🇧🇪 Laurens Vanthoor

Laurens Vanthoor is an established professional sportscar driver rated 6,627, placing him among the elite drivers at the top level of endurance racing. His FIA Platinum grading confirms him as a full professional within GT and endurance competition. Vanthoor has spent 16 seasons racing, from 2008 onwards, accumulating 171 starts across multiple series with 19 wins and 59 podiums. His record reflects sustained excellence in one primary discipline: IMSA WeatherTech accounts for 65 of those starts and 13 of his wins, while WEC adds another 30 starts and four victories. He has won three major championships: the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech GTLM, the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech GTD, and most recently the 2024 WEC Hypercar title alongside Kévin Estre and André Lotterer. An average finishing position of P5.4 across all classified races underscores consistency at the sharp end of professional competition.[1]

The calibre of Vanthoor's regular opponents defines his level. In IMSA, he has raced frequently against Antonio Garcia, a four-time GTLM champion and perennial title contender in that series, finishing ahead of Garcia in 26 of their 45 shared races while trailing in 19. Against Frédéric Makowiecki, another Platinum-graded professional, the head-to-head record stands almost even at 21 wins apiece across 43 races, reflecting direct competition between drivers of comparable standing. His long history in single-seaters, particularly Formula 3, saw him race repeatedly against Marco Wittmann, a former FIA Formula 3 European champion, though Vanthoor finished behind Wittmann in that rivalry, winning 33 of their 77 shared races to Wittmann's 44. That deficit reflects Vanthoor's development phase in junior formulae; single-seaters were never his primary focus, and his career trajectory shows a decisive shift into sportscar racing where he has thrived.[2]

Vanthoor remains active in 2025, scoring a win and three additional podiums across eight WEC rounds as he finished seventh in the standings. Recent announcements indicate ongoing changes to his drive lineup, with moves between Porsche and McLaren Hypercar programmes taking effect for the 2027 season and beyond, demonstrating continued demand for his services at the highest level of the sport.