Being with Vanthoor on an OAK at Le Mans

Jacques Nicolet’s OAK Racing team has decided to entrust the Ligier JS P2 prototype to three highly promising young drivers: Chris Cumming, Kevin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor. These three drivers will be participating for the first time in the Le Mans classic.

At 26 years old, Kevin Estre has made his mark in the Porsche Carrera Cup races, a competition where he climbed the ranks from 2008 to 2013 before venturing into GT racing, notably becoming an official McLaren driver. This year, he will experience a new phase in his career by starting in LMP2.

« I am really happy and proud to join the OAK Racing team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, » explains Estre. « It’s the most beautiful race in the world, and it’s fantastic to have the opportunity to participate with such a team and the Ligier JS P2-Honda! I know from experience that Chris is one of the best gentlemen drivers and Laurens is one of the top ten GT drivers in the world: I believe we have a solid crew. I often have the opportunity to fight against Laurens on the track because we are both factory drivers for competing GT brands, so it’s really nice to have a break and race together for this event. »

Alongside the Frenchman, we will notably find the young Belgian Laurens Vanthoor. He was expected to join Audi in LMP1 after his numerous titles in GT. He notably won the 24 Hours of Zolder as well as the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS.

« Obviously, racing at Le Mans is a dream come true, » rejoices Vanthoor. « Three years ago, I realized the dream of becoming a professional driver for Audi. The next step was to compete in and win the 24 Hours of Le Mans: this is a first step in that dream coming true. Having the chance to do it with OAK Racing, driving a Ligier JS P2-Honda-Dunlop, with the very fast GT driver Kevin Estre and of course Chris Cumming, is the best package I could have imagined. Obviously, we don’t have experience at Le Mans as drivers, but we are going to work on it. »