Kévin Estre (born 28 October 1988) is a French professional racing driver. He is currently competing in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

for

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

in the Hypercar class.

Early career

Karting

Born in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, Estre began his racing career in

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

, contesting the 2001 French Cadet Championship and taking his first title. In 2004, he won the European ICA Championship, beating

Jon Lancaster Jon Francis Lancaster (born 10 December 1988 in Leeds) is a British auto racing driver. Career Early life and karting Lancaster was born on 10 December 1988 in Leeds, Yorkshire. He used to watch Formula One from the age of three and always li ...

in the title competition.

Formula Renault

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Estre began his graduation to

single-seater An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

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. For the 2007 season, Estre graduated into the French Formula Renault 2.0 championship for

Graff Racing Graff Racing is an auto racing team based in France.Graff Racing
Translation from fr, February 20, 2021, The team was founded in 1 ...

. He finished ninth, taking nine point-scoring finishes from thirteen races.

Sportscar career

Estre decided to switch to sportscars in 2008, continuing his collaboration with Graff Racing into the

Porsche Carrera Cup France Porsche Carrera Cup France is a Spec racing, one make motor racing championship held in France. The cars are Porsche 911 GT3#Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991.2) with 4.0 liters, Flat-six engine, flat-6 naturally aspirated engines that pr ...

. He won a race at the final round of the season at

Magny-Cours Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is o ...

and scored another three podiums, finishing fifth overall. He remained in the series for 2009, but switched to Sofrev — ASP. This time he added race victories at

Nogaro Nogaro (; Gascon: ''Nogaròu'') is a commune in the Gers department, Southwestern France. It is the site of a distillery of Armagnac brandy. Geography The commune is bordered by six other communes: Caupenne-d'Armagnac to the northwest, ...

, Le Castellet and

Circuit de Lédenon Circuit de Lédenon is a motor racing circuit located next to the town of Lédenon, Gard, France, about northeast of Nîmes. It hosts mostly National championships, such as FFSA GT Championship and French F4 Championship. History In 1970, tw ...

, improving to fourth position in the series standings. As well as this, Estre competed in the Le Castellet round of the

2009 FIA GT3 European Championship season The 2009 FIA GT3 European Championship season was the fourth season of the FIA GT3 European Championship. The season began on 2 May at Silverstone and ended on 14 November 2009 at Zolder. The season featured six double-header rounds, with each race ...

with MP Racing. 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 Frédéric Makowiecki (born 22 November 1980) is a French professional racing driver who currently competes as a factory driver for Alpine Endurance Team in the Hypercar category of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Career After competin ...

, but Estre finished the season as runner-up to Makowiecki, by two points. Estre also raced with

Mühlner Motorsport Mühlner Motorsport is a Belgium, Belgian auto racing team competing in the FIA GT1 World Championship.2010 FIA GT3 European Championship season and the season-opening

Oschersleben Oschersleben () is a town in the Börde district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The population in 1905 was 13,271, in 2020 about 19,000. History On November 23, 994 Oschersleben was first mentioned in a document by the Emperor Otto III. In 1235 ...

round of the 2010 ADAC GT Masters season. K Estre Monza 2011

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. Additionally he made his début in both the

Porsche Supercup The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007 and often abbreviated as PSC) is an international One-design racing, one-make production stock car racing series supporting the ...

and the

Porsche Carrera Cup Germany The Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, (currently known as Porsche SIXT Carrera Cup Deutschland; known as Porsche 944 Turbo Cup between 1986–1989) is a one-make racing series by Porsche based in Germany. Champions Circuits * Adria International ...

with

Attempto Racing Attempto Racing is a German racing team founded in 2005 by Arkin Aka. It has competed in various championships such as Porsche Supercup, Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, ADAC GT Masters, DTM and the GT World Challenge Europe. History Founded by Ar ...

. In the Supercup he raced on a full-time basis, finishing seventh with a win at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. In the German series, he only competed at the

Norisring The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as a motorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as a sports car racing venue in the 19 ...

. For 2012, Estre decided to concentrate on the Supercup and the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

series, continuing with Attempto Racing. In the Supercup, he finished as runner-up to

René Rast René Rast (; born 26 October 1986) is a Germans, German professional racing driver and the 2017 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, 2017, 2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, 2019 and 2020 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, 2020 DTM champion. He last compete ...

, with one win at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...

