Duval: “never experienced such a feeling”

He was one of the great animators of the last 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the wheel of the 908 Oreca, Loïc duval proved to have nothing to envy of the official drivers Peugeot Sport. Despite abandoning shortly before the finish, the tricolor does not only have bad memories of this ordeal.

“There are lots of good things that come to mind, despite the disappointment of abandonment, says the Honda Super GT driver. This is also what makes Le Mans magical. The disappointment of not being on the podium predominates. At the moment, it was a complete disappointment. But after all the testimonies we have received, we realize that there is something positive. We realize that we have done a ?Le Mans? and it did not go unnoticed! I didn't necessarily see him immediately after the race? There is also this enormous pleasure? I have never experienced such a feeling in endurance, and even rarely in car racing. Was the car really good?

When he took his last stint, with no official Peugeot in the race, Loïc was instructed to attack as hard as possible to try to get a podium. On the 369th lap, the 28-year-old driver even set the definitive record for the event, thanks to a lap completed in 3:19:074.

?It?s pleasant because there is pressure, He continues. Wouldn't it be enjoyable if it didn't have this little thing? This instruction to attack was the chance to have fun: it's nice to be able to give everything, to be in some way the last rampart. There is a team of course, but at this point in the race, there is only the car and me. If I do the job, there's the podium. Before experiencing it, it?s a moment that you look forward to experiencing as a pilot. I also remember the look of the mechanics, Nicolas and Olivier during the last pit-stop: at that moment, we felt that the podium was getting closer? »

The satisfaction is therefore nevertheless very present, and his performances, like those of his team, have clearly not gone unnoticed, particularly in Japan where Loïc is competing in the Super GT and the Formula Nippon championship. Next year, it's certain, we will see the native of Chartres again in Sarthe.

“The race was well followed in Asia and some media even had better audiences with Le Mans than with the Grand Prix. F1. I felt that Oreca had left its mark on this edition. On the other hand, were the first laps with my Super GT a little unusual? But the weekend went well with a podium. A podium that I hope to experience next year at Le Mans. We have revenge to take, not on Audi or our opponents, but on Le Mans. »