The French racing stable is based in Taluyers near Lyon. From here, racing driver Côme Ledogar is leading his highly motivated team into its fifth Porsche Supercup season. Since their debut in 2020, the learning curve has been steep. They have achieved several podium finishes, albeit only a single race win. That will certainly change this season, as the team principal has filled the cockpits of its three permanent Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars with top-class drivers: last year's Rookie Champion and current Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti will be joined by two-time Supercup Champion Larry ten Voorde and two-time Porsche Carrera Cup France Champion Marvin Klein. All three have proven Porsche Supercup experience. We spoke to Côme about the specific ideas behind his significant team upgrade.

Hi Côme – your team is now one of the more experienced entries in the Supercup. How does that make you feel as you and your team enter its fifth season?
Let's say we are confident. But the only way to be confident is to keep working very hard. We've given everything we can until now, just like the last four seasons – but now it's time to win. It's time to go to the next level and that's what I'm fighting for. We need to step up in order to become a “complete” racing team.

 

The news that you have signed two-time Supercup champion Larry ten Voorde for next season was one of the biggest surprises of the pre-season. What are you hoping to achieve, given that the Dutchman wants to win a third title?
Larry is an exceptional driver personality, which is also evident off the track. For example, he reacts immediately to ideas from the team – and responds directly to emails, phone calls or text messages.
Seamless communication helps us to move forward faster. He attends almost every test, regardless of the type of track. His determination to improve is evident when he gets in the car – and his desire to win is unique. Overall, Ten Voorde is a polite and dedicated team player: His level of commitment is impressive and hard to teach.

 

In what way can Larry ten Voorde, with all of his experience and knowledge of fighting for multiple titles, help the team and especially Alessandro to reach new heights?
All customer teams and drivers are here to win and to further their own careers. The rules are simple: teammates must respect each other. I will help Alessandro to learn from Larry, and Sascha Maassen as junior coach will also give him valuable tips. Ghiretti has less experience, so he has to adapt his strategy from race to race – and he is racing a lot this year. His main goal in the Supercup is to win the championship. It won't be easy – but Alessandro showed in the 2023 French championship that he is capable of top performances despite setbacks. I think he will approach the Mobil 1 Supercup in a similar way.

With 2-time Carrera Cup France Champion Marvin Klein rounding out your team, you have created a high calibre driver line-up. What can each driver bring to the team?
Marvin is the only driver to have won a Supercup race for us. We believe that with him we have the three best drivers we can have. He will certainly be fighting for the title. To know that we all want to win makes it easier to work. In the last races we will know who will fight for the championship. Until then, we have to win races and score points. Our three drivers will participate in three programmes with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. We want them to concentrate on this car and not move on to a prototype or another GT car too soon.

 

The partnership with the Car Lovers racing department and sponsor Schuhmacher has given you additional financial stability. How does this affect the team?
In our workshop, we are passionate about what we love and what we enjoy doing. Every morning we start our day full of anticipation to be out on the track soon. From day one, I have felt well prepared for our team and have improved every year. We now have a dream line-up of mostly professional drivers, including in the other series we compete in. We have also strengthened our support system with our new partners. As a result, we can now work calmly and concentrate on applying the lessons learned from previous years.

 

How would you describe yourself as a team in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup? What skills set you apart from the other teams?
We have a fixed structure where different internal departments look after certain races, such as the Supercup, the French Carrera Cup or the GT races. We now have 17 permanent employees and ten freelancers, which increases our capabilities. We have our own carbon fibre and aluminium departments. And although we employ almost 30 people in total, I am the oldest. That's a great feeling, because we are a very young team of the same generation. We are hungry for success and chasing a common dream. That creates an amazing energy.

 

With three top drivers in the team, there is the potential for public scrutiny and controversial developments on the track. Are you prepared for that?
I actually get asked this question quite a lot. As I said in the beginning: I'm prepared for all situations – that's my job. It's about managing things and defusing conflict situations. The Porsche Supercup is a customer sport programme – we don't have a fixed order between our drivers. We are driven by sporting fairness. If something escalates, I make sure that we do the right thing. At best it's about the top three places.

 

Thanks a lot for the talk, Côme!