TDS Racing (Top Drive Services, formerly known as Pouchelon Racing) is a French

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

team, currently competing in 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 fo ...

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

and the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

History

Eurocup Mégane Trophy (2005-2013)

In 2005, TDS Racing, founded and run by Xavier Combet and Jacques Morello, entered the

Eurocup Mégane Trophy The Renault Eurocup Mégane Trophy was a one-make racing series created and managed by Renault Sport. The series has raced with the Renault Mégane Renault Sport since 2005 as part of the World Series by Renault. The Renault Eurocup has run ...

for the first time, competing under the Pouchelon Racing banner with Ludovic Badey and Matthieu Cheruy. In the next year the team changed name to TDS. After eight years of running in the Mégane Trophy, the team had scored titles in both drivers' and teams championships. The first championship title was clinched by

Michaël Rossi Michaël Rossi (born 12 April 1988 in Chambéry) is a French racing driver. Career After racing in karting, Rossi raced in the Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 in 2006 driving for both SG Formula and Hexis Racing. However he only score ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, who won races at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...

and

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Nick Catsburg Nick Catsburg (born 15 February 1988 in Amersfoort) is a Dutch professional racing driver, currently competing in the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship with Corvette Racing by Pratt & Miller, Pratt Miller Motorsports. ...

became another championship winner.

European Le Mans Series (2011-2016)

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, the team purchased

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 201 ...

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

car to compete in

with

Mathias Beche Mathias Beche Aussel (born 28 June 1986 in Geneva) is a Swiss-French professional racing driver who currently competes in the European Le Mans Series for Richard Mille by TDS. He is a former ELMS champion in the LMP2 class, as well as an LMP1-L ...

, Jody Firth,

Pierre Thiriet Pierre Louis Thiriet (born 20 April 1989 in Épinal) is a French racing driver. He finished eighth overall and second in the LMP2 class of the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans and won the European Le Mans Series in the LMP2 class in 2012. Career After co ...

. The team retained Beche and Thiriet for 2012 and took titles with them in drivers' and teams' championship. The team has competed in

BMW Z4 GT3 The BMW Z4 (E89) is the second generation of the BMW Z4 range of two-door roadsters, and was produced from 2009 to 2016. The E89 replaced the E85/E86 Z4 and is the fourth model in the BMW Z Series. The E89 Z4 was the first Z Series model to u ...

in the GTC Class in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

with Eric Dermont, Dino Lunardi and

Franck Perera Franck Perera (born 21 March 1984 in Montpellier, France) is a professional race car driving, driver and a Lamborghini, Lamborghini Squadra Corse factory driver. Career In 2006, Perera drove in the GP2 Series for the DAMS team, after four years o ...

. They became champions in both drivers' and teams' standings.

Blancpain Endurance Series (2013-2015)

From 2013 to 2015 TDS Racing competed in

Blancpain Endurance Series The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports G ...

, using BMW Z4 GT3.

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

was their most successful season in the series, as the duo of Henry Hassid and

won races at

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ...

and

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

TDS Racing Oreca 07 Perrodo Silverstone 2018

FIA World Endurance Championship (2017-2021)

TDS Racing purchased two

Oreca 07 The Oreca 07 is a Le Mans Prototype built by French manufacturer Oreca to meet the 2017 FIA and ACO LMP2 regulations. It made its official race debut in the opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Dayt ...

-Gibson cars and will make debut in the LMP2 class of the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Also the team will field one car under ''G-Drive Racing'' banner.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (2023-)

TDS Racing announced on September 28, 2022 that the team would be making a full-time effort in the LMP2 class of the

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:TDS Racing French auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 2005 2005 establishments in France 24 Hours of Le Mans teams European Le Mans Series teams FIA World Endurance Championship teams WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams International GT Open teams GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup teams