David, how did you get started in motorsport ?
My family background is in equestrianism, and Bénédicte, whom I met when I was 17, introduced me to motorsports. At the time, I often fell off my horse and was drawn to mechanics. She was involved in go-karting and got me into it. I soon realised that you can control many more things in a car. As I often say, it’s only iron. When there’s a problem, it hurts less than with an animal, where emotions can come into the equation. So, I turned to horsepower, and I don’t regret it. It’s a great story because we’re still together and in this sport 28 years on... Although we have two horses at home !

What were your first ventures in a car ?
I started with the competition in 2000. I did two seasons in Saxo Cup, where we were total amateurs with a van and a flatbed. Then I stopped to open my own business in construction. Meanwhile, Bénédicte won Rallye Jeunes at the end of 2004. I went back into racing in 2005, and we finished runner-up in the 206 Cup the following year, behind none other than Nicolas Milan. I won the title in 2007, and the prize allowed me to move up to Spider. Unfortunately, our European campaign was somewhat complicated in 2008, so we returned to smaller series with the 207 and 208. We won the Sprint four times, a similar format to Clio Cup, and the Relay four times, which is more endurance-oriented. These titles came in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, but we had already been involved in Clio Cup as I debuted there in the last season of the third-generation car.

Why did you choose Clio Cup ?
It was clearly the next level up, but it’s important to remember that Bénédicte and I only did karting before we started our circuit apprenticeship with Renault. We got our first taste of car racing by helping out the Pole Position 81 team during a Mégane Cup weekend. At the time, they were racing with Bruno Cosin and Éric Debard. That got our foot in the door, and it became somewhat of a dream for us. From 2012 onwards, customers approached us, and we created GPA Racing with a third partner, Alexandre Albouy. The team grew, and one of our aims was to return to the Renault world and succeed. Entering Clio Cup in 2013 was an achievement because it remains the legendary promotional front-wheel drive category.

You quickly became a front-runner in Clio Cup, but the crown remained a bit elusive. How did you cope with that ?
In our first year, we were there to have fun in two or three races, but one of my partners decided to finance me for the whole season. I lost by just a few points to my friend Éric Trémoulet, with whom we had spent the evening before the final. Nobody expected us to be at this level, and we were already very pleased. The frustration came from our repeated failures in recent years. The title had eluded us twice due to improbable mechanical issues when it was within our grasp. It was about time we won, and it’s a good thing we did, even though we’d already won the title in Spain. After so much success with the competition, I think the runner-up places in Clio Cup began to get on my nerves a bit !

What do you think made the difference compared to other years ?
Our campaign got off to a shaky start, with two wins lost due to penalties at Nogaro. I was a bit upset, and I wasn’t the only one in my team, as there had been a lot of incidents during the weekend. I’m happy to accept defeat. It has happened to me, and it will happen again, and I’m the first to congratulate the winners. It was a bit upsetting because I felt a sense of injustice, but I wasn’t resigned to it because it was only the opening round of a marathon season. With experience, I know that it’s a long game. Four or five drivers had the speed to win this year. We had a full, consistent year with no retirements, and I even had to drop big points. I think consistency was the key, and success finally came our way. The stars aligned, and we won the Clio Cup Series, Clio Cup Europe and Clio Cup France !

Which of these three titles is the most satisfying ?
Europe, because it’s the hardest to win. I was happy with the one I won in the Series, but the fact that I was the only competitor to do 26 races takes a bit of the lustre out of it. In France, we’d been chasing this crown for a long time... But for me, Europe remains the Holy Grail !

Was there a moment when you said to yourself that the crown could not elude you ?
In fact, it was quite the opposite ! I even wondered if I could still win the title if I retired on the cool-down lap after the chequered flag in the last race in Barcelona. I had doubts right to the end, perhaps as a stopgap to avoid the disappointments of the past in case things went wrong. I didn’t believe it when I got to the foot of the podium. However, it was an extremely competitive season, with an ultra-fast opponent at the end of the year, Gabriele Torelli. For our part, we had to manage our lead, which is always trickier.

Did one of your races stand out more than others ?
I clearly feel that Misano was my best weekend. This round didn’t count for Clio Cup Europe, but we were also there to race our GT4s with the team. There was still room in the truck, and because I like this track, I decided to take my car. We went there to have fun and won both races !

Was your move to GT4 motivated by your success in Clio Cup ?
Success is significant because it creates interest. The fact that we succeeded in Clio Cup attracted manufacturers to help us move up to GT4. The two are complementary, as Clio Cup is the rung on the ladder before GT4, and we need to diversify as a team and a company. I also think that Clio Cup is recognised and valued for its level by the entire motorsport community. I even believe some people don’t enter it knowing how competitive it is.

