Wikipedia

Gustavo Menezes

Gustavo Soiblemann Menezes[2] (born 19 September 1994) is an American-Brazilian racing driver, currently racing for Peugeot Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship.[3]

Gustavo Menezes
Menezes in 2019
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1994-09-19) 19 September 1994 (age 30)
Los Angeles, California, United States[1]
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season2016
Current teamPeugeot TotalEnergies
Racing licence FIA Platinum
Car number94
Former teamsSignatech Alpine
Rebellion Racing
Glickenhaus Racing
Starts44
Championships1 (LMP2)
Wins8
Poles9
Fastest laps2
Best finish1st in 2018
Previous series
2016-17
2014–15
2013
2013
2011–12
2011–12
2011
2010		Asian Le Mans Series
United SportsCar Championship
American Le Mans Series
German Formula Three
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
Star Mazda Championship
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps
Pacific F2000
Championship titles
2016FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers

Early career

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Karting

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Menezes began karting in 2002, but took his first championship in 2005 in the IKF Region 7 Sprint - HPV 1 Cadet. In 2008 he began karting outside the United States. In Asia he competed in the CIK-FIA Asia-Pacific Championship becoming 5th in the championship in 2008.[4] That same year Carlos Sainz, Jr. won the championship. In Europe he competed in championship in among others Monaco, Sweden and Belgium. He competes in karting championship from time to time, but he started his single-seater career in 2010.

German Formula Three

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In 2013 Menezes competed in the German Formula Three. He drove the full season with Van Amersfoort Racing and won two races.[5][6] He became 4th in the championship with 241 points.

American Le Mans Series/United SportsCar Championship

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Menezes driving in the 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone.

Menezes began his endurance racing career in 2013, driving for RSR Racing in the American Le Mans Series in the Prototype Challenge class. He only entered the Petit Le Mans with co-drivers Bruno Junqueira and Duncan Ende and finished 29th overall and 6th in class.

Both in 2014 and 2015 he competed again with RSR Racing and again in the Prototype Challenge class. In those two seasons he entered three races. In 2014 he only entered the 24 Hours of Daytona, but he and his co-drivers were unable to finish and were classified in a disappointing 63rd position. In 2015 he entered the first two races of the season: the 24 Hours of Daytona, where he finished 34th overall and 4th in class,[7] and the 12 Hours of Sebring, where he finished 31st overall and 6th in class.[8]

FIA European Formula 3 Championship

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After he had finished 4th in the championship in the German Formula Three, Menezes graduated to the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in 2014 and drove again with Van Amersfoort Racing. He finished 11th in the championship and managed to take two third-place finishes at Spa-Francorchamps. In 2015 he joined Jagonya Ayam with Carlin.[9]

Sportscar career (2016-)

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Following a test at Bahrain near the end of 2015, Menezes signed for Signatech-Alpine to compete in the LMP2 category of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, partnering Nicolas Lapierre and Stéphane Richelmi.[10][11] The team experienced a dominant campaign, winning four races, including three wins in a row and a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and ended up winning the title.[12][13] As a result of his impressive debut season, Menezes was selected to drive a Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 car at the post-season rookie test.[14] The American's hot streak continued into 2017, as he took two race wins in the Asian Le Mans Series held during the winter. However, the trio of Menezes, Tung Ho-Pin, and Thomas Laurent missed out on the overall title due to accident damage sustained at the start of the season finale.[15]

For the main 2017 campaign, ahead of which he was upgraded to gold-ranking by the FIA, Menezes returned to Signatech-Alpine for another season of the WEC, this time driving alongside a litany of other drivers throughout the year.[16][17] Despite scoring three pole positions and five podiums, chief among which being a second successive triumph at the Circuit of the Americas, the team ended up third in the standings.[18]

In 2018, Menezes would not just contest the European Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro Racing alongside Harrison Newey and Ryan Cullen (where the trio finished all six races on their way to ninth in the teams' standings), but also stepped up to the LMP1 class with Rebellion Racing for the 'Super Season' in the WEC.[19][20] In a truncated LMP1 field, Rebellion stood out as the best of the privateer entries, as Menezes, Thomas Laurent, and Mathias Beche helped the No. 3 squad towards third in the championship. Highlights included an overall podium at the 2018 Le Mans race as well as a win at the 6 Hours of Silverstone, where a disqualification for both Toyota entries handed the win to Menezes and his teammates.[21][22]

Menezes remained at Rebellion for the 2019–20 WEC season, this time partnering Bruno Senna and LMP1 rookie Norman Nato in the team's sole full-time entry.[23] This campaign saw more success, as the trio managed to win at both Shanghai and Austin, with a runner-up finish at the postponed 24 Hours of Le Mans to boot.[24][25][26]

Entering the new Le Mans Hypercar era, Menezes drove for Glickenhaus Racing at the 6 Hours of Monza in 2021, one of just four events the American participated in during the year – the others being appearances in the European Le Mans Series with DragonSpeed USA and G-Drive Racing.[27][28][29] Before the 2022 WEC campaign, it was announced that Menezes would join Peugeot Sport for their Hypercar class debut.[30][31] He made appearances in all three of Peugeot's 2022 races as the team battled technical gremlins.

