Patrice Goueslard

Patrice Goueslard
Born	(1965-11-26) November 26, 1965 Caen, France
Occupation	Racing driver
Years active	1990–2014
Known for	Endurance racing, multiple French GT Championship titles, participation in 24 Hours of Le Mans

Patrice Goueslard (born 26 November 1965) is a seasoned French driver specializing in endurance racing. He participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans every year from 1999 through 2010, having made his first appearance at the event in 1994. His top achievement at Le Mans came in 2006, when he finished seventh overall and secured third place in the GT1 category, competing for Larbre Compétition alongside teammates Luc Alphand and Jérôme Policand. Goueslard boasts several championship victories, including three titles each in the French GT Championship and the GT1 class of the Le Mans Series, as well as a Gentleman Trophy triumph in the Blancpain Endurance Series.

Early career

Goueslard launched his motorsport journey in 1990 within the Championnat de France Formule Renault, achieving his highest placement of 11th in the 1993 season. His inaugural appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans occurred in 1994 with Elf Haberthur Racing, but a turbocharger malfunction forced retirement during the race while driving their Porsche 911 Turbo. That same year, he competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup France, securing fifth place in Class B. He continued racing in this series through to 1996, winning Class B in 1995 and finishing fourth overall by 1996. In that year, Goueslard also took part with Larbre Competition in the BPR Global GT Series, piloting a GT2-class Porsche 911 GT2 to a 21st overall finish. Additionally, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he achieved 20th overall and seventh within the GT2 category.

1997–1999

In 1997, Goueslard claimed victory in his class at the 24 Hours of Daytona driving a Porsche 911 GT2 for Roock Racing. He earned the French GT Championship title with Larbre Competition, partnering with Christophe Bouchut to secure ten wins throughout the season. At Le Mans, he contributed to a fifth-place overall and third-place GT1 finish for Schübel Engineering behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT1. That year also included a single FIA GT Championship entry with Larbre, where he earned one championship point.

The following year, 1998, saw Goueslard finish third at the 24 Hours of Daytona with Larbre Competition. Despite winning five races, he placed third overall in the French GT Championship and had limited involvement in the FIA GT Championship without scoring points. His Le Mans team concluded the race 23rd overall and ninth within GT2.

In 1999, Goueslard won four races and ended second in the French GT Championship standings. Competing for Chereau Sports at Le Mans, his team did not reach the required 70% race distance and thus was unclassified. Three FIA GT Championship appearances with Haberthur Racing that year did not yield any points.

2000–2002

At the dawn of the new millennium, Goueslard concentrated on the FIA GT Championship, contesting all ten rounds and capturing the N-GT class championship by winning six events with Larbre Competition’s Porsche 911 GT3-R. Concurrently, he remained active in the French GT Championship, adding one victory to his record. During that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, Goueslard teamed up with Bouchut and Chéreau but retired after completing only 34 laps due to accident-related damage.

In 2001, his results in FIA GT diminished; participating in ten out of eleven races for Larbre, he finished twelfth both in the N-GT and overall GT categories. However, he managed two wins in the French GT Championship and secured third place overall. At Le Mans that season, Goueslard joined forces with Chéreau and Sébastien Dumez to finish tenth overall and fourth within their GT class.

By 2002, Goueslard stepped away from FIA GT to focus exclusively on the French GT Championship. Driving a Porsche 911 GT2 for Nourry Team Competition, he clinched the championship with four victories. At Le Mans that year, alongside Bouchut and Vincent Vosse, he finished eighteenth overall and fourth in class.

2003–2005

Goueslard rejoined Larbre Competition in 2003 to compete in the French GT Championship, where he clinched the championship title with two victories. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year, he partnered with Bouchut and Steve Zacchia, finishing 16th overall and securing fourth place in the GTS category. The following year, Larbre Competition transitioned to the Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello, but Goueslard’s results declined, ending the French GT Championship in 12th place without any wins. Nevertheless, at Le Mans, alongside Bouchut and Olivier Dupard, he finished 14th overall and fifth in class. Additionally, he achieved second place in GTS and tenth overall at the 1000 km of Spa during the Le Mans Endurance Series. In 2005, concentrating primarily on the French GT Championship, Goueslard earned his final series victory and concluded the season tenth overall. He also took part in Le Mans with Dupard and Vosse, finishing 12th overall and fourth in the GT2 category.

