François Hériau: "I feel great at Vista AF Corse"

Although expected to drive the Manthey Racing Porsche in the WEC Rookie Test and in the Asian Le Mans Series, François Hériau assures that the 8 Hours of Bahrain is not his last race in a Ferrari.

Published 07/11/2025 à 08:00

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François Hériau: "I feel great at Vista AF Corse"

Alessio Rovera and François Hériau - Photo Frederic Le Floc'h / DPPI

Is François Hériau competing in his last race this weekend? WEC on a Ferrari 296 GT3 From the Vista AF Corse team? The Frenchman, Bronze driver of car #21, has indeed been announced successively in Asian Le Mans Series and the WEC Rookie Test on a Porsche 911 of the Manthey team. A situation made all the more comical as it is the rival car for the world title this weekend at the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

« I feel great at Vista AF Corse, the Breton replied to AUTOhebdo in the Sakhir paddock. The whole team is fantastic; we've been working together for two years, and I certainly hope this isn't my last race with them. As a GT driver, I'm still young—this is only my second year. And so far, I've only ever driven one car, one team, and with the same driver pairing. "Hériau and his teammates Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera are also the defending champions of the Bahrain event.

The 42-year-old from Rennes sees this opportunity with the German team as a way to diversify his career. The idea behind Asian Le Mans is to gain experience elsewhere, to inject a bit of novelty into what I do. The situation is a bit ironic, because I'll be driving the car we're competing against in the championship! But from a driver's perspective, when you want to progress and learn something new, it's a logical choice. »

« In GT racing, the cars are very different from each other. adds Hériau. I I've only ever driven Ferrari, so it's definitely good to experience other systems, other sensations, other ways of working. It's mainly the car model that interests me for the experience. The team has proven itself, so there's no question about that. The novelty will provide a kind of challenge, and that will help me improve. »

While awaiting this change of car, François Hériau's mission will be to clinch the title this weekend. To do so, he and Mann and Rovera will have to make up a nine-point deficit to the trio of Ricardo Pera, Ryan Hardwick, and Richard Lietz in the No. 92 Manthey Porsche. This is the car he will drive on Sunday during the Rookie Test.

Interview by Valentin Glo, in Sakhir.

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