Laurens Vanthoor

Early career

Karting

Born in Hasselt, Vanthoor began his kart racing career at an early age. In 2005 he became French and Belgian Champion in the ICA-J class and he also finished fourth in the European Championship.

In 2007, Vanthoor become an official factory driver for the CRG racing team in the KF2 category. He ended up being out of action for five months out due to an accident, resulting in six fractures. His best result in the season was a runner-up position in the North European Championship.

2008-2011: Formula Three

Vanthoor began his formula racing career in the 2008 German Formula Three season, jumping from karting directly into Formula Three. He finished fourth overall in the championship, with two wins and three poles. Following his successes, the Belgian Automobile Club (RACB) made him a member of their "National Team" initiative and Volkswagen Motorsport made him an official driver. Vanthoor also became the youngest driver ever in the history of the Macau Grand Prix and he finished in sixth position.

With Frédéric Vervisch and Sebastián Saavedra both moving Stateside and Johnny Cecotto Jr. moving up to the F3 Euroseries and GP2, Vanthoor became the main title contender for the 2009 season. Vanthoor followed Vervisch's lead of 2008 by dominating the field, wrapping up the title at the Nürburgring.

Vanthoor moved into the Formula Three Euroseries for the 2010 season with Signature and stayed with the team for the 2011 season. He scored several podium finishes but never won a race.

Sportscar career

2012: FIA GT1

In 2012, Vanthoor switched to the FIA GT1 World Championship with WRT. Together with Stéphane Ortelli, he won both the qualifying and championship races at the first round at Nogaro.

2013-2016: Audi Sport Factory Driver

In 2013, Vanthoor won the FIA GT Series together with Ortelli for Audi and WRT. In 2014 he competed in the Blancpain Sprint Series and Blancpain Endurance Series, winning the latter as well as the overall Blancpain GT Series. He also won the 2014 24 Hours of Spa for WRT together with fellow Audi Sport factory drivers René Rast and Markus Winkelhock.

In 2015, Vanthoor started his season in the Bathurst 12 Hour with Phoenix Racing. He took the pole with a new lap record and ended second. He also drove in Brazil for the 1st round of the Stock Car Brasil together with Valdeno Brito for Shell Racing at Goiania. Together with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT he won the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the new Audi R8 LMS 2015 specification. On 3 October, during the event at Misano for the Blancpain Sprint Series, he was involved in a major crash which led to a serious injury. Therefore, he missed the last race of the season as well as the race at Macau, where he was replaced by René Rast. He made his comeback at the Sepang 12 Hours, which he won with Stéphane Ortelli and Stuart Leonard.

In 2016, Vanthoor started his season with a win in the Dubai 24 Hour with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. On 21 November 2016 Vanthoor won the FIA GT World Cup, crowning himself as World Champion on the streets of Macau. On 3 December 2016, it was announced that Vanthoor would change from Audi to Porsche and the focus would be on the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship where he will drive a Porsche 911 RSR together with Kévin Estre. During his last race with Audi, he won the Sepang 12 Hours together with Robin Frijns, Christopher Haase and Phoenix Racing. With this he crowned himself as the first winner of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

2017-2021: Porsche Factory Driver in IMSA

In 2017, Vanhoor started his season at the Daytona 24 Hours with his new employer Porsche, in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Together with Kevin Estre and Richard Lietz, he finished tenth overall and sixth in the GTLM-class with the new 2017-specification Porsche 911 RSR. After a relatively difficult first season, Vanthoor took his first win at the 2018 Mid-Ohio round.

During the 2018 season, Vanthoor also completed the Porsche Le Mans line-up for the No. 92 car together with Kévin Estre and Michael Christensen in the iconic “pink pig” livery. After taking the lead early on the team went on to win the GTE Pro class at the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours. The following season, Vanthoor won the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the GTLM class for Porsche together with Earl Bamber. The duo took a total of three wins and seven podiums in eleven races. Porsche eventually decided to end its factory involvement in the GTLM class at the end of the 2020 season, leaving Vanthoor out of a factory program for the following season.

However, Vanthoor was kept as a Porsche factory driver and loaned out to customer team Pfaff Motorsports for the 2021 IMSA season. He and his teammate Zacharie Robichon won the championship in the GTD class. Vanthoor also won the 24 Hours of Spa a second time in 2020 driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R entered by Rowe Racing.

2022: Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

In 2022, Vanthoor participated in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for SSR Performance, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Hypercar career

For the 2023 season, Vanthoor moved into the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, partnering Kévin Estre and André Lotterer at the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team. The trio finished took their first podium at Portimão and finished third again in Fuji, where Vanthoor impressed by taking the lead at the start before holding it for the subsequent two hours against the Toyotas. Vanthoor and his teammates finished sixth in the standings, beating the sister car by ten points.

In 2024, Vanthoor, Estre, and Lotterer returned to the WEC in Porsche's No. 6. At the season-opening Qatar 1812 km race, the team took their first victory with the 963 in a podium lockout for the chassis. Throughout the season, the team scored four more podiums, including another race win at the 2024 6 Hours of Fuji, all contributing to winning the 2024 FIA WEC Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship overall.

In 2025, Vanthoor won the 2025 24 Hours of Daytona with Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy after starting the endurance race in third.

Racing record

Career summary

† As Vanthoor was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

†† No. 16 Scherer Sport PHX is ineligible for points.

• Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key)

FIA GT competition results

Complete GT1 World Championship results

Complete FIA GT Series results

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results

• Season still in progress.--

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Complete Intercontinental GT Challenge results

• Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Spa results

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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