Photo : Pascal SAIVET - VSA -

 

1989 Formula Renault champion, Olivier Panis brought his racing career to an end in a blaze of glory in 2011 with fifth place at the Le Mans 24 Hours and victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP for Oreca. Today, he keeps a trained eye on the rising popularity of the discipline and its ever younger drivers. Meanwhile the World Series by Renault, in which his son races, celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2015.
How do you look back on your career, from your Formula Renault title to your last race at Le Mans?
Olivier Panis: "I had a lot of luck throughout my career, with some great promotional formulas, Formula 1 for so many years, and Le Mans four times. It's pretty magical, it's such an exceptional race. Saying that, to be honest, I never thought about the Le Mans 24 Hours when I was racing in Formula Renault. In fact, I didn't even think about Formula 1! I tried to enjoy the moment, then things gradually gathered pace. I'm now commentating on the Le Mans 24 Hours on TV, and it's always great to get back there."
Recently, more and more young drivers have been choosing to switch straight from single-seater promotional formulas to endurance racing. What do you think about that?
"I think that endurance is an incredible opportunity for young drivers these days. I've got a lot of friends in endurance, like Loïc Duval and Benoît Tréluyer. When I see how satisfied they are, how professional and how successful, I realise just what a great experience endurance is. And those young drivers from the promotional formulas like the World Series by Renault share my view."
So what about your son, Aurélien? We've seen him in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 3.5 these past few years.
"Aurélien likes competition and when you like competition, you are bound to enjoy endurance. I think he'll make the switch sooner or later. He followed endurance keenly when I was competing. He came to le Mans with me and he thought it was just amazing. Endurance is now almost now back at the level it used to enjoy. At the same time, the LM P1 prototypes are real racing machines, up there with Formula 1 cars."
You are now involved in managing young drivers. Do you see yourself working with these youngsters to forge careers aiming for Le Mans and endurance racing?
"I do. I keep a close eye on young drivers racing single-seaters and I'm currently looking how to develop a stream of young drivers ready for endurance. For example, I think that once you've driven in Formula Renault 3.5, you can drive any car. It's excellent training and a great way of learning about motorsport as a whole. So, as far as I'm concerned, all these young drivers are perfectly capable of a fast drive in the LM P2 and LM P1 prototypes."

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO Translated by Clair Pickworth

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), 24-HOUR CIRCUIT, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY 9 JUNE 2011, QUALIFYING. Olivier Panis (right) and Hugues de Chaunac, Chairman of the Oreca group.