French racing driver Kevin Estre is one of the rising stars of European endurance and GT racing scene. Currently, he's a Porsche factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. His greatest success so far is the GT class victory at 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018 and then the FIA WEC GT title in 2019.
Earlier in a career, he participated in different GT competitions, gaining best result in the Porsche Carrera Cup. He was the French Carrera Cup champion in 2011 and then the German Carrera Cup champion in 2013.
Kevin Estre
Early career in karting and formula racing
Born in October 1988 in Lyon, Kevin Estre started racing in amateur cart series which lead to 2001 French Champion Cadete title. After that, Estre moved to European cart championship and won the European title in 2004.
That success opened the door for lower single-seater race car series like Volant Mygale and Formule Campus in which Estre was the champion. In 2007 he raced in Formula Renault 2.0 and finished 7th overall, without a victory or a podium finish.
Kevin Estre was the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup France champion
French Carrera Cup champion in 2011
His big break came in 2008 when he participated in the French Porsche Carrera Cup, winning one race and finishing 7th in points. That was enough to motivate him to continue racing in sports cars class in Porsche Carrera Cup France in which he was a vice-champion in 2010, after winning 5 out of 13 races that year.
In 2011, he dominated the Porsche Carrera Cup France with 10 victories, 10 pole positions and 10 fastest laps, which was his maiden championship title. Estre also won Rookie of the Year award for his performance in Porsche Mobile 1 Supercup in which he took the 7th place overall.
Kevin Estre, 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion
One more Carrera Cup title in 2013
In 2012 and 2013 he participated in Mobile 1 Supercup, Porsche Cup Germany and famous endurance races such as 24 Hours of Daytona, Dubai and Sebring.
During that period of time, he managed to win Carrera Cup Germany championship in 2013 and he became a vice-champion in Porsche Supercup in 2012, losing to Rene Rast by only three points.
Estre had many duties in 2014
In 2014, he moved to Blancpain Endurance series driving for ART Grand Prix and also became official McLaren GT driver. He also raced in the VLN championship, United SportsCar Championship and many other championships, but without notable results. The exception was only ADAC GT Masters where he appeared as a guest driver in one round and won both races at Zandvoort, driving alongside Jaap van Lagen.
Estre debuted at Le Mans with OAK Racing in 2015
Unsuccessful Le Mans debut in 2015
Estre debuted in 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015, driving OAK Racing's LMP2 Ligier alongside Laurens Vanthoor and Chris Cumming but they retired on lap 325. The same year he finished 3rd in the FIA World Endurance Championship race 6 Hours of Spa, driving for Porsche Team Manthey.
Porsche factory driver since 2016
In 2016, Kévin fulfilled one of his biggest dreams and became a Porsche factory driver and again combined his duties between many championships, like IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA WEC, VLN and International GT Open.
However, racing in the ADAC GT Masters was his priority. During the mid-season, he joined Team 75 Bernhard and was teamed with David Jahn. They had a perfect partnership and they won four races and narrowly missed the title.
Kevin Estre in 2017
Full-time commitment in the 2017 World Endurance Championship
In 2017, Estre has been chosen to represent Porsche GT Team as a full-time driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship, sharing the #92 Porsche 911 RSR with Michael Christensen. They scored few podiums and retired at Le Mans 24 Hours.
Estre also participated in three rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Porsche GT Team, including Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours. He is also a regular guest driver for different Porsche customer teams all over the world.
Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre - 2019 FIA WEC GT champions
GT class Le Mans victory in 2018, FIA WEC GT title in 2019
In 2018, Christensen and Estre stayed together in the #92 Porsche RSR in the World Endurance Championship, competing in GTE Pro class. After finishing second in the season-opening race at Spa, they won 24 Hours of Le Mans, together with Laurens Vanthoor as third driver.
One more victory followed at Fuji. With two wins and six podiums in eight races, Christensen and Estre ended the 2018-2019 FIA WEC super season GT world champions.
In 2019, Estre also celebrated a victory at 24 Hours of Spa, sharing GPX Racing's Porsche with Michael Christensen and Richard Lietz.
