Kévin Estre

Kévin Estre
Nationality	French
Born	28 October 1988 Lyon, France
FIA WEC – LMP2 career
Debut season	2015
Current team	OAK Racing
Car no.	34
Previous series
2014–15 2014 2013 2011–14 2011–13 2009–10 2008–14 2007 2006	United SportsCar Championship Blancpain Endurance Series FFSA GT Championship Porsche Supercup Porsche Carrera Cup Germany FIA GT3 European Championship Porsche Carrera Cup France French Formula Renault 2.0 Formula Renault Campus France
Championship titles
2013 2011 2006	Porsche Carrera Cup Germany Porsche Carrera Cup France Formula Renault Campus France

Kévin Estre (born 28 October 1988) is a French professional racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with French squad OAK Racing.

Career

Karting

Born in Lyon, Estre began his racing career in karting, contesting the 2001 French Cadet Championship and taking his first title.^[1] In 2004, he won the European ICA Championship, beating Jon Lancaster in the title competition.^[2]

Formula Renault

In 2006, Estre began his graduation to single-seater racing by running in Formula Campus by Renault and Elf which he won comfortably at the first attempt, taking six wins and a total of twelve podium finishes from thirteen races.^[3]

For the 2007 season, Estre graduated into the French Formula Renault 2.0 championship for Graff Racing. He finished ninth, taking nine point-scoring finishes from thirteen races.

Sportscar racing

Estre decided to switch to sportscars in 2008, continuing his collaboration with Graff Racing into the Porsche Carrera Cup France. He won a race at the final round of the season at Magny-Cours and scored another three podiums, finishing fifth overall.^[4]

He remained in the series for 2009, but switched to Sofrev — ASP. This time he added race victories at Nogaro, Le Castellet and Circuit de Lédenon, improving to fourth position in the series standings.^[5] As well as this, Estre competed in the Le Castellet round of the 2009 FIA GT3 European Championship season with MP Racing.^[6]

In 2010, he continued his participation in the Porsche Carrera Cup France with Sofrev — ASP. He again scored five wins, with a total of twelve podium finishes. This allowed him to enter the title battle with Frédéric Makowiecki, but Estre finished the season as runner-up to Makowiecki, by two points.^[7] Estre also raced with Mühlner Motorsport in the opening two rounds of the 2010 FIA GT3 European Championship season and the season-opening Oschersleben round of the 2010 ADAC GT Masters season.^[8][9]

Kévin Estre at the 2011 Monza Porsche Supercup round.

In 2011, Estre remained in the Porsche Carrera Cup France for a fourth successive year, but he joined the AS Events team. He dominated the season, amassing ten wins and took the championship title with an eventual margin of 113 points over his closest championship rival, Sylvain Noël.^[10] Additionally he made his début in both the Porsche Supercup and the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany with Attempto Racing.^[11] In the Supercup he raced on a full-time basis, finishing seventh with a win at Monza.^[12] In the German series, he only competed at the Norisring.^[13]

For 2012, Estre decided to concentrate on the Supercup and the German series, continuing with Attempto Racing.^[14] In the Supercup, he finished as runner-up to René Rast, with one win at the Hungaroring.^[15] In the German series, he finished fourth, winning the 24 Hours Nürburgring support race held on the Nordschleife.^[16] He qualified on pole position for the 24 Hours with a laptime of 8:10.9, averaging 186.1 km/h.^[17][18][19]

Estre also had a part-time schedule in the French series, contesting five races with Nourry Competition.^[20]

In 2013, he prolonged his collaboration with Attempto Racing in the Supercup and German series. He scored three podium finishes to end the season fourth in the Supercup, while in the German series, he dominated from the start of the season, collecting eight race wins in seventeen races to take the championship title.^[21]

In 2014, Estre became a McLaren GT factory driver, joining the ART Grand Prix squad in the Blancpain Endurance Series. He competed in the No. 99 McLaren MP4-12C GT3 with Kevin Korjus and Andy Soucek.^[22] The crew achieved two podiums, finishing the season in eighth position in the Pro Cup standings.^[23]

In 2015, Estre he joined Chris Cumming and Laurens Vanthoor in OAK Racing in the LMP2 class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[24] Also, he will stay in the Blancpain Endurance Series, but will switch to Von Ryan Racing. He will race in the No. 58 McLaren 650S GT3 with Rob Bell and Shane Van Gisbergen.^[25] He also competes for McLaren at the Blancpain Sprint Series for Attempto Racing, partnering with Bell.

