Photo : Frederic GAUDIN (ACO)

 

In 2010, Romain Dumas put an end to an unsuccessful decade for French drivers when he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with team-mates Timo Bernhard and Mike Rockenfeller. The last French driver to win Le Mans was Yannick Dalmas, back in 1999. He also equalled Henri Pescarolo as the most successful French driver at Le Mans. This wealth of victories has been going on for three consecutive years thanks to Benoît Tréluyer, 2011 and 2012 winner, and Loïc Duval, 2013 winner with team-mates Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, who have 12 wins between them.

The career of the driver from Chartres has been on the rise since he drove for Team Oreca in the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP at the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours (he set the best lap time during the race) and at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2011 (win with Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Panis). Since he first started with Audi in 2012, he won on two other iconic race-tracks: first at Spa-Francorchamps last year and then at Silverstone, the first round of the WEC, last April, winning the Tourist Trophy, one of the oldest trophies in motorsport. He now leads the Drivers standings after his win at Le Mans on June 23rd.

With Benoît Tréluyer, Romain Dumas, Nicolas Lapierre, Stéphane Sarrazin, Olivier Pla, Frédéric Makowiecki and more, Loïc Duval has shown that sportscar racing is again a great arena for French drivers. He entered the realm of famous names in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, like Raymond Sommer, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Philippe Etancelin, Robert Benoist, Maurice Trintignant, Henri Pescarolo, Gérard Larrousse, Didier Pironi, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Laurent Aiello, Yannick Dalmas, Christophe Bouchut and Eric Helary.

For further information about Loïc Duval, go to his official website, Facebook and Twitter.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Cécile Bonardel / ACO

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, JUNE 23RD 2013. Loïc Duval (middle) left his hand-prints after he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With team-mates Tom Kristensen (left) and Allan McNish (right), he had already won twice in the 2013 WEC.