COOL Racing Team Principal, and driver of the no37 Oreca 07-Gibson, Nicolas Lapierre is no stranger to the top step of the podium. The 38-year-old from Thonon-les-Bains, located on the French shore of Lake Geneva, has an impressive resume, with a single seater career that includes winning the Formula 3 Macau GP in 2003 and the A1GP title in 2006.
However, it is for his exploits in endurance racing that he has built a formidable reputation as a race winner, with two FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 titles in 2016 and 2018-2019 with Signatech Alpine and four LMP2 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Currently racing for the French Alpine Elf Team in the WEC Hypercar class, Lapierre, along with teammates Andre Negrão and Matthieu Vaxiviere, got his 2022 season off to a great start by securing the overall victory at the opening round of the FIA WEC at Sebring last month.
After finishing second in the ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am class alongside Alexandre Coigny last season, his focus as a driver, and team boss, has turned to the one prize that is missing from his trophy cabinet, the European Le Mans Series title.
For this endeavour he is joined in the no37 Oreca by reigning ELMS champion Yifei Ye and young German driver Niklas Kruetten, who moves up from LMP3 after finishing the 2021 season as Vice Champion with COOL Racing.
Q: Last season you finished second in the inaugural LMP2 Pro-Am championship with Alexandre Coigny.How important was the introduction of the Pro-Am title to the ELMS for drivers like Alexandre?
“I think it was a really good move for the bronze driver, to be honest.The level of the ELMS has been raised quite a lot in the last few years and so it was getting to be almost impossible for a bronze driver to get on the podium or to win races.The LMP2 category was seeing more and more cars, so I think it was very good to say that if you have a bronze driver you will race in the Pro/Am class and if don’t then you’ll be in the Pro class; I think it worked well.There are enough cars for both championships and the bronze drivers can compete with each other.”
Q: This season you are racing with reigning ELMS champion Yifei Ye and young German Niklas Kruetten. Can you tell us more about your new teammates and what is the goal for the 2022 season?
“The target for the team was to jump into the Pro class.We felt the team was ready to get a competitive line up to fight in the front and to fight for the championship.We wanted a fast silver and Niklas was one of the top silvers last year.He did a good job with us in LMP3, it was his first season of sportscars and he had a lot to learn.He had a very strong year and he started testing LMP2 at the end of last year.
"Yifei was first on our list of drivers.We had a test with him just after the last race in Portimão and he was really impressive.He knows the category and he knows what it takes to win; he is the perfect package.It was not easy to get him, but he has seen the potential in the team, and we are very pleased to have him onboard.”
Q: The LMP2 grid is looking very strong once again.Which teams do you see as your main rivals this season?
“United Autosports will be strong for sure, they always have a good driver line up, they know how to set up a car and they are good on strategy. Even though they are new to the ELMS, Prema will be a strong competitor. They have good drivers, and they have good people onboard.
Q: What do you do when you are not racing?
“Right now, I am spending a lot of time at the workshop because we are developing the team.This year we are going to have three cars in the ELMS, so the team is getting bigger, and we have more people full time, so I am spending a lot of my time on that.I also race with Alpine in the WEC so I don’t have any time to think about anything else, but it is what I like to do.”
Q: Do you follow or participate in any other sports?
“I like football and I follow it a little bit, but I don’t have as much time as I would like to watch it.”
Q: Who is your sporting hero?
“I liked Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna when I was young but the guy who I was really impressed by was Zinedine Zidane because when I had more time to watch football he was always at the top.He was changing teams and he was always there, always being one the best players in the world.”
Q: What is your current road car and what is your dream car, if not your current one?
“My current car is an Audi A5 diesel.I like efficiency as I hate to stop at the fuel station, so I am running the Audi, which is not my dream car!My dream car is the Ferrari F40.I was quite young when it was launched and it was the first car that really shocked me, it was the first car to really impress me.Even today it still looks quite cool and not that old.”
Q: What is your favourite food?
“My favourite food is Japanese. It’s healthy and I like it a lot.”
