Like the mystique of a French love affair, so is the story of Alméras. And in particular, it’s connection and timelessness to Porsche Customer Racing in France. It all began in a small town on the outskirts of Montpellier. From their humble workshop, the brothers Jean-Marie and Jacques Alméras founded their racing team. Using Porsche models, the two began to establish and develop the French racing car standards. Today, Philippe Alméras continues the family tradition bringing five 911 GT3 Cups to the starting line of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup with his teams martinet by Alméras und pierre martinet by Alméras.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s the worldwide customer racing scene was already in full gear. Numerous racing series were being organized at the national level, but were not yet unified under a global series like the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. The Alméras brothers became a duo of private French driver-mechanics who were making a name for themselves. It was Jean-Marie’s outstanding driving and performance in mountain, rally and long-distance racing matched with Jacques’ masterful engineering skills that distinguished them from the rest. The majority of cars the Alméras brothers modified and drove during this time were Porsche, and as customer racing became more prominent, so did the brothers’ prestige, transforming their workshop into a full-fledged racing team.

The racing team led by Team Manager Philippe Alméras has is located in the beautiful city of Montpellier in southern France.

In the early 1980s a third Alméras joined the two founding brothers – Philippe, Jacques’ son. Following in his father’s footsteps, Philippe began learning the nuances of motor racing and engineering in the sunny pitlanes of France. Philippe went on to complete an engineering degree from Grande École INSA while training as a race mechanic with his family. After graduation he continued the family tradition and founded his first racing team: Pro GT by Alméras. That was in 2007 – The beginning of modern era racing for the Alméras family.

Philippe had been racing with his team in the Carrera Cup France, but in 2015, he took it to the next level, by also competing in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup achieving a debut podium with his driver Côme Ledogar. In 2016, young pilot Mathieu Jaminet brought it all to the table and won the Carrera Cup France for Alméras. Also, in his first year ever of racing in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Jaminet won an astonishing three races for Alméras. In 2018, underscoring the team’s down-to-earth reputation, Florian Latorre led Alméras to its first win on the Silverstone Circuit. Creating a major sensation in his debut season, Ayhancan Güven took home a second consecutive win for team martinet by Alméras from Silverstone Circuit in 2019.

As you can imagine, a spectacular and well deserved team celebration was had. Alméras is indeed a racing dynasty steeped in tradition and legacy but remains humbled and grounded with their success.

What martinet by Alméras can achieve with Ayhancan Güven in 2020 is another story. Our tip: he is a favorite. Under the leadership and guidance of Philippe Alméras, this team’s passion and dedication to motorsports is an unparalleled French racing legacy.