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Yifei Ye

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The native form of this personal name is Yifei Ye. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
In this Chinese name, the family name is Ye.

Yifei Ye (Chinese: 叶一飞; pinyin: Yè Yīfēi; born 16 June 2000) is a Chinese racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for AF Corse. He is the 2021 European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series champion and previously competed in single-seater racing, winning the French F4 championship in 2016 and the Euroformula Open title in 2020. He is also a former member of the Renault Sport Academy and drove in an official capacity for Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific as a Selected Driver from 2021 until 2023.[2][3]

Yifei Ye
Ye in 2022
NationalityChina Chinese
Born (2000-06-16) 16 June 2000 (age 24)
Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
European Le Mans Series career
Debut season2021
Current teamCool Racing
Racing licence FIA Gold
Car number37
Former teamsTeam WRT
Starts12
Wins3
Poles1
Fastest laps1
Best finish1st in 2021
Previous series
2021
2020

2019
2017–18
2015–16
2015–16		Asian Le Mans Series
Euroformula Open Championship
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Formula Renault Eurocup
Italian F4 Championship
French F4 Championship
Championship titles
2021

2021
2020
2016		European Le Mans Series - LMP2
Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2
Euroformula Open
French F4 Championship
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese葉一飛
Simplified Chinese叶一飞[1]
Hanyu PinyinYè Yīfēi

From 2024 onwards, Ye will become a factory driver for Ferrari[4] and drive the #83 Ferrari 499P with Robert Kubica and Robert Shwartzman in FIA World Endurance Championship 2024.

Early career

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Born in Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi Province, Ye began his professional racing career in karting in 2010 at the age of ten, and would go on to win the China Karting Championship in 2011 and 2012. Ye would make his European racing debut in 2013 at the ROK Cup final in Lonato, finishing fourth overall in the Junior ROK class. His karting career concluded in early 2015 with a second-place finish in the Vega International Winter Trophy, in preparation for his step up to Formula 4.

Open Wheel Racing Career

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Formula 4

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In 2015, Ye graduated to single-seaters in the French F4 Championship, where two wins near the end of the campaign brought him to twelfth in the standings.

The following year would see Ye return to French F4.[5] He would go on to dominate the season, taking pole position in nearly every qualifying session and winning fourteen races. His final points tally saw him take the championship title by 142 points over runner-up Gilles Magnus - marking the largest winning margin in championship history, and the first title for a Chinese driver in Formula 4.

Formula Renault Eurocup

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In December 2016, it was announced that Ye would graduate to the Formula Renault Eurocup with reigning teams' champions Josef Kaufmann Racing.[6] He would go on to take three podium finishes on his way to the eighth place in the drivers' standings. Ye reunited with Josef Kaufmann the following season, claiming two wins at Monza and the Hungaroring to finish the championship in third overall.[7]

Formula One

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Following his performance in the Formula Renault Eurocup, Ye was signed to the Renault Sport Academy in April 2019.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

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In October 2018, Ye joined the final round of the F3 Asian Championship with Absolute Racing, where he claimed two podiums out of three races. Ye rejoined the outfit for the following year's Winter Series, where he claimed four wins to finish second in the championship.[8]

2019 saw Ye enter the inaugural season of the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix alongside Leonardo Pulcini and Red Bull junior Jüri Vips.[9] In the final race in Sochi, he scored his best result of sixth place.

Euroformula Open Championship

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In May 2020, Ye joined CryptoTower Racing in the Euroformula Open championship. He would go on to dominate the championship, taking clean sweeps at the Hungaroring, Red Bull Ring, and Catalunya rounds for a total of 11 wins, 13 poles and 12 fastest laps.[10]

Formula E

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In April 2023, Ye was announced to participate in the official rookie test at Berlin for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in the Porsche 99X Electric. Ye was able to find a good rhythm and managed to provide a valuable feedback to the engineers on the setup of the Porsche 99X Electric.[11] Additionally, following his successful Berlin rookie test, Ye was set to return to the cockpit of the Porsche 99X Electric for the Rome E-Prix Rookie Free Practice.[12]

Sportscar career

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2021: Impressive Rookie Season

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At the start of 2021, Ye made his sportscar racing debut with G-Drive Racing, partnering René Binder and Ferdinand Habsburg in the LMP2 category of the Asian Le Mans Series. Having taken a pair of victories at the opening round and consolidated their championship gap during the final two races, the trio claimed the ALMS title.

