François Hériau
French racing driver (born 1983)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
François Thierry Roger Hériau (born 25 October 1983) is a French businessman and racing driver who competes in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship for Vista AF Corse.
French25 October 1983
FIA Bronze| François Hériau | |
|---|---|
Hériau in 2025 | |
| Nationality | French |
| Born | François Thierry Roger Hériau 25 October 1983 Rennes, France |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Current team | Vista AF Corse |
| Categorisation | FIA Bronze |
| Car number | 55 |
| Championship titles | |
| 2023 2010 | Asian Le Mans Series – LMP3 V de V Funyo Challenge |
He is the president and CEO of Carlac Minerals (Carrières des Lacs), the Hériau family business, which dates back to 1946.[1][2]
Career
Hériau began his racing career in 2009, competing in the V de V Funyo Challenge, finishing third in points before winning the series title the following year for HMC Loheac.[3] Racing in V de V Sports-run championships until 2015, Hériau also competed sporadically in the Challenge Endurance series, most notably competing for Ultimate in his final two years in the series.[4]
In 2016, Hériau remained with Ultimate to compete in the LMP3 class of the European Le Mans Series alongside Jean-Baptiste and Matthieu Lahaye.[5][6] In his first season in the series, Hériau scored a pair of fourth-place finishes at Le Castellet and Red Bull Ring to end the year tenth in points.[7] Remaining with the team for the 2017 season,[8] Hériau scored his maiden series podiums at Silverstone and Monza, which helped him end the year fourth in LMP3.[9][10] At the end of the year, Hériau won the Gulf 12 Hours in the LMP3 Pro-Am class for the same team.[11]
Continuing with Ultimate for 2018,[12] Hériau scored a third-place finish at Silverstone to round out the year eighth in LMP3.[13] At the end of the year, Hériau raced in the LMP2 class of the 2018–19 Asian Le Mans Series for Panis Barthez Competition,[14] in which he scored a pair of third-place finishes in Buriram and Sepang.[15][16] For the rest of 2019, Hériau returned to Ultimate for a fourth consecutive season in the LMP3 class of the European Le Mans Series.[17] In what turned out to be his final season in LMP3 machinery, Hériau won at Le Castellet,[18] before taking further podiums at Barcelona and Algarve to secure a third-place points finish in LMP3.[19]
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Following a one-off appearance in the following year's Le Mans Cup for EuroInternational,[20] Hériau returned to Ultimate for 2021, now in a technical partnership Tech 1 Racing, to race in the LMP2 Pro-Am class of the European Le Mans Series.[21] Racing in the first four rounds of the season, Hériau scored a class win at Barcelona and two further podiums,[22] before pulling out from the final two races and the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a result of a shoulder injury.[23] Returning to LMP2 competition the following year, Hériau began the year by racing in the 24 Hours of Daytona for G-Drive Racing by APR,[24] before reuniting with Ultimate to race in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the rest of the year.[25] Racing in the Pro-Am Cup in his first season in the World Endurance Championship, Hériau finished second in class in four out of the six races en route to a third-place points finish at the end of the year.[26]
At the start of 2023, Hériau made a brief return to LMP3 competition, racing in the Asian Le Mans Series for Graff Racing,[27] taking a lone win at Abu Dhabi and two podiums at Dubai to secure the class title.[28] The Frenchman then returned to LMP2 competition as he raced in the first three rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship for TDS Racing,[29] but a back injury from a testing accident forced him on the sidelines for most of the year, causing him to also miss the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second time in three years.[30] Towards the end of the year, Hériau raced in the GT class of the 2023–24 Asian Le Mans Series for Ferrari-affiliated AF Corse,[31] taking a lone podium at Dubai as he ended the season eighth in points.[32]
