Mathias Beche (born 28 June 1986 in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

professional racing driver. He finished eighth overall and second in the

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were crea ...

class of the

2012 24 Hours of Le Mans The 80th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''80e 24 Heures du Mans'') was an 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 16 to 17 June 2012 at the Circuit de la Sarthe close to Le ...

and is the reigning champion of the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

in the LMP2 class.

Career

After starting in

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

, Beche began racing in

single-seaters An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have the ...

in Asia in 2007 when he contested the Asian Formula Renault Challenge, finishing fifth overall with one win. The following year he took part in Formula Asia 2.0 where he ended up runner-up to Felix Rosenqvist. 2009 saw Beche switch to

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...

, finishing third in

Formula Le Mans The Le Mans Prototype Challenge (shortened to LMP Challenge or LMPC) was a spec sports prototype formula created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sports car constructor Oreca. The formula is inte ...

. In 2010 he contested four

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

rounds; three in the FLM class and one in GT1 in a

Ford GT The Ford GT is a mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second generation Ford GT became available for ...

. He then entered the last two rounds of the

FIA GT3 European Championship The FIA GT3 European Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a championship derived from the international FIA ...

, also in a Ford. In 2011 Beche competed in the full Le Mans Series season in an LMP2

Oreca 03 The Oreca 03 is a Le Mans Prototype built by Oreca in 2011. It is built within the revised 2011 ACO regulations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car made its début at the 12 Hours of Sebring run by Signatech Nissan and set to race at the 2011 24 ...

for TDS Racing with Pierre Thiriet and

Jody Firth Jody Firth (born 11 July 1981) is a British racing driver, who most recently competed in the British GT Championship. Having raced in a number of lower formulae, Firth has competed in the British GT Championship, the European Le Mans Series, th ...

. The trio won the rounds at Spa and

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...

and finished fourth in the final drivers' standings. Beche also drove in the FIA GT1 World Championship round at

Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, ...

in a Ford. For

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, LMP2 became the top class of the renamed European Le Mans Series. Partnering Thiriet at TDS, Beche won the opening round of the season at

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

and the season finale at

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

, securing his first major championship victory. For the

they were joined by

Christophe Tinseau Christophe Tinseau (born 18 December 1969) is a French racing driver from Orléans. Tinseau began racing professionally in French Formula Renault in 1991. In 1992 he moved to French Formula Three and in 1993 he placed 4th in that championship w ...

and the car finished eighth overall and second in LMP2.

Racing record

Complete European Le Mans Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Non World Endurance Championship entries are ineligible to score points. ^* Season still in progress.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Super GT results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beche, Mathias 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Geneva Swiss racing drivers French racing drivers FIA GT1 World Championship drivers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American Le Mans Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Swiss-French people Blancpain Endurance Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24H Series drivers Formula V6 Asia drivers Asian Formula Renault Challenge drivers Morand Racing drivers TDS Racing drivers JDC Motorsports drivers Rebellion Racing drivers Manor Motorsport drivers Phoenix Racing drivers Asia Racing Team drivers Alan Docking Racing drivers