For his main campaign, Ye would drive for Team WRT alongside Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica in the European Le Mans Series.[13] The team started off in controlling fashion, winning the opening pair of races at Barcelona and Spielberg and gaining an early lead in the standings. After two finishes inside the top five, the Chinese driver and his teammates took victory at Spa-Francorchamps, thus clinching the ELMS championship with a round to go.

24 Hours of Le Mans

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In August 2021, Ye joined his ELMS teammates Delétraz and Kubica at Team WRT to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ye completed the most overtakes in the LMP2 class, with a total of 315 passes, and led the race for much of its concluding phase. However, the car would experience an electrical failure on the very last lap of the race, forcing Ye to retire from the lead and leading to the squad being unclassified in the final results.[14]

Promotion to Porsche Motorsport

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In October 2021, Ye signed with Porsche as Porsche Motorsport Asian Pacific Selected Driver, becoming Porsche's first-ever official Chinese driver in preparation for a potential role in the upcoming Porsche LMDh program.[15]

2022

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GT Debut in Asian Le Mans Series

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Ye returned to the Asian Le Mans Series in the GT3 class for 2022, making his debut in GT racing and fulfilling his duties as a newly signed driver for Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific.[16] A pole position and a second-place finish in the final round was enough to elevate the team to eighth in the standings.

Cool Racing (European Le Mans Series)

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The Oreca 07 entered by Cool Racing driven by Ye, Ricky Taylor and Niklas Krütten

In February 2022, Cool Racing announced its driver line-up for 2022. Reigning European Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion Ye along with the four-time winner in Le Mans Nicolas Lapierre and 2021 European Le Mans Series LMP3 runner up Niklas Krütten. The team also entered the car in the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans with a revised line-up due to Lapierre's commitments with Alpine in the FIA WEC. He was replaced by double IMSA champion Ricky Taylor. Ye took the pole position at Spa-Francorchamps and three podiums throughout the championship.

2023: First Full Season WEC Campaign in The Top Class

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FIA World Endurance Championship

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In 2023, Ye was announced to be making his debut in the top-flight Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship as the youngest driver in the Hypercar class, partnering António Félix da Costa and Will Stevens in the customer Porsche 963 of Hertz Team Jota.[17] The team would make an impressive debut at the third championship round at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing sixth.[18] At the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ye and his teammates would complete an impressive run from last to first during the first half of the race, though this would end after Ye crashed at the Porsche curves.[19][20] Following repairs, Ye and Jota managed to end up completing the race. In the final three races, the team would amass a trio of top-ten finishes, with a highlight coming in Bahrain, where the trio finished in fourth place.[21][22]

2024: Switch to Ferrari

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In lieu of the 2024 season, Ye announced that he would be leaving the Porsche stable, soon revealing that he had signed a factory contract with Ferrari.[23][24]

Karting record

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Karting career summary

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Season Series Team Position
2013 ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK 28th
2014 South Garda Winter Cup — KF3 17th
WSK Champions Cup — KFJ ART Grand Prix 19th
CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ 48th
ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK International Kartronix 4th
2015 WSK Champions Cup — KFJ Kartonix International 25th
South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ NC
Vega International Winter Trophy — KFJ 2nd
WSK Super Master Series — KFJ RB Racing 12th
CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ 46th

Racing record

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Racing career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F. Laps Podiums Points Position
2015 French F4 Championship Auto Sport Academy 21 2 0 0 2 73 12th
Italian F4 Championship RB Racing 15 0 0 0 0 10 21st
2016 French F4 Championship FFSA Academy 23 14 10 17 15 420 1st
Italian F4 Championship Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport 18 0 0 2 2 79 10th
2017 Formula Renault Eurocup Josef Kaufmann Racing 23 0 0 1 3 106.5 8th
Formula Renault NEC 7 2 2 2 4 104 8th
2018 Formula Renault Eurocup 20 2 1 3 10 239 3rd
Formula Renault NEC 8 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
F3 Asian Championship Absolute Racing 3 0 0 0 2 37 11th
2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship Hitech Grand Prix 16 0 0 0 0 4 21st
F3 Asian Winter Series Absolute Racing 9 4 2 5 7 154 2nd
2020 Euroformula Open Championship CryptoTower Racing 18 11 12 12 16 369 1st
2021 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Team WRT 6 3 0 1 4 118 1st
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 G-Drive Racing 4 2 1 0 3 81 1st
2022 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Cool Racing 6 0 1 0 3 70 5th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th
Asian Le Mans Series - GT Herberth Motorsport 4 0 1 1 1 21.5 8th
2023 FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar Hertz Team Jota 5 0 0 0 0 38 9th
24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 13th
FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 2 1 0 0 1 0 NC†
2024 FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar AF Corse 8 1 0 0 1 57 9th
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors
FIA GT World Cup Harmony Racing