 
Menezes's Peugeot 9X8 at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Menezes and Peugeot entered the WEC season full-time in 2023, as the American joined Nico Müller and Loïc Duval in the No. 94 lineup.[32] Having struggled throughout the year, the team came to the fore at Le Mans, with Müller taking the lead during the night.[33] Unfortunately, shortly after entering the car, Menezes spun from the lead, leaving the team to struggle towards a 12th-place finish.[34] At the end of the year, which Menezes ended 11th in the drivers' standings, the American ended his tenure at the French manufacturer.[35][36]

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2010 Pacific F2000 Championship Unknown 2 0 0 0 0 12 14th
2011 Star Mazda Championship Juncos Racing 11 0 0 0 1 297 8th
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Interwetten.com Racing Junior Team 8 0 0 0 0 0 37th
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps 6 0 0 0 0 68 18th
2012 Star Mazda Championship Team Pelfrey 17 0 0 0 0 208 9th
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Fortec Motorsports 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2013 German Formula 3 Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 17 2 0 2 8 241 4th
American Le Mans Series - PC RSR Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 24th
2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 33 0 1 0 2 91 11th
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 10th
United SportsCar Championship - PC RSR Racing 1 0 0 0 0 1 59th
2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 33 0 0 1 0 65 12th
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
United SportsCar Championship - PC RSR Racing 3 0 0 0 0 53 23rd
Global RallyCross Championship - GRC Lites Olsbergs MSE 1 0 0 0 0 11 20th
2016 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Signatech-Alpine 9 4 2 1 7 199 1st
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
2016-17 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 Jackie Chan DC Racing 4 2 1 0 3 69 3rd
2017 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Signatech Alpine Matmut 9 1 3 0 5 151 4th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 8th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - Prototype Rebellion Racing 1 0 0 0 0 23 35th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD 3GT Racing 1 0 0 0 0 4 85th
2018 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 APR - Rebellion Racing 6 0 0 0 0 23.25 12th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - Prototype JDC-Miller MotorSports 1 0 0 0 0 24 54th
24 Hours of Le Mans Rebellion Racing 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 3rd
2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship Rebellion Racing 8 1 0 0 4 114 3rd
2019 24 Hours of Le Mans Rebellion Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th
2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship Rebellion Racing 7 2 4 1 6 145 3rd
2020 IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 DragonSpeed USA 1 0 0 1 0 26 23rd
24 Hours of Le Mans Rebellion Racing 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd
2021 FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar Glickenhaus Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 8th
European Le Mans Series - LMP2 DragonSpeed USA 1 0 0 0 0 10.5 23rd
G-Drive Racing 2 0 0 0 0
2022 FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar Peugeot TotalEnergies 3 0 0 0 0 40 6th
2023 FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar Peugeot TotalEnergies 7 0 0 0 0 28 11th
24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 12th

† As Menezes was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points
2011 Interwetten.com Racing Junior Team MNZ
1
 MNZ
2
 IMO
1
13 		IMO
2
8 		PAU
1
 PAU
2
 RBR
1
 RBR
2
 HUN
1
10 		HUN
2
14 		LEC
1
 LEC
2
 SPA
1
5 		SPA
2
6 		18th 68

Complete German Formula Three Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 DC Points
2013 Van Amersfoort Racing OSC1
1
3 		OSC1
2
6 		OSC1
2
6 		SPA
1
3 		SPA
2
4 		SPA
3
7 		NÜR1
1
7 		NÜR1
2
C 		NÜR1
3
7 		SAC
1
15† 		SAC
2
7 		SAC
3
3 		LAU1
1
5 		LAU1
2
1 		LAU1
3
4 		NÜR2
1
4 		NÜR2
2
8 		NÜR2
3
3 		LAU2
1
4 		LAU2
2
4 		LAU2
3
4 		OSC2
1
3 		OSC2
2
7 		OSC2
3
2 		HOC
1
5 		HOC
2
1 		HOC
3
4 		4th 241

