VDS Panis Racing currently leads the European Le Mans Series LMP2 Teams’ Championship. “We have a great team,” said Team Principal and namesake Olivier Panis. “We are consistently fast and reliable, race after race. This should hopefully help us win championships.”
This year, the Frenchman relies on Alpine works driver Charles Milesi, Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge prospect Esteban Masson, and Oliver Gray.
“We’ve always had great driver line-ups but this year feels a little different. Our three drivers behave like pals or even brothers. They work extremely hard together while leaving ego matters aside. That reflects very well on the entire team,” he said.
Looking back at the 2025 season, Panis refers quickly to Le Mans where his car took the second spot on the LMP2 podium – but could have won it. “We had an incredible race. There were only four and a half seconds between the top two cars, some twenty three and a half hours into the race. It’s amazing. I recall telling my team early on, ‘Do whatever it takes to win Le Mans. Go on full attack – we are not here to aim for P2’.
“Unfortunately, we had a technical issue which probably resulted from us running over a kerb. That slowed us down in the final 30 minutes of the race. I was obviously a little disappointed that we failed to strike a Le Mans win but on the other hand, I was happy for the team. They deserved that spot on the podium.”
Looking forward, Panis first and foremost aims at winning the 2025 ELMS Teams championship. “It has become such a competitive championship! We are going to keep on fighting for victory. In any case, we’ll be back in the ELMS and Le Mans next season. We are also evaluating some options in the Asian Le Mans Series and in IMSA with the support of Xavier Combet from TDS. We shall see.
“Of course, I would be delighted some day to compete with an Hypercar,” he added. “We would need proper technical and financial backing to support that ambition. On that front, we are hearing about several manufacturers considering the creation of junior teams for their junior talents in the making. This could be a great opportunity for us to grasp in the future.”
Images © Marcel Wulf, Dailysportscar.com
