What do you remember most when you think about your victory in Le Mans?
 The actual success! Every driver wants to win that race! To do so and go into the history books is just amazing. It’s also a good sign of where you are at as a driver. I know I’ve still got to improve my level a lot more but after Le Mans I’ve got a lot more confidence in the future and I know I’m headed in the right direction.

Le Mans, especially in LM P2, was a very tough battle, wasn’t it?
 It was! It might have looked like we were in control for most of the race but towards the end, we were just managing the race. There were 90 seconds between us and everyone else so it wasn’t as comfortable as it looked. The whole team, the mechanics and obviously Nicolas (Lapierre), Richard (Bradley), everyone held their nerve and there weren’t many mistakes. Over 360 laps, there were maybe three mistakes and that is what was really exceptional. There are so many opportunities to make a mistake. [After 24 hours, things were very tight with the team 48 seconds ahead of the #38 Gibson for Jota Sport and 1 minute 47 seconds in front of the G-Drive #26 Ligier, ed.]

What would you keep in mind about the race – a particular moment, a particular image, something special? 
Obviously the whole week is always special. And this time we had pole position and though that doesn’t really mean anything, it’s great going into the race. It gives you a lot of confidence. This was our first run at Le Mans with a coupé. And we had a situation where the windscreen wasn’t very clean. I used the washer but then I couldn’t see at all. I had to go back to the pits but I still had to drive four miles without being able to see a thing. That was difficult and something I’ll remember. Another big thing is when the car crosses the line. At that moment, you don’t really understand what is happening. When you get on the podium and you see all the people, you still don’t understand what’s going on. It’s like a dream. I was in the bar afterwards with Nick [Tandy, who drives the #47 Oreca 05 the rest of the year and who clinched overall victory at Le Mans with Porsche this year, ed.], and we got a beer and said ‘Cheers to winning Le Mans’. And that’s when you realise. That is the thing that really sticks in my mind.

Tickets for the 2016 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be on sale from Tuesday 3 November (ACO members) and Friday 6 November (general public).

David Bristol / ACO | Translated from French by Clair Pickworth


Photo : LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, TUESDAY 9 JUNE 2015, AUTOGRAPH SESSION. Matthew Howson, left, with teammates Richard Bradley and Nicolas Lapierre (centre).