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 DC Points
2014 Van Amersfoort Racing Volkswagen SIL
1
16 		SIL
2
13 		SIL
3
18 		HOC
1
Ret 		HOC
2
21 		HOC
3
9 		PAU
1
15 		PAU
2
13 		PAU
3
Ret 		HUN
1
17 		HUN
2
7 		HUN
3
8 		SPA
1
6 		SPA
2
3 		SPA
3
3 		NOR
1
Ret 		NOR
2
10 		NOR
3
5 		MSC
1
10 		MSC
2
15 		MSC
3
12 		RBR
1
7 		RBR
2
5 		RBR
3
8 		NÜR
1
14 		NÜR
2
13 		NÜR
3
13 		IMO
1
Ret 		IMO
2
10 		IMO
3
10 		HOC
1
8 		HOC
2
9 		HOC
3
16 		11th 91
2015 Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Volkswagen SIL
1
7 		SIL
2
18 		SIL
3
4 		HOC
1
9 		HOC
2
7 		HOC
3
11 		PAU
1
15 		PAU
2
14 		PAU
3
Ret 		MNZ
1
13 		MNZ
2
5 		MNZ
3
6 		SPA
1
22 		SPA
2
Ret 		SPA
3
DNS 		NOR
1
7 		NOR
2
7 		NOR
3
Ret 		ZAN
1
16 		ZAN
2
10 		ZAN
3
Ret 		RBR
1
8 		RBR
2
10 		RBR
3
12 		ALG
1
15 		ALG
2
4 		ALG
3
Ret 		NÜR
1
14 		NÜR
2
Ret 		NÜR
3
14 		HOC
1
20 		HOC
2
12 		HOC
3
13 		12th 65

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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(key)(Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)

Year Entrant Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2014 RSR Racing PC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8. DAY
9 		SEB LGA KAN WGL IMS ELK VIR COA PET 59th 1
2015 RSR Racing PC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8. DAY
4 		SEB
6 		LGA DET WGL MOS LIM ELK COA PET
6 		23rd 53
2017 3GT Racing GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY
27 		SEB LBH COA DET WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR LGA 85th 4
Rebellion Racing P Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 PET
8 		35th 23
2018 JDC-Miller MotorSports P Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
7 		SEB LBH MDO DET WGL MOS ELK LGA PET 54th 24
2020 DragonSpeed USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB
5 		ELK ATL PET LGA SEB
 23rd 26

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results

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GRC Lites

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Points
2015 Olsbergs MSE Lites Ford Fiesta FTA DAY DAY MCAS DET DET DC LA LA BAR BAR LV
9 		20th 11

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2016 Signatech-Alpine LMP2 Alpine A460 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
4 		SPA
1 		LMS
1 		NÜR
1 		MEX
2 		COA
1 		FUJ
3 		SHA
4 		BHR
3 		1st 199
2017 Signatech Alpine Matmut LMP2 Alpine A470 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL
4 		SPA
5 		LMS
5 		NÜR
3 		MEX
2 		COA
1 		FUJ
2 		SHA
2 		BHR
4 		4th 151
2018–19 Rebellion Racing LMP1 Rebellion R13 Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 SPA
3 		LMS
3 		SIL
1 		FUJ
Ret 		SHA
5 		SEB
7 		SPA
2 		LMS
5 		3rd 114
2019–20 Rebellion Racing LMP1 Rebellion R13 Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 SIL
9 		FUJ
3 		SHA
1 		BHR
3 		COA
1 		SPA
3 		LMS
2 		BHR 3rd 145
2021 Glickenhaus Racing Hypercar Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH Glickenhaus 3.5 L Turbo V8 SPA ALG MNZ
Ret 		LMS BHR BHR 8th 0
2022 Peugeot TotalEnergies Hypercar Peugeot 9X8 Peugeot 2.6 L Turbo V6 SEB SPA LMS MNZ
4 		FUJ
5 		BHR
4 		6th 40
2023 Peugeot TotalEnergies Hypercar Peugeot 9X8 Peugeot 2.6 L Turbo V6 SEB
NC 		ALG
5 		SPA
9 		LMS
9 		MNZ
11 		FUJ
7 		BHR
8 		11th 28

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2016   Signatech Alpine   Nicolas Lapierre
  Stéphane Richelmi 		Alpine A460 LMP2 357 5th 1st
2017   Signatech Alpine Matmut   Romain Dumas
  Matt Rao 		Alpine A470-Gibson LMP2 351 10th 8th
2018   Rebellion Racing   Mathias Beche
  Thomas Laurent 		Rebellion R13-Gibson LMP1 376 3rd 3rd
2019   Rebellion Racing   Nathanaël Berthon
  Thomas Laurent 		Rebellion R13-Gibson LMP1 370 5th 5th
2020   Rebellion Racing   Norman Nato
  Bruno Senna 		Rebellion R13-Gibson LMP1 382 2nd 2nd
2023   Peugeot TotalEnergies   Loïc Duval
  Nico Müller 		Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar 312 27th 12th