† As Ye was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete French F4 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Pos Points
2015 LÉD
1
18 		LÉD
2
11 		LÉD
3
11 		LMS
1
13 		LMS
2
10 		LMS
3
7 		PAU
1
10 		PAU
2
5 		PAU
3
Ret 		HUN
1
14 		HUN
2
14 		HUN
3
11 		MAG
1
13 		MAG
2
Ret 		MAG
3
11 		NAV
1
9 		NAV
2
1 		NAV
3
12 		LEC
1
9 		LEC
2
1 		LEC
3
12 		12th 73
2016 LEC
1
1 		LEC
2
1 		LEC
3
1 		LEC
4
1 		PAU
1
3 		PAU
2
4 		PAU
3
1 		PAU
4
1 		LÉD
1
1 		LÉD
2
1 		LÉD
3
1 		LÉD
4
1 		MAG
1
1 		MAG
2
7 		MAG
3
1 		MAG
4
1 		LMS
1
1 		LMS
2
15 		LMS
3
Ret 		LMS
4
11 		CAT
1
4 		CAT
2
12 		CAT
3
15 		1st 420

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Pos Points
2017 Josef Kaufmann Racing MNZ
1
9 		MNZ
2
6 		SIL
1
9 		SIL
2
14 		PAU
1
8 		PAU
2
10 		MON
1
11 		MON
2
19 		HUN
1
24 		HUN
2
7 		HUN
3
5 		NÜR
1
7 		NÜR
2
3 		RBR
1
8 		RBR
2
7 		LEC
1
2 		LEC
2
8 		SPA
1
3 		SPA
2
7 		SPA
3
8 		CAT
1
12 		CAT
2
10 		CAT
3
11 		8th 106.5
2018 Josef Kaufmann Racing LEC
1
3 		LEC
2
2 		MNZ
1
1 		MNZ
2
15 		SIL
1
3 		SIL
2
3 		MON
1
4 		MON
2
4 		RBR
1
8 		RBR
2
5 		SPA
1
2 		SPA
2
3 		HUN
1
1 		HUN
2
11 		NÜR
1
6 		NÜR
2
6 		HOC
1
2 		HOC
2
3 		CAT
1
8 		CAT
2
8 		3rd 239

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points
2019 Hitech Grand Prix CAT
FEA
22 		CAT
SPR
Ret 		LEC
FEA
13 		LEC
SPR
22 		RBR
FEA
20 		RBR
SPR
Ret 		SIL
FEA
12 		SIL
SPR
11 		HUN
FEA
18 		HUN
SPR
22 		SPA
FEA
15 		SPA
SPR
10 		MNZ
FEA
Ret 		MNZ
SPR
19 		SOC
FEA
13 		SOC
SPR
6 		21st 4

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Points
2020 CryptoTower Racing HUN
1
1 		HUN
2
1 		LEC
1
2 		LEC
2
1 		RBR
1
1 		RBR
2
1 		MNZ
1
1 		MNZ
2
2 		MNZ
3
2 		MUG
1
5 		MUG
2
3 		SPA
1
1 		SPA
2
11 		SPA
3
3 		CAT
1
1 		CAT
2
1 		CAT
3
1 		CAT
4
1 		1st 369

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 Pos. Points
2021 G-Drive Racing LMP2 Aurus 01 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DUB
1
1 		DUB
2
1 		ABU
1
2 		ABU
2
4 		1st 81
2022 Herberth Motorsport GT Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 DUB
1
12 		DUB
2
Ret 		ABU
1
17 		ABU
2
2 		8th 20

