Lilou Wadoux

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Lilou Wadoux
Wadoux in 2023
NationalityFrance French
Born (2001-04-10) 10 April 2001 (age 23)
Amiens, France
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season2022
Current teamRichard Mille AF Corse
Racing licence FIA Silver
Car number83
Former teamsRichard Mille Racing Team
Starts9 (9 entries)
Wins1
Podiums2
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish12th (LMP2) in 2022
Previous series
2020–2021
2019
2019		Alpine Elf Europa Cup
Clio Cup France
TCR Europe Touring Car Series

Lilou Wadoux-Ducellier (born 10 April 2001) is a French professional racing driver who currently races for PONOS Racing in the GT300 class of the Super GT Series. She is the first woman to ever win an FIA World Endurance Championship race and the first woman to drive a Le Mans Hypercar, having previously starred in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup and competed in TCR Europe. Before signing for Ferrari as a factory driver in 2023, she raced in the WEC for Richard Mille's Signatech-run LMP2 team.[1][2][3]

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Though her father Cédric was briefly a rally driver, Wadoux spent her youth competing in tennis. She only started karting, mostly for fun, at the late age of 14.[4][5] Aided by fellow Amiens racing drivers Julien and Florian Briché, she made the jump to competitive circuit racing two years later, in 2017.[6][7] Starting out in the French lower-division one-make saloon car championships, Wadoux encountered success from early on, with an 8th place (runner-up in the junior class) in the Peugeot 208 Racing Cup followed by 3rd overall the following year.[8][9][10] Her 2018 season also included four top-ten finishes from four guest starts in the superior Peugeot 308 Racing Cup, as well as an appearance in a two-day test organised by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission in Navarra for 15 female racers.[11][12]

2019 would see Wadoux make the step up to the TCR Europe Touring Car Series with a Peugeot 308 TCR from Briché's JSB Compétition team. However, her season was cut short due to a crash in the third round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps. She was hit by Qatari driver Abdullah Ali Al Khelaifi, who had lost control of his Cupra León TCR after an off at turn 16, and her car rolled several times before it finally came to a stop.[13][14] She was unharmed, but the financial difficulties following the crash meant she was not able to return to the championship.[15][16] She returned to racing in October that year, with a one-off appearance in the Clio Cup France at Circuit Paul Ricard that yielded a podium finish.[17][18]

Alpine Elf Europa Cup[edit]

In 2020, Wadoux switched to the one-make Alpine Elf Europa Cup, driving an Alpine A110 for Autosport GP.[19] She had a consistent debut season, finishing all ten races in the top ten with eight junior podiums, but had to settle for 7th in the overall standings.[20][21]

2021 would prove to be Wadoux's breakthrough year.[22] Continuing in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup with Autosport GP, she finished eight of the 12 races on the overall podium and was part of a three-way title fight with reigning champion Jean-Baptiste Mela and single-seater graduate Ugo de Wilde that went down to the wire.[23][24][25] She won one race at the season finale in Portimão and eventually finished third overall, second in the junior standings.[26][27]

A highlight of Wadoux's 2021 season came at the Circuit de la Sarthe in August. Racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans-supporting round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge France, in a car and circuit she was new to, Wadoux set pole position by a full three seconds and dominated the race from lights to flag.[28][29]

Endurance racing[edit]

Wadoux at Le Mans in 2022.

In November 2021 Wadoux, as well as W Series drivers Jamie Chadwick and Alice Powell, was invited by the all-female LMP2 Richard Mille Racing Team to take part in the post-season FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test at Bahrain.[30][31][32] She impressed the most, and was signed for the 2022 season as part of the team's switch to a mixed lineup, alongside ELMS champion Charles Milesi and WRC legend Sébastien Ogier.[33][34][35] The trio completed the opening three rounds of the season together, ending with sixth place at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, before experienced LMP2 racer Paul-Loup Chatin took over from Ogier. Chatin served a mentoring role for Wadoux, guiding her during their time as teammates and also helping the team reach new heights.[36][37] At the fourth round in Monza, the trio were running in third place with just over two hours to go when Prema's Robert Kubica lost control of his car into the first corner and sent Chatin into a spin. The incident damaged the Richard Mille car's gearbox, dropping the team from podium positions to outside the points.[38] After eighth place in the final two events at Fuji and Bahrain, Wadoux and Milesi finished 12th in the standings with 30 points.

In late 2022, Wadoux was named as one of four drivers to be invited by the WEC to take part in the post-season rookie test at Bahrain. She drove the title-winning Hypercar, that being the Toyota GR010 Hybrid, and thus became the first woman to drive a top-class prototype since Vanina Ickx in 2011.[39][40]

Wadoux's win at the 2023 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was the first for a woman in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