In addition, the Frenchman competed at the Pirelli World Challenge, where he drove a K-Pax Racing McLaren to fifth place in the GT drivers standings. Also, he drove a Porsche 911 GT America at the 24 Hours of Daytona for Park Place Motorsports, and competed for the Porsche factory team at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on a Porsche 911 RSR.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2006	Formula Renault Campus France	Auto Sport Academy	13	6	5	3	12	195	1st
2007	Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0	Graff Racing	13	0	0	0	0	46	8th
2008	Porsche Carrera Cup France	Graff Racing	14	1	0	0	4	108	5th
2009	Porsche Carrera Cup France	Sofrev — ASP	14	5	2	6	6	146	4th
	FIA GT3 European Championship	MP Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2010	Porsche Carrera Cup France	Sofrev — ASP	13	5	7	3	12	200	2nd
	FIA GT3 European Championship	Mühlner Motorsport	3	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	ADAC GT Masters		2	0	0	0	1	8	22nd
2011	Porsche Carrera Cup France	AS Events	12	10	8	10	11	242	1st
	Porsche Supercup	Hermes Attempto Racing	11	1	2	1	3	127	7th
	Porsche Carrera Cup Germany		2	0	0	0	0	6	22nd
	Porsche Carrera World Cup		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	6th
	NASCAR Whelen Euro Series – Elite	Performance Engineering	2	0	0	0	0	132	27th
2012	Porsche Supercup	Hermes Attempto Racing	10	1	1	0	4	139	2nd
	Porsche Carrera Cup Germany		17	1	1	1	8	181	4th
	International GT Open – GTS		2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Porsche Carrera Cup France	Nourry Competition	5	3	3	2	3	74	11th
	Rolex Sports Car Series – GT	TRG	1	0	0	0	0	16	68th
	American Le Mans Series – GTC	JDX Racing	1	0	0	0	0	12	25th
2013	Porsche Supercup	Hermes Attempto Racing	9	0	0	1	3	107	4th
	Porsche Carrera Cup Germany		17	8	7	2	11	249	1st
	FFSA GT Championship		4	2	0	1	2	50	13th
	Porsche Carrera Cup France		2	2	2	2	2	N/A	NC†
	Dubai 24 Hour – A6-Pro		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	14th
	FIA GT Series – Pro	Hexis Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Rolex Sports Car Series – GT	Mühlner Motorsports America	1	0	0	0	0	16	62nd
	American Le Mans Series – GTC	TRG	2	0	0	1	0	6	29th
2014	United SportsCar Championship – GTD	Park Place Motorsports	8	0	0	0	1	83	31st
	Blancpain Endurance Series – Pro Cup	ART Grand Prix	5	0	1	0	2	48	8th
	Porsche Supercup	McGregor by Attempto Racing	3	0	0	1	1	21	17th
	Porsche Carrera Cup France	Tsunami RT	1	0	1	1	0	0	NC
	24 Hours of Nürburgring – SP9 GT3	Dörr Motorsport	1	0	1	1	0	N/A	NC
	VLN Endurance – SP9		2	0	0	0	1	N/A	NC†
	ADAC GT Masters	GW-IT Racing Team	2	2	0	0	2	50	18th
	Blancpain Sprint Series	Boutsen Ginion	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Gulf 12 Hours — GT3	McLaren GT	1	0	0	0	0	0	3rd

† Estre was a guest driver, therefore ineligible to score points.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Rank	Points
2015	Porsche Team Manthey	LMGTE Pro	Porsche 911 RSR	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	SIL	SPA 3	LMS	NÜR	COA	FUJ	SHA	BHR	9th*	15*

* Season still in progress.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2015	OAK Racing	Chris Cumming Laurens Vanthoor	Ligier JS P2-Honda	LMP2	329	DNF	DNF

References

1. "Biography". kevinestre.co.uk. Kévin Estre. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
2. "European Championship — ICA 2004 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
3. "Formula Renault Campus France 2006 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
4. "Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup France 2008 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
5. "Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup France 2009 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
6. "FIA GT3 European Championship 2009 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
7. "Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup France 2010 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
8. "FIA GT3 European Championship 2010 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
9. "ADAC GT Masters 2010 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
10. "Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup France 2011 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
11. "All drivers of the season 2011". racecam.de. racecam GmbH. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
12. "Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2011 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
13. "Porsche Carrera Cup Germany 2011 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
14. "Ready for the new season – Hermes ATTEMPTO Racing". racecam.de (racecam GmbH). 13 April 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
15. "Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2012 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
16. "Porsche Carrera Cup Germany 2012 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
17. http://www.24h-rennen.de/uploads/media/24h_Top30_Qualifying_03.pdf
18. http://www.motorsport.com/endurance/news/kevin-estre-and-mclaren-shatter-qualifying-lap-record-for-n-rburgring-24/
19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajN5fVVOLOw
20. "Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup France 2012 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
21. "Porsche Carrera Cup Germany 2013 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
22. Wouters, Vincent (11 March 2015). "ART GP finalizes lineup; Monza entry list update". John Dagys Media. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
23. "Blancpain Endurance Series — Pro Cup 2014 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
24. Watkins, Gary (9 March 2015). "GT aces Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor join OAK at Le Mans 24 Hours". Autosport (Haymarket). Retrieved 11 March 2015.
25. DiZinno, Tony (11 March 2015). "McLaren GT Sets BES Lineups, Factory Driver Race Schedules". sportcar365.com (John Dagys Media). Retrieved 11 March 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Kévin Estre career summary at DriverDB.com