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2018 APR - Rebellion Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
15 		MNZ
8 		RBR
6 		SIL
5 		SPA
15‡ 		ALG
12 		12th 23.25
2021 DragonSpeed USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT RBR
12 		LEC
WD 		MNZ 23rd 10.5
G-Drive Racing Aurus 01 SPA
7 		ALG
8

‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

References

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  1. ^ "FIA Formula 3 European Championship - #2 - Gustavo Menezes (Rebellion Racing Carlin)". fiaf3europe.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Gustavo Soiblemann Menezes, Born 09/19/1994 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  3. ^ Smith, Sam (1 October 2016). "In the spotlight: Gustavo Menezes". Motor Sport Magazine.
  4. ^ "CIK-FIA Asia-Pacific Championship - KF3 2008 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
  5. ^ "Gustavo Menezes secures victory for the first time". Formel3.de. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Menezes wins with top speed". Formel3.de. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Official Race Report of the Rolex 24 at Daytona" (PDF). imsa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Official Race Report of the 63rd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida" (PDF). imsa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Menezes joins Carlin for FIA Formula 3 European Championship". carlin.co.uk. 4 December 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  10. ^ Dagys, John (11 April 2016). "Menezes: "LMP1 is a Dream That's More Likely Than F1" – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  11. ^ DiZinno, Tony (5 February 2016). "Lapierre, Menezes First Two Drivers Set at Signatech Alpine". Sportscar365. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  12. ^ "How they won the LMP2 title: Menezes, Lapierre and Richelmi / Signatech Alpine". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Menezes: "Insane" LMP2 title win vindicates WEC switch". www.motorsport.com. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  14. ^ "WEC rookie test: Gustavo Menezes fastest in Porsche 919 Hybrid". www.autosport.com. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Algarve Pro Wins Asian Le Mans Series Title In Dramatic Sepang Finale". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  16. ^ Dagys, John (17 January 2017). "2017 WEC Silly Season Update 2: LMP1 & LMP2 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  17. ^ Dagys, John (28 March 2017). "Signatech Reveals Two-Car LMP2 Lineup – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Porsche take third straight 1-2 at COTA; Signatech Alpine win LMP2 despite late scare". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  19. ^ Kilshaw, Jake (6 March 2018). "Cullen Completes APR-Rebellion Lineup – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  20. ^ Kilshaw, Jake (10 February 2018). "Rebellion Reveals LMP1 Driver Pairings – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Menezes: "It Wasn't Ideal, But A Win Is A Win"". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Menezes "ecstatic" to become first US outright WEC winner". www.motorsport.com. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Nato Completes Rebellion's LMP1 Driver Crew". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  24. ^ Dagys, John (10 November 2019). "Menezes: First Time WEC Had "Real Racing" in "Very Long Time" – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  25. ^ "WEC 6h Austin 2020: Rebellion gewinnt das Lone Star Le Mans". Motorsport-Total.com (in German). Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  26. ^ "The End Of The Rebellion, Rebellion Racing In Pictures". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Glickenhaus reveals Monza WEC line-up, Briscoe stood down". www.motorsport.com. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  28. ^ "Menezes Joins DragonSpeed For ELMS Red Bull Ring". Dailysportscar. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Menezes Joins Algarve Pro For Spa & Portimao". Dailysportscar. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  30. ^ "Peugeot Sport announces driver line-up for Hypercar programme". www.fiawec.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  31. ^ "Peugeot-WEC-Fahrer 2022: Drei Ex-F1-Piloten an Bord". Motorsport-Total.com (in German). Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  32. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (15 September 2022). "Mueller to Race for Peugeot in Hypercar Next Season". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  33. ^ "Peugeot lead Le Mans after eight hours amid drama for Ferrari and Toyota". Motorsport Week. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  34. ^ "LM24, Hour 12: Ferrari in front; problems for Peugeot". RACER. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  35. ^ "Gustavo Menezes wird zum Saisonende Peugeot verlassen / FIA WEC - SPEEDWEEK.COM". www.speedweek.com (in German). 16 September 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  36. ^ "Gustavo Menezes Set To Leave Peugeot After 2023 Season". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers
2016
With: Nicolas Lapierre & Stephane Richelmi 		Succeeded by
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