Van Rompuy-de Wilde-Martin: DKR in Le Mans with a fully Belgian crew

The Oreca-Gibson N°43 DKR Engineering will be an eye catcher for the thousands of Belgian fans expected in Le Mans on June 10 and 11. After two months of efforts and negotiations, team boss Kendy Janclaes succeeded in forming an all Belgian team of drivers, the first since the Lola Aston Martin LMP1 Kronos of Vanina Ickx, Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin in 2011.

"I'm very happy and proud to have earned our ticket for the Le Mans centenary by winning the Asian Le Mans Series in March," Kendy Janclaes says. "We now have managed to put together a strong Belgian team for our second appearance in Le Mans in LMP2. Tom Van Rompuy is our Bronze driver and has been part of the team since 2022. He has been on the podium several times in LMP3 in ELMS, and in the Asian Le Mans Series. He also made a convincing debut in LMP2 a fortnight ago in Barcelona. We've known Ugo de Wilde for three years now, as he was only seventeen when he raced our Duqueine LMP3 in his first Road To Le Mans participation. Ugo is a very fast young driver, but also a very intelligent and committed. Finally there is Maxime Martin, who needs no introduction as he has already did Le Mans seven times, with some very good results. We are delighted that he has accepted to be part of this project. We couldn't have asked for a better coach for our two rookies. I'm sure that our three drivers will get on very well and that with them we can can have a repeat of our 2022 podium in the LMP2 Pro-Am class, where the level is very high.”

At 35 years old, after a good first year of learning about prototypes in LMP3 with DKR, Tom Van Rompuy will make one of his dreams come true by taking the start of the Le Mans 24 hours.

"Yes, that's right," says the Antwerp born driver who is fifth in his class for his debut in the ELMS top category. "I will finally discover this mythical circuit. I still have a lot to learn but I'll have two excellent teachers as Maxime knows the track by heart and Ugo has quite a lot of experience in LMP2. I think we complement each other very well and have all the ingredients for a great week.”

Ugo de Wilde, winner of the Road To Le Mans race on the long Le Mans circuit less than two years ago, is of course also delighted to be part of the team. At the age of 20 and a half he will be the youngest Belgian driver in history to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a prototype car, as Nicolas De Crem was four months older in 2011 - with the Pescarolo Oak - and none less than Jacky Ickx was eleven months older when he was on the starting grid of his first Le Mans 24 Hours in 1966, at the age of 21 years and five months.

“Honestly, it still has not sunken in that I'm going to do this mythical race," says the driver from Sint Stevens Woluwé near Brussels, who will normally announce the rest of his 2023 program next week. "It's crazy. I still remember it as it were yesterday, how ten years ago I put my hand in Tom Kristensen’s handprint in the centre of Le Mans, where I was living for a while when I was 15 years old and where I got my secondary education degree at the FFSA motorsport school. My room was a stone’s throw of Tertre Rouge corner, and very often it was difficult for me to study because of the engine noise. Le Mans is also the place where I took my first two world poles positions in karting, and the circuit where I did my first race in F4. One day being on the grid of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has always been a dream for me, much more than reaching formula 1. Of course I am very proud to have already achieved this at the age of twenty, and what’s more, in the year when Le Mans turns one hundred... My ultimate dream now is to win this mythical race, but I still have time for that. I have to thank Kendy, my family and all my friends and partners for helping me get there so quickly. After my F3-victory at the age of sixteen in Monza and racing in Monaco at the same young age, my victory at Road To Le Mans and competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona last year, this will certainly be one of the highlights of my young career. Having Maxime by our side is an additional source of pride for me. I met him during our leisure weekends in Fun Cup and found him to be as cool as he is fast...”

It indeed comes as a surprise that Maxime Martin will be one of the drivers of car number 43... forty three years after the his father Jean-Michel and uncle Philippe drove the Rondeau to the podium in Le Mans. Aged 37 today Max was not even born back then.

"I didn't hesitate for a second when I was offered to do Le Mans with a DKR LMP2 prototype car and a fully Belgian crew," says the BMW Motorsport driver who won Le Mans three years ago in GTE-Pro with Aston Martin. "Firstly because I know Kendy Janclaes' team very well. They are all passionate people, just like Kendy, but also as competent as he is. He already won several championships and is quite a reference in endurance racing. Secondly, taking part in Le Mans is always a magical experience. Finally, I also like the idea of being part of a Belgian team. It's never easy at this level. Thank you and hats off to those who managed to put this operation together and allowed me to be at the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours for the eighth time.”

The DKR team is planning four testing days between now and the 24 Hours weekend: two in Le Castellet and two in Aragon (Spain). The car will then be completely dismounted and revised before being shipped to Le Mans where it will arrive on June 1in a completely new livery which will be revealed soon. On June 2 the car will then begin its great adventure with the weighingsession at the Place des Jacobins. A moment we are indeed really looking forward to...