Pierre Thiriet

Pierre Thiriet is a French racing driver whose greatest success so far is the championship title in the LMP2 class of the 2018-2019 FIA World Endurance Championship. with Signatech Alpine Matmut team. During that season, Thiriet scored two LMP2 class victories at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Earlier in a career, Thiriet was the 2012 European Le Mans Series champion. He regularly competes with prototypes since 2011, finishing three more times as a vice-champion in the ELMS.

Pierre Thiriet

Beginning a career in the Megane Trophy Eurocup

Pierre Thiriet was born in April 1989 in Epinal in northeastern France, as a son of Claude Thiriet, the founder of the French frozen food company Thiriet. The company sponsored him for most of his racing career.

After some attempts in karting, Pierre Thiriet started his racing career in 2009 in the Megane Trophy Eurocup, driving for TDS Racing. In his debut season, he finished fifth in the points with two podiums.

In 2010, Thirier stayed in the Megane Trophy Eurocup, driving the #1 car for TDS Racing. He was a race winner two times, ending a season second in the points behind teammate Nick Catsburg. They secured Teams' title for TDS Racing.

Pierre Thiriet in 2010

Starting to race with prototypes in 2011

In 2011, Thiriet stayed with TDS Racing but switched to prototype racing. He competed in the Le Mans Series in the #46 Oreca 03-Nissan. He was sharing a car with Mathias Beche and Jody Firth, winning two races at Spa and Estoril to finish fourth in the LMP2 class standings.

Outside LMS, Thiriet made a debut at 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving the #58 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 for Luxury Racing. He was sharing a car with Anthony Beltoise and Francois Jakubowski. They retired after 136 laps.

Thiriet's championship winning Oreca in 2012

European Le Mans Series title and Le Mans 24h podium in 2012

In 2012, Le Mans Series became the European Le Mans Series and LMP2 prototypes were the top class. Thiriet was driving the #46 Oreca 03-Nissan for the team which competed under the name Thiriet by TDS Racing. His full-time partner was Mathias Beche and they won ELMS LMP2 title. They were race winners at Circuit Paul Ricard and Road Atlanta.

In June 2012, the #46 Oreca finished 8th overall and second in LMP2 class at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Thiriet's co-drivers were Mathias Beche and Christophe Tinseau. They were beaten by Starworks Motorsport's HPD ARX-03b.

Pierre Thiriet

ELMS vice-champion in 2013, Le Mans podium in 2014

In the 2013 ELMS, Thiriet was driving the #1 Oreca 03-Nissan, sharing a car with Jonathan Hirschi (one race) and Mathias Beche (four races). He and Beche won two races and Pierre finished second in the points. At Le Mans 24h, he shared a car with Ludovic Badey and Maxime Martin, not finishing the race. He also recorded DNF at Spa 24 Hours where he was driving BMW Z4 GT3 for TDS Racing.

In 2014, TDS Racing switched to Morgan LMP2 and then to Ligier JS P2 prototype. Thiriet was sharing a car with Ludovic Badey and Tristan Gommendy, winning one race and finishing 8th in the points. The highlight of the season was a race at Circuit de la Sarthe. Thiriet reached his second podium at Le Mans 24h, sharing a Ligier with Gommendy and Badey. In July 2014, in his second attempt at Spa 24 Hours, Thiriet again didn't finish the race in TDS Racing's BMW.

Pierre Thiriert (left), Mathias Beche, Mike Conway

ELMS vice-champion two more times in 2015 and 2016

Pierre Thiriet was again among the front-runners in the 2015 European Le Mans Series season, winning two races in the #46 Oreca 05-Nissan. His full-time partner was Ludovic Badey, with Tristan Gommendy joining them in four races and Nicolas Lapierre in one race.

In 2016, Thiriet repeated the same result, finishing again second in the ELMS LMP2 standings. He spent a six-race season in the #46 Oreca with Mathias Beche. Ryo Hirakawa helped them to win two races while Mike Conway joined the team in Circuit Paul Ricard's victory. At Le Mans 24 Hours, Thiriet recorded DNFs both in 2015 and 2016.

In 2017, Thiriet spent a season with G-Drive Racing

2017 FIA WEC season with G-Drive Racing

In 2017, Pierre Thiriet spent his first full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He raced in seven of nine FIA WEC rounds in the #26 Oreca 07-Gibson with G-Drive Racing. His co-driver in all races was Roman Rusinov while the third driver's seat was occupied by several different drivers (Alex Lynn, Ben Hanley, James Rossiter).

Rusinov, Thiriet and Lynn scored FIA WEC LMP2 class victory at 6 Hours of Spa. At Le Mans 24h, they retired after a collision early in the race.

Pierre Thiriet at 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours

World champion and two-time Le Mans winner with Signatech Alpine

For 2018, Thiriet announced a double programme with French team Signatech Alpine Matmut. His main job was to drive the #36 Alpine A470 LMP2 prototype in the FIA World Endurance Championship but he also participated in some European Le Mans Series races.

In June 2018, he scored LMP2 class victory at 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Nicolas Lapierre and Andre Negrao. A year later, they won again at Le Mans, in the season-closing round of the 2018-2019 FIA WEC super season, taking the championship title in the LMP2 class.

Photos: autonewsinfo.com, europeanlemansseries.com,