Duqueine Team Makes a Strong Impression at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Duqueine Team Makes a Strong Impression at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

17 June 2026 – Back to the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe for the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Duqueine Team demonstrated its potential at the highest level of endurance racing. After a promising start during the Official Test Day, the #30 LMP2 car driven by Doriane Pin, Richard Verschoor and Julien Andlauer continued to build momentum throughout the week. Starting sixth in class, the trio quickly took the lead and went on to dominate the category for nearly twenty hours. With victory seemingly within reach, a left-front brake failure brought an end to an otherwise outstanding performance. Despite the disappointment, the French team leaves Le Mans proud to have challenged the very best and confident that even greater achievements lie ahead. A look back at an emotional and unforgettable week.

For the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Duqueine Team returns with a solid line-up featuring French drivers Doriane Pin, F1 Academy Champion, and Julien Andlauer, 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring winner, alongside former Formula 2 driver Richard Verschoor from the Netherlands

Sunday 7 June: Official Test Day

The first laps of the week takes place on Sunday during the official Test Day. The #30 finishes sixth in the morning session and improves to fifth in the afternoon, delivering an encouraging performance for the team.

Wednesday 10 June: Free Practice 1 & 2, Qualifying

Race week officially goes underway and the results continues to improve. The #30 tops the timesheets in Free Practice 1 with a best lap of 3:35.248.

Later in the day, Doriane Pin takes the wheel for the first qualifying session. A highly successful outing, as “Pocket Rocket” secures pole position with a lap of 3:34.662.

The day concludes with the first night practice session, where the Pin/Andlauer/Verschoor trio finishes eighth.

Thursday 11 June: Free Practice 3 & 4, Hyperpole

The following day, the #30 continues its strong form by finishing second in Free Practice 3 before attention turned to the two-stage Hyperpole sessions.

Richard Verschoor sets the fifth-fastest time in Hyperpole 1. However, a penalty drops him back to eighth place. The result is still enough to secure a place for Hyperpole 2.

Julien Andlauer then takes over for the final qualifying session and qualifies the #30 sixth in the LMP2 class for the start of the race.

Saturday 13 June & Sunday 14 June: The Race

The big day finally arrives. After weeks of preparation and hard work, the #30 is ready to take on the world’s most iconic endurance race.

With eight Le Mans starts to his name, Julien Andlauer is chosen to take the start. And what a start it is! Within a single lap, the Frenchman climbs to second place before briefly taking the class lead. Following a pit stop, he once again works his way back through the order.

Lap 31 marks the beginning of what seems like a dream scenario for Duqueine Team. For nearly twenty hours, the black-and-green LMP2 machine leads the class. Day and night, the stints unfold flawlessly, with no mistakes and no mechanical issues. As the hours ticked by and fatigue set in, the drivers remain focused and consistent, supported by a team operating at the highest level.

Unfortunately, Le Mans can be ruthless. At 12:39 p.m. on Sunday, as Richard Verschoor begins his stint, disaster strikes: the #30 suffers a left-front brake failure.

After more than twenty hours of racing, the dream ends abruptly. The team is forced to retire, and its hopes of victory vanish in an instant.

“We were competitive from the very start of the week, despite having only two short preparation days at the workshop. I hardly knew anyone when we arrived, but we all got along really well. We had a fantastic week and deserved a better ending than this… Monday morning is going to be tough to take. But that’s Le Mans,” says a visibly stunned Julien Andlauer in an interview with L’Équipe.

“We still don’t know the cause of the brake failure,” explains Thibaut de Mérindol, Director of R-ace GP, Duqueine Team’s strategic partner. “We will investigate thoroughly to understand whether there was anything we could have done to prevent it. But whatever the conclusions may be, we have no regrets. It’s part of the game. These were our first 24 Hours of Le Mans, and there are always lessons to learn.”

All eyes on the future

While the retirement of the #30 leaves a bitter taste, the Le Mans week remains full of positives and valuable lessons. Against some of the strongest teams in endurance racing and in one of the toughest race in the world, Duqueine Team proved it has the pace and capability to compete with the very best. An achievement made even more impressive by the fact that the team was restructured just four months ago, following the strategic partnership between Duqueine Team and R-ace GP.

The lessons learned over the past ten days will help the team come back stronger and continue its progression at the highest level of endurance racing.

Attention now turns to the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), where Duqueine Team currently leads the PRO/AM championship. More determined than ever to fight for the title, the team will return to action in two weeks’ time for Round 4 at Imola, Italy.

See you on 5 July.

Photo credit: Jules Beaumont