Matthieu Lahaye Explained

Matthieu Lahaye
Nationality: French
Birth Date:23 November 1984
Birth Place:Rennes, France
Racing Licence: FIA Silver
Current Team:OAK Racing
Car Number:LMP2
Prev Series:Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
American Le Mans Series
Le Mans Series
Eurocup Mégane Trophy
World Series Lights
French Formula Renault
Formula France
Prev Series Years:2011
2011
20082011
2005–2008
2004
2002–03
2001–02
Module1:
Subbox:yes
Years:–,,
Best Finish:7th
Class Wins:None

Matthieu Lahaye (born 23 November 1984, in Rennes) is a French racing driver, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for OAK Racing. Along with his brother Jean-Baptiste, he runs a small sports car racing team called Ultimate.[1]

Career

Lahaye's career began in karting, in which he competed between 1995 and 2001. He then took part in Formula France and French Formula Renault. In 2004 he contested World Series Lights, finishing fifth in the standings with a win at Valenca. He moved on to the Eurocup Mégane Trophy in 2005 for Tech 1 Racing, finishing his first season ninth overall. The following year he won three times on his way to the runner-up spot. 2007 saw him slip to fifth place with just one win.

2008 saw him switch to sportscars, driving in the Le Mans Series for Saulnier Racing. Racing a Pescarolo-Judd with Pierre Ragues, he finished fifth in the LMP2 standings. He also took part in his first 24 Hours of Le Mans with the team together with Ragues and China's Congfu Cheng, finishing 18th overall and third in LMP2.

In 2009 he continued with the team (now renamed OAK Racing) in the LMP2 class of the LMS, with Karim Ajlani as his teammate. They scored two podium finishes from the five races, finishing ninth in the final standings. He and Ajlani were joined at Le Mans by Guillaume Moreau, but the car retired from the race. Lahaye did win the class in the two races at Okayama that made up the 2009 Asian Le Mans Series, partnering team owner Jacques Nicolet and Richard Hein.

In 2010 he partnered Nicolet in the Le Mans Series, and finished the year third in LMP2. At Le Mans he finished seventh overall and second in LMP2, sharing with Moreau and Jan Charouz.

In 2011 he contested the LMP1 category of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with OAK. However, a heavy accident in qualifying at Spa left him with two broken vertebrae, a broken hand and an injured knee, and he would miss the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[2]

In 2012 he is competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in OAK's Morgan LMP2 alongside Nicolet and Olivier Pla.[3]

Racing record

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

YearEntrantClassCarEngine12345678RankPoints
2012OAK RacingLMP2Morgan LMP2Judd HK 3.6 L V8SEB
SPA
LMS
36th6.5
Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8SIL
SÃO
BHR
FUJ
SHA
2021Association SRT41InnovativeOreca 07Gibson GK428 4.2L V8SPAALGMNZLMS
BHRBHR00
2022UltimateLMP2Oreca 07Gibson GK428 4.2L V8SEB
SPA
LMS
MNZ
FUJ
BHR
21st6

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLaps
2008 Saulnier Racing Pierre Ragues
Cheng Congfu
Pescarolo 01-JuddLMP233318th3rd
2009 OAK Racing
Team Mazda France
Guillaume Moreau
Karim Ajlani
Pescarolo 01-MazdaLMP2208DNFDNF
2010 OAK Racing Guillaume Moreau
Jan Charouz
Pescarolo 01-JuddLMP23617th2nd
2012 OAK Racing Jacques Nicolet
Olivier Pla
Morgan LMP2-JuddLMP2139DNFDNF
2021 Association SRT41 Nigel Bailly
Takuma Aoki
Oreca 07-GibsonCDNT33432nd
2022 Ultimate François Heriau
Jean-Baptiste Lahaye
Oreca 07-GibsonLMP233548th24th

Complete European Le Mans Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantClassChassisEngine123456RankPoints
2012nowrapOAK RacingLMP2nowrapMorgan LMP2nowrapJudd-BMW HK 3.6L V8LECDON
PET12th9
2016UltimateLMP3Ligier JS P3Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8SIL
IMO
RBR
LEC
SPA
EST
10th26
2017UltimateLMP3Ligier JS P3Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8SIL
MNZ
RBR
LEC
SPA
ALG
4th61
2018UltimateLMP3Norma M30Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8LEC
MNZ
RBR
SIL
SPA
ALG
8th36.5
2019UltimateLMP3Norma M30Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8LEC
MNZ
CAT
SIL
SPA
ALG
3rd76
2021UltimateLMP2Oreca 07Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8CAT
RBR
LEC
MNZ
SPA
ALG
16th23
Pro-Am Cup3rd82
2023UltimateLMP3Ligier JS P320Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8CAT
LEC
ARA
SPA
PRT
ALG
9th39
2024nowrapUltimateLMP3nowrapLigier JS P320nowrapNissan VK56DE 5.6L V8CAT
LEC
IMO
SPAMUGALG7th*32*

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dagys . John . 22 November 2021 . French LMP2 Squad Ultimate Plotting WEC Debut . 30 March 2024 . Sportscar365 . John Dagys Media.
  2. News: Tiago Monteiro to replace Oak's injured Matthieu Lahaye. https://archive.today/20120724091219/http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110517/ALMS/110519849. dead. 24 July 2012. Brad. Constant. autoweek.com. Crain Communications, Inc.. 17 May 2011. 4 March 2011.
  3. News: OAK Reveals WEC Driver Lineups. John. Dagys. speedtv.com. Speed Channel, Inc.. 28 February 2012. 4 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120301065429/http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-oak-reveals-wec-driver-lineups/. 1 March 2012. dead.