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Remaining in GT competition for the rest of 2024, Hériau remained with the Italian to race in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as competing in the Endurance round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in GTD.[33][34] In the former, Hériau qualified on pole for the 6 Hours of Fuji,[35][36] before ending the year with a win at the 8 Hours of Bahrain en route to a third-place points finish.[37] In the latter, Hériau finished second in the 24 Hours of Daytona, which turned out to be his only podium of the season.[38] The following year, Hériau remained with AF Corse for his third season in the FIA World Endurance Championship,[39] winning the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and scoring two other podiums en route to runner-up honors in LMGT3.[40][41] At the end of the year, Hériau raced in the 2025–26 Asian Le Mans Series for Porsche-fielding Manthey Racing,[42] scoring a best result of fourth twice as he ended the season 10th in the GT standings.[43]
For the rest of 2026, Hériau returned to AF Corse for his third consecutive season in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.[44]
Racing record
Racing career summary
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Ultimate | LMP3 | Ligier JS P3 | Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 | SIL 11 |
IMO 10 |
RBR Ret |
LEC 4 |
SPA 4 |
EST 14 |
10th | 26 |
| 2017 | Ultimate | LMP3 | Ligier JS P3 | Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 | SIL 2 |
MNZ 3 |
RBR 4 |
LEC 6 |
SPA 8 |
ALG 8 |
4th | 61 |
| 2018 | Ultimate | LMP3 | Norma M30 | Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 | LEC Ret |
MNZ 7 |
RBR 4 |
SIL 3 |
SPA Ret |
ALG 12 |
8th | 36.5 |
| 2019 | Ultimate | LMP3 | Norma M30 | Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 | LEC 1 |
MNZ Ret |
CAT 2 |
SIL 7 |
SPA 4 |
ALG 3 |
3rd | 76 |
| 2021 | Ultimate | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT 5 |
RBR 5 |
LEC 13 |
MNZ 11 |
SPA |
ALG |
18th | 21.5 |
| Pro-Am Cup | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6th | 67 | ||||||
| 2023 | EuroInternational | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 | CAT | LEC | ARA | SPA Ret |
PRT | ALG | 17th | 0 |
| 2024 | Ultimate | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 | CAT |
LEC |
IMO |
SPA |
MUG |
ALG Ret |
22nd | 0 |
Complete Le Mans Cup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Panis Barthez Competition | LMP2 | Ligier JS P2 | Judd HK 3.6 L V8 | SHA 6 |
FUJ 4 |
CHA 3 |
SEP 3 |
4th | 50 | ||
| 2023 | Graff Racing | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 | DUB 1 2 |
DUB 2 2 |
ABU 1 4 |
ABU 2 1 |
1st | 73 | ||
| 2023–24 | AF Corse | GT | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 | SEP 1 10 |
SEP 2 Ret |
DUB 3 |
ABU 1 7 |
ABU 2 5 |
8th | 32 | |
| 2025–26 | Manthey Racing | GT | Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | Porsche M97/80 4.2 L Flat-6 | SEP 1 4 |
SEP 2 8 |
DUB 1 9 |
DUB 2 4 |
ABU 1 7 |
ABU 2 12 |
10th | 38 |
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | G-Drive Racing by APR | LMP2 | Aurus 01 | Gibson GK428 V8 | DAY 5 |
SEB | LGA | MDO | WGL | ELK | PET | NC† | 0 | |||
| 2023 | TDS Racing | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | DAY 4 |
SEB 8 |
LGA 4 |
WGL |
ELK |
IMS | PET |
21st | 570 | |||
| 2024 | AF Corse | GTD | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 | DAY 2 |
SEB 19 |
LBH | LGA | WGL 6 |
MOS | ELK | VIR | IMS 20 |
PET 6 |
30th | 1154 |
† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Ultimate | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SEB 10 |
SPA 12 |
LMS 14 |
MNZ 8 |
FUJ 12 |
BHR 11 |
21st | 6 | ||
| Pro-Am Cup | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3rd | 129 | ||||||
| 2024 | Vista AF Corse | LMGT3 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 | QAT 7 |
IMO 4 |
SPA 13 |
LMS 5 |
SÃO 6 |
COA 10 |
FUJ 6 |
BHR 1 |
3rd | 97 |
| 2025 | Vista AF Corse | LMGT3 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 | QAT 5 |
IMO Ret |
SPA 1 |
LMS 2 |
SÃO 13 |
COA 12 |
FUJ 2 |
BHR 5 |
2nd | 109 |
| 2026 | Vista AF Corse | LMGT3 | Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo | Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 | IMO 6 |
SPA 4 |
LMS 5 |
SÃO 9 |
COA |
FUJ |
CAT |
MNZ |
7th* | 42* |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Ultimate |
Jean-Baptiste Lahaye Matthieu Lahaye |
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 335 | 48th | 24th | ||||||||||||
| LMP2 Pro-Am | 8th | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 |  Vista AF Corse |
 Simon Mann Alessio Rovera |
Ferrari 296 GT3 | LMGT3 | 279 | 33rd | 6th | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | Vista AF Corse |
Simon Mann Alessio Rovera |
Ferrari 296 GT3 | LMGT3 | 341 | 34th | 2nd | ||||||||||||
| 2026 | Vista AF Corse |
Simon Mann Alessio Rovera |
Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo | LMGT3 | 335 | 37th | 5th | ||||||||||||
| Source:[47][48] | |||||||||||||||||||