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2021 Team WRT LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT
1 		RBR
1 		LEC
5 		MNZ
4 		SPA
1 		ALG
2 		1st 118
2022 Cool Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
5 		IMO
3 		MNZ
8 		CAT
3 		SPA
5 		ALG
3 		5th 70

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2021   Team WRT   Louis Delétraz
  Robert Kubica 		Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 362 NC NC
2022   Cool Racing   Niklas Krütten
  Ricky Taylor 		Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 367 11th 7th
2023   Hertz Team Jota   António Félix da Costa
  Will Stevens 		Porsche 963 Hypercar 244 40th 13th
2024   AF Corse   Robert Kubica
  Robert Shwartzman 		Ferrari 499P Hypercar 248 DNF DNF

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2023 Hertz Team Jota LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB
1 		ALG
5 		NC 0‡
Hypercar Porsche 963 Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8 SPA
6 		LMS
10 		MNZ
9 		FUJ
6 		BHR
4 		9th 38
2024 AF Corse Hypercar Ferrari 499P Ferrari F163 3.0 L Turbo V6 QAT
4 		IMO
8 		SPA
8 		LMS
Ret 		SÃO
11 		COA
1 		FUJ
12 		BHR
8 		9th 57

‡ Ye was entered a guest driver, therefore he was ineligible for points.

References

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  1. ^ 法国F4：中国车手叶一飞获得年度总冠军. Motorsport.com. 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Ye Yifei Continues Championship March at Magny-Cours". 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  3. ^ Allen, Peter (11 April 2019). "Yifei Ye joins Renault Sport Academy ahead of FIA F3". FormulaScout. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  4. ^ Kilbey, Stephen (18 December 2023). "Ye Announced As Ferrari Driver". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  5. ^ "16 pilotes à l'assaut du Castellet" [16 drivers on the attack of Le Castellet] (in French). Fédération Française du Sport Automobile. 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Yifei Ye joins Josef Kaufmann Racing for Formula Renault step". 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  7. ^ "27 drivers with many contenders for victory!". renaultsport.com. Renault Sport. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Absolute Racing signs Chinese hot prospect Ye Yifei for Asian F3". 29 October 2018. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Ye Yifei joins Hitech Grand Prix for 2019 season". 27 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  10. ^ "CryptoTower Racing Team, first Japanese team to enter the Euroformula". www.euroformulaopen.net. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  11. ^ "David Beckmann and Yifei Ye gain experience with the Porsche 99X Electric". Porsche Newsroom. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Yifei Ye to drive for TAG Heuer Porsche in Rome". The Official Home of Formula E. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  13. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2 March 2021). "Deletraz, Ye Join Kubica in WRT's Completed LMP2 Lineup – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  14. ^ "WRT identifies cause of Le Mans retirement". racer. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Yifei Ye secures Porsche Asia contract ahead of potential LMDh seat". www.motorsport.com. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Porsche Selected Driver Ye Among Herberth Crew". racer. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Yifei Ye in a Porsche 963 LMDh in 2023". Endurance Info. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Toyota takes Hypercar 1-2 in front of record crowd at WEC Spa race". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  19. ^ Little, Martin; O'Connell, RJ (10 June 2023). "2023 LM24, Hour 5: Ecstacy, Then Agony, For JOTA!". DailySportsCar. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  20. ^ Thurkal, Rachit (10 June 2023). "JOTA Porsche suffers spectacular crash while leading Le Mans". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  21. ^ "Jota not disappointed by Bahrain WEC podium near-miss". www.motorsport.com. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  22. ^ Tunnicliffe, David (5 November 2023). "Toyota finish season in style with Bahrain 1-2". WEC-Magazin. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  23. ^ Euwema, Davey (12 December 2023). "Cairoli, Ye Confirm Porsche Departures – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  24. ^ "OFFICIEL – Yifei Ye rejoint Ferrari". Endurance Info (in French). Retrieved 18 December 2023.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Valentin Moineault
 French F4 Championship
Champion
2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Euroformula Open Championship
Champion
2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Roman Rusinov
James French
Léonard Hoogenboom
 Asian Le Mans Series
LMP2 Champion
2021
With: René Binder & Ferdinand von Habsburg 		Succeeded by
Ben Hanley
Matt Bell
Rodrigo Sales
Preceded by European Le Mans Series
LMP2 Champion
2021
With: Robert Kubica & Louis Delétraz 		Succeeded by
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