Matthieu Lahaye (born 23 November 1984 in

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

) is a French racing driver, competing in the

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 ...

for

OAK Racing OAK Racing is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans Prototype, LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA ...

. Along with his brother Jean-Baptiste, he runs a small

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

team called Ultimate.

Career

Lahaye's career began in

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using 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 full-size motor ...

, in which he competed between 1995 and 2001. He then took part in Formula France and French Formula Renault. In 2004 he contested World Series Lights, finishing fifth in the standings with a win at Valenca. He moved on to the Eurocup Mégane Trophy in 2005 for

Tech 1 Racing Tech 1 Racing is a racing team based in Toulouse, France. Founded in 2000 by racing driver Simon Abadie and his sister Sarah, it has garnered success in the World Series by Renault, the Eurocup Mégane Trophy and the GP3 Series, most notably ...

, finishing his first season ninth overall. The following year he won three times on his way to the runner-up spot. 2007 saw him slip to fifth place with just one win. 2008 saw him switch to sportscars, driving in the

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 ...

for

Saulnier Racing OAK Racing is an endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA WEC World Champion drivers and teams on LMP2 class. In 2012 the team cont ...

. Racing a Pescarolo- Judd with Pierre Ragues, he finished fifth in the LMP2 standings. He also took part in his first

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 ...

with the team together with Ragues and China's Congfu Cheng, finishing 18th overall and third in LMP2. In 2009 he continued with the team (now renamed OAK Racing) in the LMP2 class of the LMS, with Karim Ajlani as his teammate. They scored two podium finishes from the five races, finishing ninth in the final standings. He and Ajlani were joined at Le Mans by Guillaume Moreau, but the car retired from the race. Lahaye did win the class in the two races at Okayama that made up the 2009 Asian Le Mans Series, partnering team owner

Jacques Nicolet Jacques Nicolet (born 5 April 1956 in Gigondas) is a French businessman and racing driver. He is the chairman of the Supervisory Board for Altarea SCA, a French Real estate investing, real estate investment and development company, which he co-f ...

and Richard Hein. In 2010 he partnered Nicolet in the Le Mans Series, and finished the year third in LMP2. At Le Mans he finished seventh overall and second in LMP2, sharing with Moreau and Jan Charouz. In 2011 he contested the LMP1 category of the

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

with OAK. However, a heavy accident in qualifying at Spa left him with two broken vertebrae, a broken hand and an injured knee, and he would miss the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2012 he is competing in the

in OAK's Morgan LMP2 alongside Nicolet and

Olivier Pla Olivier Pla (born 21 October 1981) is a French racing driver who competed in the Asian Le Mans Series for AF Corse. Career French Formula Campus and Formula Three Born in Toulouse, Pla started his career in 2000 in French Formula Campus befor ...

Racing record

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Le Mans Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lahaye, Matthieu 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Rennes French racing drivers French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Eurocup Mégane Trophy drivers European Le Mans Series drivers American Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers Tech 1 Racing drivers OAK Racing drivers Graff Racing drivers 21st-century French sportsmen