. In the German series, he finished fourth, winning the

24 Hours Nürburgring 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the H ...

support race held on the Nordschleife. He qualified on pole position for the 24 Hours with a laptime of 8:10.9, averaging 186.1 km/h. Estre also had a part-time schedule in the French series, contesting five races with Nourry Competition. Porsche 911 RSR Estre Silverstone 2018

In 2013, he prolonged his collaboration with Attempto Racing in the Supercup and

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. In 2014, Estre became a McLaren GT factory driver, joining the

ART Grand Prix ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. In 2012, it competed in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series as Lotus GP to reflect sponsorship from British sports and racing car manufacturer Lotus. The ...

squad in the

Blancpain Endurance Series The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports G ...

. He competed in the No. 99 McLaren MP4-12C GT3 with

Kevin Korjus Kevin Korjus (born 9 January 1993) is an Estonian former racing driver. Career Karting Kevin Korjus was born in Tallinn, the son of former sidecarcross racer Aivar Korjus. He made his pan-European karting début in 2006, competing in the Rotax M ...

and

Andy Soucek Andy Christian Soucek (; born 14 June 1985) is a Spanish- Austrian professional racing driver. Career Soucek was born in Madrid, Spain. His father is an Austrian of Czech descent and his mother is French. He holds dual Austrian and Spanish nati ...

. The crew achieved two podiums, finishing the season in eighth position in the Pro Cup standings. In 2015, Estre joined Chris Cumming and

Laurens Vanthoor Laurens Vanthoor (; born 8 May 1991) is a Belgium, Belgian professional racing driver currently racing for Porsche in motorsport, Porsche Motorsport as a Factory-backed, factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He currently reside ...

OAK Racing OAK Racing is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans Prototype, LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA ...

in the LMP2 class of the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

. Also, he will stay in the

, but will switch to Von Ryan Racing. He will race in the No. 58 McLaren 650S GT3 with

Rob Bell Robert Holmes Bell Jr. (born August 23, 1970) is an American author, speaker, playwright, musician and former pastor. Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, and pastored it until 2012. Under his leadership, Mars Hill ...

and

Shane van Gisbergen Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989), also known by his initials SVG, is a New Zealand professional auto racing, racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, C ...

. He also competes for McLaren at the

Blancpain Sprint Series The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) with the approval of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Born as the FIA GT Series in 2013, it was spo ...

for

, partnering with Bell. In addition, the Frenchman competed at the

Pirelli World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the SRO Motorsports Group since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club since 2 ...

, where he drove a

K-Pax Racing ''K-PAX'' is an American science fiction novel by Gene Brewer, the first in the ''K-PAX'' series. The series deals with the experiences on Earth of a being named Prot. It is written in the first person from the point of view of Prot's psychiat ...

McLaren to fifth place in the GT drivers standings. Also, he drove a Porsche 911 GT America at the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

for Park Place Motorsports, and competed for the Porsche factory team at the

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps) is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. History The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races f ...

on a Porsche 911 RSR.

Hypercar career

Estre would move to the Porsche Penske Motorsport Hypercar programme for the 2023 season of the World Endurance Championship, competing alongside

André Lotterer André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German racing driver, who most recently competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche in motorsport, Porsche. In formula racing, Lotterer competed in Formula One at the in , and Formu ...

and

in a

Porsche 963 The Porsche 963 (Type 9R0) is an LMDh sports prototype racing car designed by Porsche and built by Multimatic, to compete in the Hypercar and GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) classes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Champi ...

. The trio scored two podiums, finishing third at

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

and Fuji respectively to end up sixth in the standings. For the 2024 season, Estre, Vanthoor, and Lotterer were retained as part of the No. 6's lineup. At the season opener in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

a controlling performance earned the team their first victory with the 963.

Racing record

Career summary

^† As Estre was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. ^* Season still in progress.

Complete Porsche Supercup results

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

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Full points not awarded due to exceeding maximum drive time limitation. ^* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Bathurst 1000 results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Estre, Kevin 1988 births Living people Racing drivers from Lyon French racing drivers French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Porsche Supercup drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers International GT Open drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers American Le Mans Series drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers ART Grand Prix drivers NASCAR drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers Graff Racing drivers OAK Racing drivers Formule Campus Renault Elf drivers KCMG drivers La Filière drivers Boutsen Ginion Racing drivers Craft-Bamboo Racing drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Germany drivers Team Penske drivers Porsche Carrera Cup France drivers Manthey Racing drivers McLaren Racing drivers Proton Competition drivers 21st-century French sportsmen