mans Series
LMP2 Champion

2017–18
With: Harrison Newey & Stéphane Richelmi
Succeeded by