Loïc Duval
Loïc Duval ( born June 12, 1982 in Chartres ) is a French racing driver. It starts in Formula Nippon and Super GT since 2006. In 2009 he was Formula Nippon champion, in 2010 he won the Super GT. 2012 in the FIA World Endurance Championship ( WEC ), he takes also.
Career
Like most racers began Duval his career in karting, where he was active from 1992 to 2001. His biggest success in this case was the third place in the World Karting Championship in 2000 in the "Formula A " class. In 2002 he moved to Formula racing and immediately won the championship of the French Formula Renault Campus. He won nine of 16 races. 2003 Duval went to the French Formula Renault at the start and reached in this championship also in his first season for the title. In early 2004 he was included in the program of the Renault F1 team, where he served until the end of 2005. In those two years he was active in the Formula 3 Euro Series with Team Signature or Signature-Plus. 2004 Duval finished with two podium finishes at the end of the season 12th overall. Again in 2005 he succeeded no race win, he improved but to sixth place in the driver standings. Team Intern he sat down by a point against James Rossiter. At the Macau Grand Prix, he won, antretend for ASM, the qualifying race and finished the final run to the 6th position.
2006 Duval left Europe and moved to Japan, where he went for Nakajima Racing in both the Super GT, as well as in Formula Nippon at the start. While he finished eleventh of the Super GT, he won two races of the Formula Nippon and eventually finished fourth in the overall standings. He let his teammates Hideki Muto far behind. The following winter Duval started for the French team in the A1GP A1; first as a rookie, then as a regular driver. He participated in eight races, scoring three second places and a third place four podium finishes. Then Duval returned to Japan and went again into two racing series. In Formula Nippon he did not keep time with his teammate Takashi Kogure and finished at the end of the season without a win in sixth place overall. Things went better for him in the Super GT in which he has been this season along with Fabio Carbone runner-up. In the 2007/2008 season Duval started again in the A1GP and participated in twelve races. He won one and got a total of seven times on the podium. Then Duval denied his third season in the Super GT and Formula Nippon. Unlike last year, he was this time only tenth in the Super GT, but it won the runner-up title of Formula Nippon. In Formula Nippon he scored two victories. In addition he gave for his debut with the ORECA 24 - hour race at Le Mans in 2008, where he was eighth in the LMP1 category and competed in the Le Mans Series to another long-distance races. As in previous years, he went in the winter 2008/2009 in the A1GP at the start and he made six appearances a win and two more podium finishes.
2009 Duval went for the fourth year in Super GT and Formula Nippon at the start. While he was 16th in the Super GT, Duval won this season with four wins the championship of the Formula Nippon ahead of his compatriot Benoît Treluyer. He also scored a single race weekend of the Asian Le Mans Series in Okayama two podiums and thus secured the third place overall. 2010 Duval left Nakajima Racing and moved within the Formula Nippon to Dandelion Racing. He did not defend his title and finished with two wins third overall. In the Super GT, he moved to Weider Honda Racing, where he formed a team with Takashi Kogure. The two won a race and decided the championship. He also competed in long-distance races in Europe: he took for ORECA part in two races of the 2010 season in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 2011 Duval not stepped up to single-seater racing. In the Super GT he won two races and was third overall. In addition, he took part in three races for ORECA of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in the LMP1 class and won with Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Panis, the 12 - hour race at Sebring.
2012 Duval returned back to the Formula Nippon and received a cockpit with the team Kygnus Sunoco. After the third race, he was with a third place as best result in third place in the drivers' standings. In the Super GT, he moved to TOM'S. In addition, Duval received at Audi factory driver in a cockpit as the newly formed FIA World Endurance Championship ( WEC). Together with Romain Dumas and Marc Gené he won the 6- hour race at Spa-Francorchamps. After the third world championship race, he finished with his teammates Dumas third place in the Drivers' World Championship. In 2013 he won together with Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish in the 24- hour race at Le Mans.
Statistics
Career stations
- 2007: Super GT (2nd place)
- 2008: A1GP
- 2008: Formula Nippon (2nd place)
- 2008: Super GT ( # 10 )
- 2008: Le Mans Series, LMP1 ( 17th)
- 2009: A1GP
- 2009: Formula Nippon (Master)
- 2009: Super GT ( 16th place)
- 2009: Asian Le Mans Series ( 3rd place)
- 2010: Formula Nippon ( 3rd place)
- 2010: Super GT (Master)
- 2010: Le Mans Series, LMP1 ( 15th place)
- 2011: Super GT ( 3rd place)
- 2011: ILMC
- 2012: Formula Nippon
- 2012: Super GT
- 2012: WEC