2006–2008

In 2006, Goueslard participated in all six events of the Le Mans Series (LMS) representing Luc Alphand Aventures, piloting a Chevrolet Corvette C5-R and securing sixth place in the GT1 championship standings. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same year, he teamed with Alphand and Jérôme Policand to finish seventh overall and third within their class. Continuing with Luc Alphand Aventures in 2007, Goueslard achieved third place in the LMS championship, including one race victory driving the updated Chevrolet Corvette C6.R. The team repeated their third-place class finish at Le Mans but dropped to 12th position overall. In 2008, Goueslard claimed the LMS GT1 title by winning two of five races. At Le Mans that year, he joined forces with Jean-Luc Blancheman and Laurent Pasquali to finish 21st overall and sixth in their class.

2009–2011

During the 2009 Le Mans Series season, Goueslard matched his previous year’s performance by winning two races and capturing the GT1 class championship once again. However, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an accident after completing 99 laps forced retirement of the Corvette C6.R shared by Goueslard, Alphand, and Stéphane Grégoire. In 2010, Goueslard and Luc Alphand Aventures switched to the Saleen S7-R and dominated the GT1 category with four wins out of five races, securing a third consecutive championship title. Despite their success during the season, they retired once more at Le Mans after completing 238 laps with drivers Goueslard, Julien Jousse, and Xavier Maassen.

After failing to renew his contract with Luc Alphand Aventures in 2011, Goueslard moved to compete in the Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series (NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), participating in two rounds and finishing 38th overall in the Elite class with a total of 53 points. Subsequently, he transitioned to the newly established Blancpain Endurance Series behind the wheel of a Ferrari 458 Italia for Team SOFREV ASP. That season saw no race wins for him as he ended up ranked twentieth in the GT3 Pro Cup standings.

2012–2014

Goueslard stayed with SOFREV during the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series campaign and secured fourth place in the GT3 Pro-Am Cup category. The following year, competing in SOFREV’s Gentleman Trophy division, he won the championship by claiming three victories out of five races contested. In an interview, Goueslard expressed a preference for racing GT1 machinery used previously in the Le Mans Series over current GT3 cars featured in Blancpain events and indicated his intention to obtain sponsorship to continue competing in GT racing throughout 2014.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Overall Position	Class Position
1994	Template:Country data CHETemplate:Namespace detect showall Elf Haberthur Racing	Template:Country data CHETemplate:Namespace detect showall Olivier Haberthur Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Patrick Vuillaume	Porsche 911 Turbo 6.3	GT2	42	DNF	DNF
1996	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	André Ahrlé Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Patrick Bourdais	Porsche 911 GT2	GT1	284	20th	6th
1997	Schübel Engineering	Template:Country data PORTemplate:Namespace detect showall Pedro Lamy Armin Hahne	Porsche 911 GT1	GT1	331	5th	3rd
1998	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Pierre Yver Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean-Luc Chéreau	Porsche 911 GT2	GT	240	23rd	9th
1999	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Chéreau Sports / Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Pierre Yver Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean-Luc Chéreau	Porsche 911 GT2	GT	240	NC	NC
2000	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Christophe Bouchut Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean-Luc Chéreau	Porsche 911 GT3-R	GT	34	DNF	DNF
2001	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean-Luc Chéreau Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Sébastien Dumez	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	GT	274	12th	4th
2002	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Christophe Bouchut Template:Country data BELTemplate:Namespace detect showall Vincent Vosse	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	GTS	319	18th	4th
2003	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Christophe Bouchut Template:Country data CHETemplate:Namespace detect showall Steve Zacchia	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	GTS	317	16th	4th
2004	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Christophe Bouchut Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Olivier Dupard	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello	GTS	317	14th	5th
2005	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data BELTemplate:Namespace detect showall Vincent Vosse Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Olivier Dupard	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello	GT1	324	12th	4th
2006	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Luc Alphand Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jérôme Policand	Chevrolet Corvette C5-R	GT1	346	7th	'3rd'
2007	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Larbre Compétition	{{flagicon{FRA}} Luc Alphand {{flagicon{FRA}} Jérôme Policand	align=“left”> Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	GT1	327	12th	7th
2008	align=“left”> {{flagicon{FRA} Luc Alphand Aventures	align=“left”> {{flagicon{FRA} Jean-Luc Blanchemain {{flagicon{FRA} Laurent Pasquali	align=“left”> Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	GT1	325	21st	6th
2009	align=“left”> {{flagicon{FRA} Luc Alphand Aventures	align=“left”> {{flagicon{FRA} Luc Alphand {{flagicon{FRA} Stéphan Grégoire	align=“left”> Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	GT1	99	DNF	DNF
2010	align=“left”> {{flagicon{FRA} Luc Alphand Aventures	align=“left”> {{flagicon{FRA} Julien Jousse {{flagicon{NED} Xavier Maassen	align=“left”> Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	GT1	238	DNF	DNF