In 2023, the Frenchwoman made history again by becoming the first ever female Ferrari factory driver. Moving over from prototypes to GT cars but remaining in the WEC, Wadoux signed for the Richard Mille-backed AF Corse team. She raced a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo in the LMGTE Am category alongside bronze-rated Luis Pérez Companc and fellow factory driver Alessio Rovera.[41][42] The campaign started out in disappointing fashion, as teammate Companc crashed spectacularly in the opening laps of the 1000 Miles of Sebring, forcing the team to retire.[43] This would be followed up with redemption however, as Wadoux proved to be an instrumental part of the team's next performance at the 6 Hours of Portimão, taking the lead during the second hour, before a charging stint from Rovera led the #83 crew to finish second, mere two tenths behind the leading #33 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg.[44][45] Two weeks later, after a dominant display at Spa-Francorchamps, Wadoux became the first female driver to ever win a race in the FIA World Endurance Championship.[46] The trio eventually finished eighth in the standings after a run of bad fortune in the final few races. In November, Wadoux featured at the Bahrain test again, this time driving Ferrari's Le Mans-winning 499P Hypercar.[47] She placed third out of the 18 drivers, only beaten by Robert Shwartzman and Norman Nato.[48]

Super GT[edit]

Wadoux embarked on a new challenge in 2024 as she moved to the Japanese Super GT series. She is set to race with the GAINER-run PONOS Racing squad, sharing a Ferrari 296 GT3 in the GT300 class with veteran Kei Cozzolino.[49]

Personal life[edit]

In her early teenage years before taking up racing, Wadoux competed in tennis. She says her idols are tennis player Rafael Nadal and Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna, who her father, an amateur rally driver, admired in the 90s.[50]

Racing record[edit]

Racing career summary[edit]

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2017 Peugeot 208 Racing Cup N/A ? ? ? ? ? ? 8th
2018 Peugeot 208 Racing Cup N/A ? ? ? ? ? ? 3rd
Peugeot 308 Racing Cup JSB Compétition 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2019 TCR Europe Touring Car Series JSB Compétition 5 0 0 0 0 0 44th
Clio Cup France GPA Racing 2 0 0 0 1 0 NC†
2020 Alpine Elf Europa Cup Autosport GP 10 0 0 1 0 65 7th
2021 Alpine Elf Europa Cup Patrick Roger Autosport GP 12 1 0 1 8 156 3rd
Porsche Sprint Challenge Le Mans CLRT 1 1 1 1 1 N/A 1st
2022 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Richard Mille Racing Team 6 0 0 0 0 30 12th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 9th
2023 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am Richard Mille AF Corse 7 1 0 0 2 56 8th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 AF Corse 1 0 0 0 0 250 30th
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver 1 0 0 0 1 15 17th
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Bronze 1 0 0 0 0 8 27th
GT World Challenge America - Pro Conquest Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2024 Super GT Series - GT300 PONOS Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC*
IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 Richard Mille AF Corse 2 0 0 0 0 414* 13th*

† As Wadoux was a guest driver, she was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Alpine Elf Europa Cup results[edit]

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

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Points
2020 Autosport GP NOG
1
7 		NOG
2
6 		NOG
3
8 		MAG
1
4 		MAG
2
4 		LEC
1
7 		LEC
2
5 		LEC
3
7 		POR
1
4 		POR
2
7 		7th 65
2021 Patrick Roger Autosport GP NOG
1
3 		NOG
2
2 		MAG
1
5 		MAG
2
3 		SPA
1
4 		SPA
2
3 		CAT
1
2 		CAT
2
4 		LEC
1
6 		LEC
2
2 		POR
1
1 		POR
2
2 		3rd 156

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results[edit]

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

Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rank Points
2022 Richard Mille Racing Team LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB
12 		SPA
8 		LMS
6 		MNZ
14 		FUJ
8 		BHR
8 		12th 30
2023 Richard Mille AF Corse LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SEB
Ret 		PRT
2 		SPA
1 		LMS
Ret 		MNZ
6 		FUJ
9 		BHR
9 		8th 56

* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[edit]

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2022 France Richard Mille Racing Team France Charles Milesi
France Sébastien Ogier 		Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 366 13th 9th
2023 Italy Richard Mille AF Corse Argentina Luis Pérez Companc
Italy Alessio Rovera 		Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE
Am 		33 DNF DNF

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results[edit]

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

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rank Points
2023 AF Corse LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB LGA WGL
6 		ELK IMS PET 30th 250
2024 Richard Mille AF Corse LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
12 		SEB
13 		WGL MOS ELK IMS ATL 13th* 414*

Complete Super GT results[edit]

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

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
2024 PONOS Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 GT300 OKA
11 		FUJ
 SUZ
 FUJ
 SUZ
 SUG
 AUT
 MOT
 NC* 0*

* Season still in progress.

References[edit]

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  3. ^ Casaurang, Medhi (3 February 2022). "Lilou Wadoux, une ascension hors catégorie". AutoHebdo (in French). Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Lilou Wadoux, ascension express". Motors Inside (in French). 9 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
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  46. ^ Smith, Fred (29 April 2023). "Lilou Wadoux Becomes the First Woman To Win an FIA WEC Race". Road & Track. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  47. ^ Ostler, Simon (2 November 2023). "Lilou Wadoux to drive the Le Mans‑winning Ferrari 499P". Goodwood Festival of Speed. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  48. ^ "FIA WEC - Rookie Test - Afternoon session - Classification by Driver Fastest Lap" (PDF). Al Kamel Systems. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  49. ^ O'Connell, RJ (30 November 2023). "PONOS Racing Introduces 296 GT3 To GT300 With Cozzolino & Wadoux". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  50. ^ "Wadoux: "When I put my helmet on I dream of Le Mans"". Ferrari. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.

External links[edit]

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