Matthieu Vaxivière considers his journey in motosport rather unique given his foray into multiple disciplines. "I started later than most, at the age of 15 in 2010, with a few Midjet races. Since I didn't have a significant budget at my disposal, we decided I should do the French F4 Championship. Back then, you only needed about 70,000 euros as compared to nearly a million for a season in Formula Renault 3.5. It was still a lot of money, but for a season in racing it was relatively reasonable you could say. I was crowned champion which opened plenty of doors and I met François Perrodo who gave me a great deal of guidance thereafter. I did Formula Renault at the same time as GT, as well as the Porsche Cup in 2013 and I also participated in the 24 Hours of Spa with a Porsche Cup. I've done a bit of everything and I enjoyed it."

Unfortunately, Matthieu Vaxivière's first scheduled participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans had to be cancelled. In 2014, as he was competing in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) with ProSpeed Competition in LMGTE Am, the French driver fractured a vertebra during the Monaco round of the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship and was forced to withdraw. But he wasn't devastated: "At the time, I wasn't very familiar with the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I had never taken the start before. Of course it bothered me to pull out, but the team and the car (a 2011 version) were complicated."  In 2017, as he was set to participate in the 24 Hours for the first time, his bad luck continued with a broken ankle at the end of April. It caused him to miss the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in the WEC and his ability to take the start at Le Mans was up in the air. "That year, I really thought I was going to miss the 24 Hours yet again. I was extremely worried and it was a hard time for me."

Despite the injury, Matthieu Vaxivière was finally able to take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017 at the wheel of TDS Racing's #28 ORECA 07-Gibson shared with Manu Collard and François Perrodo (retirement after an incident). He learned a great deal: "I really gained experience last year and I noticed this year that I had a much better perspective. I was calmer and I knew what to expect."

In tandem with his WEC program, the 23-year-old driver competes in the Blancpain GT Series with an Aston Martin V12 Vantage in GT3. It doesn't bother him one bit to hop from one car to another: "I am quite skilled at adapting to any car thanks to my atypical journey in motorsport. But I feel really great in an LMP2. When I take the wheel of the Aston Martin, I need a lap to get settled whereas in the LMP2 I'm good right away. I feel at home and the team sets me up to succeed as well. It's a family atmosphere but everyone is working like crazy behind the scenes."

Though he spends more time in single-seaters (F4, Formula Renault 3.5), Matthieu Vaxivière loves endurance racing. "I love it. In the beginning, I didn't like sharing the car and now the opposite is true. I love the cohesion between the drivers and the feeling in the paddock is wonderful as well. It's highly professional, the focus is on the work, but it's less aggravating than in other disciplines. The drivers are all about fair play, our relationships are great, there is a lot of competitive spirit but everyone is loyal. I'm a professional, this is how I make my living, I love endurance just as it is."

In the wake of the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, Matthieu Vaxivière participated in the 24 Hours of Spa with the R-Motorsport team at the wheel of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage shared with Jake Dennis and Nicki Thiim, an official driver with the British marque, finishing ninth. The Frenchman is now focused on Silvertsone this coming weekend with a lot on his plate. He will be driving TDS Racing's #28 ORECA 07-Gibson in the WEC once again, but will also replace Olivier Pla in Racing Engineering's #24 ORECA 07-Gibson in the European Le Mans Series on Saturday (Pla needing to fulfill his obligations with Ford). 

PHOTO 1: Matthieu Vaxivière's first participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year. 

PHOTOS 2 and 3: Vaxivière took part in the 86th running this year at the wheel of TDS Racing's ORECA 07-Gibson once again.