Antoine Doquin: “Preparing myself for the ELMS season”

Currently in Dubai to compete in the Asian Le Mans Series with CD Sport, Antoine Doquin will also compete in the European Le Mans Series in LM P3 with COOL Racing, for what will be his second year with the Swiss team after a season in the Michelin Le Mans Cup where he distinguished himself by winning notably the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with his teammate Josh Skelton. “The objective here is to learn, to do my best and not to make mistakes, just to prepare myself for the season in ELMS » the Marseillais told us in the Emirati paddock.

After these two weeks in the Asian championship, Antoine Doquin will head towards his first full season in the European Le Mans Series. With COOL Racing, therefore. “ It’s a team that trusted me and with whom I hope to go as far as possible. I was made very welcome and I got along well with everyone. Everyone demonstrates unparalleled professionalism. All the cards come together to allow us to go very far. » The promotion of Niklas Krütten to the main program, alongside Nicolas lapierre and Yifei Ye in LM P2, are inevitably emulated. “The idea is to evolve with the team. Nico Lapierre only has one idea: to win. He trains the whole team around that and he puts everyone in a good environment with that goal. This allows us all to progress well, whether they are the mechanics or the drivers. »

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Continue to gain experience

To progress, the young 17-year-old Frenchman can rely on the expertise of Nicolas Lapierre. The pilot Alpine 37 years old, quadruple winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LM P2 category (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019), is in fact the manager of COOL Racing and leaves nothing to chance in the development of the young drivers in his training. “He wears a double hat during the races, testifies Antoine Doquin. He drives, but he tries to be on all fronts and he has weekends at 200 miles an hour. He helps us to ensure that all the cars perform well, he is present at every session and that motivates everyone. »

This year, the Habs hope to continue to gain experience, as they did in January by competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time. “It was really a great experience to discover theIMSA and their American-style show. Unfortunately, it ended badly for us with a contact which damaged our exhaust. I hope to return there in the future…” Maybe even this year, if opportunities present themselves for the young Frenchman.