Lorens Lecertua: Europe and France in GT4 to learn faster!

After the Alpine A110 Cup, it is time for the GT4 version of the Alpine! With the GT4 European Series and the French FFSA GT Championship, Lorens Lecertua has 12 events on his 2024 menu. Named “RACB Rookie of the Year” by the Belgian national federation last year following his victory in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup, the young Belgian driver is moving on to the next logical stage.

“I am delighted to be able to continue with both Alpine and the Chazel Technologie Course team, with whom I was champion last year,” smiled Lorens. “As Cup champion, Alpine helped me put together my programme for this year and I am extremely proud to be able to represent the Alpine Centre Brussels and the Alpine Centre Luxembourg.”

Unlike the Alpine Elf Europa Cup, the GT4 championships are contested by two drivers, who share the wheel in 60-minute races. In France, Lorens will be partnered by another youngster, the talented Matéo Herrero. The Gironde native, soon to turn 22, has already won races in the French FFSA GT Championship. Together, they will be aiming for the title in the Silver Cup, the semi-professional category. In the European competition, former rally driver Jean-Mathieu Léandri will be his team-mate. Although he is a three-time Corsican Rally Champion, the driver from Ajaccio will only be competing in his third season on the race track. As a consequence, he is considered an amateur driver (classified Bronze by the international federation) and the team of Lorens Lecertua and Jean-Mathieu Léandri will therefore be entered in the Pro-Am category.

“So I will be competing in two championships, in two different categories and with two different team-mates. That means I will be able to learn twice as fast,” laughs Lorens. “It is difficult to set precise goals, although I obviously hope we can aim for podiums and victories. There will be a great many new things for me: sharing the car, the strategies with the driver changes… I cannot wait to discover all that this season!”

Chazel Technologie Course is also delighted to continue working with the young Belgian talent. “We are so happy to keep Lorens in our team and to be able to take him to the next level,” explains Louis Chazel. “We have been working hard over the winter, with a programme of tests which took us to Nogaro, Le Castellet and Lédenon. Although the Alpine A110 GT4 Evo shares the same chassis as the Alpine A110 Cup, it is nonetheless very different. The GT4 version is more powerful, it has a different gearbox and it goes through corners faster thanks to its aerodynamic features, notably the rear wing. However, Lorens convinced us straight away with the speed with which he adapts and I think he is ready for the season. He will have to learn to share the car and deal with longer races, but he is in good company and I am very confident.”

The French FFSA GT Championship kicks off next weekend with the Coupe de Pâques at Nogaro. A week later, the GT4 European Series will get underway at the Circuit Paul Ricard. All the races in these two championships can be followed live and free of charge, with commentary in French (French GT and GT4 European) or in English (GT4 European Series only), on the GTWorld YouTube channel, which has more than 575,000 subscribers. Are you ready? Let the racing commence!