Kevin, how did the race go?
"It went pretty well for a first participation! Unfortunately, we lost a bit of time early in the race with a little problem concerning the flat base that we had to repair. Then during the race, Chris Cumming (one of his two teammates along with Laurens Vanthoor, editor's note) got caught in a gravel trap, which made us lose three laps. We tried to catch up for the rest of the race and, at one hour 20 minutes from the finish, we broke a component of the gearbox. We were fourth and could have claimed a podium finish. So, it's not disappointing in terms of the result itself, but when you fight for 22 and a half hours, you'd like to finish well. We handled it well as a debuting driver line-up."

How did it feel to drive a prototype?
"The Ligier JS P2 is a fantastic car even though this year we came up a little short on the performance level in comparison to the Oreca 05 or the Gibson. It was new for me because I haven't raced a lot of single-seaters, I stopped in Formula Renault 2.0, a car with not much horsepower or aerodynamics. Then I did the Porsche Carrera Cup and some GT. The prototype was a big step for me. I adjusted pretty well, I tweaked my driving since I was a little too aggressive with the wheel in the beginning. In the end, it went well. It was nice to share the wheel with Laurens Vanthoor because we are opponents the rest of the time in GT, him as an official Audi driver, me McLaren. We were able to see that we are very close in terms of times. As for Chris Cumming, he did good work despite his incident. It was still a great experience, I hope to do Le Mans again very soon."

Now you are familiar with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Spa. How are the two races different?
"Regarding the circuit itself, Spa is more difficult physically as there are fewer straights, more cars on a circuit that is twice as short as Le Mans. Mentally, I found Le Mans very challenging since the speeds are very high and with the slightest error you find yourself in the gravel trap. At Le Mans, there is pressure being in the biggest endurance race in the world and wanting to do well. Regarding the cars, at Spa, it's all GTs. At Le Mans, when you're in LM P2, you have to overtake the LM GTEs all while being overtaken by the LM P1s. You have to see in front of and behind yourself. At Spa, we were ahead in the McLaren, we focused of course on the leader, but there are more cars and they are just as strong as ours. Those are two outstanding races!"

You are entered in two GT championships for McLaren in Europe and in the U.S., and you have also competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps for Porsche in LM GTE Pro. How do you manage all these championships and travel?
"It's true I've done a lot of races. I have the advantage of racing a lot in the McLaren, so even though it's two different continents, with different teams, I still race the same car. After that, driving a prototype was different just like the Porsche 911 RSR for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. I think having raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup helped me a great deal. In this discipline, there is no assistance, one must adapt quickly. I think I have that ability.
The round trips between the U.S. and Europe don't make things easy. I'm on my 10th this year alone (end of July, editor's note). I did races nonstop between April 4th and July 10th! It's a very busy season, but for now, all is well. I will take a two-week break in August which will do me some good (smile).
In any case, I am happy to have all these opportunities thanks to McLaren putting together a nice program for me. Being able to do Spa in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Daytona, Bathurst, I am truly thrilled. These are some of the greatest races in the world!"

Interview by David Bristol / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, THURSDAY JUNE 11 2015, QUALIFYING. Kevin Estre, getting out of the No. 34 Ligier JS P2, has very good memories of his first participation at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.