GPA Racing has seen several of its drivers rise through the ranks. Which of your driver’s career paths has made the biggest impression on you ?
Kevin Jimenez immediately springs to mind. He was still a newcomer when he joined us for his second season in motorsport. We started him in feeder series before moving on to Clio Cup and then GT4 with us. Kevin is one of our greatest successes in terms of training and development. He’s now a good GT driver, and we’ve seen how much we can contribute to this. It’s tremendously rewarding for the team.

Will you defend your European title next year ?
We’ll be defending our crown. We aim to have a bigger line-up in Clio Cup Europe because there weren’t many of us some weekends this year. We want to enter five or six cars for a full season in 2024. I’m also reaching an age where I’m thinking more and more about transmission, especially now with the titles secured. I’m more interested in the fun side of things, and the important thing is to enjoy yourself. Collectively, the goal now is to win with other drivers like Alexandre Finkelstein, Alexandre Albouy or others. I’m convinced that the best publicity for a team is to make its customers victorious. That proves the technical value of a team and shows that it can take you to the front. Being able to progress through data acquisition and a reference driver helping you on track is the work we sell, and that’s the whole point of having a team today.

What will be the main challenge in 2024 ?
The calendar is a little lighter, which is good because it was becoming more difficult to commit people to 13 weekends. We were reaching certain limits, both in terms of costs and bodies. However, with the scrapping of the joker races, all results will count. Mistakes will cost more, and the more experienced drivers like me could benefit from them. Each race will be all the more important.

Who do you expect to be there ?
Some drivers are likely to become stronger, starting with my teammates. This year, Alexandre Finkelstein has shown he can win, and I think he can challenge for the title next year. Opposite us, we have the recent arrival of Rangoni Corse, a very professional outfit with a top-notch driver. I’m convinced they’ll do it again, with Gabriele or someone else. High-quality teams are coming, and others will follow, which shows just how attractive Clio Cup is, and so much the better !

Portimão will be on the calendar and Hockenheim will return. What do you think ?
I don’t know Portimão, but it’s a circuit that gets a lot of good press. Many of my friends have already raced there and have had nothing but good things to say about it. I like to discover new tracks after more than 20 years as a driver, and it promises to be fun with our cars. It will bring something new because few drivers have experience with it, and it is far enough away so not a lot of people can practice a lot there. It should be a nice surprise. My only regret is the absence of Zandvoort, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but you can’t have everything !

What do you think of this generation of Clio Cup ?
We’re very grateful to Renault for launching a new generation of Clio Cup because I’m not forgetting that it’s an effort on their part. The first version needed some work, but an evolution corrected this in 2021. Today, it meets 100% of my expectations, and all my customers are pleased and enjoy driving it. This Clio Cup is a lot of fun and easy to drive. It allows us all to race and enjoy ourselves in complete safety. However, it has also become much more difficult to make the difference and get away at the front because it drafts easily and is not at all tricky. It makes for some spectacular racing, where we’re all in a pack right up to the finish. For the ’Clio Boys’, the benchmark was the third-generation Clio Cup, a car that many drivers liked. In practical terms, we’re back up to those standards, and that’s excellent.

When you met Bénédicte, could you have imagined such a future ?
Honestly, no ! I was already like a kid cleaning Mégane rims, but we’re both passionate about what we do. We didn’t have any plans to set up a business, and we just did everything as we saw fit, guided by our passion. Customers have come to us, and it’s expanded to GT4, but I could never have imagined that in my early years or even ten years ago. Life comprises incredible encounters with people who have helped me or bought my racing cars to support me. It’s a great story, but a story that I never imagined at the outset.

This year, we’ve seen your sons pick up trophies on the podiums. Is the next generation already on the way ?
We had two children before creating our team, so they’ve always been in this environment. When your parents eat, drink and sleep motorsport, it’s hard to get them to see anything else. I’m tempted as a father to say that it depends on their results at school ! Part of us is afraid that they’ll be disappointed. But one day, I would like to race alongside my sons if I’m not too old. We’ll see in a few years !

What can we wish for you in the future ?
May the next few years be as good as the last 20. That’s all we’re asking for ! In all honesty, the last 28 years have flown by, so it’ll be a good sign if the next 28 are just as good !

A final word ?
I must absolutely thank all the people who have supported me in the past and today. They were there when we lost, and all the mechanics, engineers and partners in my team have always had my back and stood by us. These titles are also theirs, and they deserve them more than anyone.