A new season and a return to GT after a difficult year in LM P2 with Extreme Speed Motorsports in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). How did the decision to move back to LM GTE Am come about?

Patrick Long told me in the close season that there might be a place for me with Abu Dhabi Proton Racing. I drove the 911 RSR at the end-of-season Rookie Test in Bahrain, to see if I was quick enough. I also had to show the team that I have what it takes. I drove for 20 or 25 laps and the car is just phenomenal! A few weeks later, we decided to work together for the 2016 season. I can’t wait for the season to start and especially to come back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans (if the team is selected by the committee).

Patrick Long was your instructor when you started out in motor racing. You have come full circle now you are driving with your “master”.

Yes, I have special ties with Porsche, and also with Patrick Long, who will be my teammate along with Khaled Al Qubaisi. Porsche was the marque I began motor racing with a few years ago, in a Cayman GT4. The team I started out with knew Patrick and arranged a test session during which he explained the basics to me. He then played a decisive role in helping get me started in competition. In particular, he helped me to get into LM P2 in 2012 with Conquest Racing and we have remained friends.

What is your aim? Just to win?

Of course! In 2016, Porsche will be at their pinnacle in terms of development. I think it’s the perfect year for me to come back to GT and I aim to get some good results. I have a good chance of winning the class at Le Mans. In fact, I've had a chance of winning every year. In 2012, without the repeated blowouts, we were up with the pace (with Oak Racing and Belgian drivers Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin). I even led the race. In 2013, I finished second before winning LM GTE Am with Aston Martin in 2014. In 2015, I didn’t have the right car. We didn’t have the right pace, the right speed, or anything. For 2016, everything is perfectly in place again to go for victory – a good car and good teammates.

Is it important for you to be in a position to win, and not just take part?

I like to convince myself I have a chance every time. Not being with the favourites as that creates pressure, but being with a team that has some strong arguments and is in with a good shout of winning.

In 2014 with Aston Martin, you lined up with an all-Danish team (with Kristian Poulsen and Nicki Thiim). This was undoubtedly the little spark that made all the difference and helped you to win. What will the spark be in 2016?

In 2014, the team and the drivers were all very close, both on and off the track. There was real camaraderie. These strong ties are undoubtedly what made the difference, for sure. I hope to find that again this year, although it won’t be an all-Danish team! I have known Patrick for years though, and Khaled for two years, particularly as a rival in 2014. It’s not as if I were joining two strangers. I think what will make the difference is simply the fact that we’ll be lining up with a Porsche. This marque has such history at Le Mans. Driving a Porsche on the 24-Hour circuit will be extraordinary.

You will also be entering two races at the wheel of a prototype (LM PC) – the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Can you not go without it?

I love to do both, and want to keep the opportunity of racing a prototype if I’m entered in GT for the season, and vice-versa. I asked Patrick Long for his opinion many years ago. I asked him if he thought I should focus on driving GT3s, and in particular with Porsche, to be very fast and rule out single-seaters and prototypes. He told me to drive as many different cars as possible because switching from one car to another, and even from one class to another, gets easier with lots of experience. So over the last five years, I’ve driven lots of things: F1, Formula Renault, LM P2, LM PC…

Geoffroy Barre

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, MONDAY 8 JUNE 2015, SCRUTINEERING. David Heinemeier Hansson lined up with Extreme Speed Motorsports in LM P2 last year.