| Thomas Laurent | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Laurent in 2016 | |
| Nationality |  French |
| Born | 5 April 1998 La Roche-sur-Yon, France |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2017 |
| Current team | Signatech Alpine Elf |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold |
| Car number | 36 |
| Former teams | Jackie Chan DC Racing, Rebellion Racing |
| Starts | 24 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 2nd (LMP2) 3rd (LMP1) in 2017, 2018–19 |
| Previous series | |
| 2015–18 2016 2016 | Asian Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series Porsche Carrera Cup France |
| Championship titles | |
| 2017–18 | Asian 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].jpg)
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
[edit]Career summary
[edit]† 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 |
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 | |
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
[edit]| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Jackie Chan DC Racing
|
Ho-Pin Tung Oliver Jarvis
|
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 366 | 2nd | 1st |
| 2018 |  Rebellion Racing
|
Mathias Beche Gustavo Menezes
|
Rebellion R13-Gibson | LMP1 | 376 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2019 | Rebellion Racing
|
Nathanaël Berthon Gustavo Menezes
|
Rebellion R13-Gibson | LMP1 | 370 | 5th | 5th |
| 2020 | Signatech Alpine Elf
|
 André Negrão Pierre Ragues
|
Alpine A470-Gibson | LMP2 | 367 | 8th | 4th |
| 2021 | IDEC Sport
|
Ryan Dalziel Dwight Merriman
|
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 Pro-Am |
0 | WD | WD |
Source:[20]
| |||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Thomas Laurent: Racedriver biography - career and success". www.speedsport-magazine.com. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Les malheurs portugais de Thomas Laurent" [The Portuguese misfortunes of Thomas Laurent]. Ouest France (in French). 20 December 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "G-Drive Wins Estoril; Steals LMP2 Title from TDS – Sportscar365". Retrieved 2017-11-06.
- ^ "DC Racing Duo Win Road To Le Mans Race – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "Algarve Pro Wins 4H Sepang, Asian LMS Title as DC Racing Retires – Sportscar365". Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Laurent To Test With Toyota At Bahrain – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ Dagys, John. "DC Racing Disputing Laurent's Rebellion Contract". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ Kilshaw, Jake (4 February 2018). "DC Racing Sweeps Asian LMS Season; Wins Title at Sepang". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ Dagys, John (5 February 2018). "ORECA-Built Rebellion R13 Gibson Confirmed". Sportscar365. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ Dagys, John (5 May 2018). "Alonso Holds Off Conway for Toyota 1-2 at Spa". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Thomas Laurent Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Complete Archive of Thomas Laurent". Racing Sports Cars. pp. 2. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Thomas Laurent". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
External links
[edit]- Thomas Laurent career summary at DriverDB.com
- Official website