Gaël Julien (born 30 November 2005) is a French-Malagasy racing driver.[1] He has been competing in the LMP3 class of the European Le Mans Series since 2023, driving for RLR MSport. Previously, Julien became a race winner in the French F4 Championship.

Gaël Julien
NationalityFrance French
Born (2005-11-30) 30 November 2005 (age 18)
Pont-l'Abbé, France
European Le Mans Series career
Debut season2023
Current teamRLR MSport
Car number15
Starts21 (21 entries)
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles2
Fastest laps0
Best finish7th (LMP3) in 2023
Previous series
2022
2021
F4 Spanish Championship
French F4 Championship

Early career edit

Having discovered karting at the age of 7, Julien won titles in various Asian countries, as well as taking home the 2019 Rok Cup Asia in the junior class.[2][3][4] He made his car racing debut in 2021, taking part in French F4.[5] With one win at Lédenon, the Frenchman finished seventh in the standings.[6][7][8]

For the 2022 season, Julien switched to compete in Spanish F4, where he would race for Drivex School.[9][10] He finished 11th in the championship, beating both of his full-time teammates and scoring a podium in Valencia.

At the end of the year, Julien took part in an evaluation for the Ferrari Driver Academy as a selected candidate of the Asia Pacific & Oceania regional selection programme, representing Indonesia.[11]

Sportscar career edit

2023 marked the start of Julien's time in sportscar racing, as the Frenchman moved to RLR MSport, partnering Horst Felbermayr Jr. and Mateusz Kaprzyk in the LMP3 class of the European Le Mans Series.[12] Scoring points in all six races, Julien highlighted his campaign with a pole position in mixed weather conditions at Portimão, which led the team towards a seventh place in the standings.[13][14]

The following year, Julien remained with RLR in ELMS, this time partnering the bronze-ranked pair of Nick Adcock and Michael Jensen.[15] Following a fourth place in Barcelona, the French driver would take his first pole position of the year at his home track in Le Castellet.[16][17] Thanks to a well-judged fuel saving strategy which saw RLR have to make one less stop than its rivals, Julien would cross the line to take his first victory in endurance racing.[18][19]

Personal life edit

During his childhood, Julien and his parents lived in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.[20]

Racing record edit

Racing career summary edit

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2021 French F4 Championship FFSA Academy 21 1 1 1 4 141 7th
2022 F4 Spanish Championship Drivex School 21 0 0 0 1 60 11th
2023 European Le Mans Series - LMP3 RLR MSport 6 0 1 0 0 51 7th
2024 European Le Mans Series - LMP3 RLR MSport 2 1 1 0 1 38* 1st*

* Season still in progress.

Complete French F4 Championship results edit

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

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pos Points
2021 NOG
1

7
NOG
2

3
NOG
3

5
MAG1
1

7
MAG1
2

6
MAG1
3

Ret
HUN
1

7
HUN
2

3
HUN
3

5
LÉD
1

5
LÉD
2

13
LÉD
3

1
MNZ
1

5
MNZ
2

8
MNZ
3

C
LEC
1

6
LEC
2

7
LEC
3

Ret
MAG2
1

4
MAG2
2

3
MAG2
3

Ret
7th 141

Complete F4 Spanish Championship results edit

(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 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2022 Drivex School ALG
1

8
ALG
2

Ret
ALG
3

15
JER
1

11
JER
2

11
JER
3

5
CRT
1

4
CRT
2

2
CRT
3

8
SPA
1

8
SPA
2

9
SPA
3

10
ARA
1

19†
ARA
2

14
ARA
3

19
NAV
1

5
NAV
2

8
NAV
3

10
CAT
1

Ret
CAT
2

14
CAT
3

12
11th 60

Complete European Le Mans Series results edit

(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
2023 RLR MSport LMP3 Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 CAT
9
LEC
4
ARA
4
SPA
6
PRT
6
ALG
6
7th 51
2024 RLR MSport LMP3 Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 CAT
4
LEC
1
IMO SPA MUG ALG 1st* 38*

* Season still in progress.

References edit

  1. ^ "Driver: Gael Julien | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  2. ^ Ouest-France (2023-01-06). "Pont-l'Abbé. Gaël Julien, un lycéen à 240 km/h". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  3. ^ "Gael Julien". f1-upcomingstarss Webseite!. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  4. ^ "PORTRAIT. Gaël, 14 ans, originaire du Pays bigouden et futur champion de Formule 1 ?". lemans.maville.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  5. ^ "F4 Academy: The Easter Cup at Nogaro launches the 2021 season". FFSA Academy. 23 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  6. ^ "F4 Academy: Confirmation and surprise at Lédenon". Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  7. ^ Woollard, Craig (12 September 2021). "Gael Julien recovers from poor start to take maiden French F4 win". formulascout.com.
  8. ^ "F4 French Championship Standings 2021 | Motorsport Stats". motorsportstats.com. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  9. ^ Mishra, Oorjit (2022-04-28). "Your season guide to the 2022 Spanish F4 Championship". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  10. ^ Wood, Ida (2022-02-02). "Drivex adds Bruno del Pino and Gael Julien to Spanish F4 line-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  11. ^ "Karters Try Out for Ferrari Driver Academy – KartSportNews". 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  12. ^ Goodwin, Graham (6 February 2023). "European Le Mans Series Confirm 42 Car Full Season Entry". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  13. ^ "QUALIFYING: IDEC SPORT CLAIM POLE IN THREE WAY FIGHT FOR TOP SPOT". www.europeanlemansseries.com. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  14. ^ "RLR MSport banks sensational pole and top six race results in ELMS Grand Season Finale in Portimao". Leveridge Promotions. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  15. ^ Kilbey, Stephen (29 March 2024). "ELMS Field Almost Complete With Barcelona Prologue Approaching". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  16. ^ "RLR MSport takes "solid and respectable" P4 result from ELMS opener in Barcelona". Leveridge Promotions. 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  17. ^ Defet, Florian. "ELMS : Job van Uitert offre la pole des 4 Heures du Castellet à IDEC Sport". endurance24.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  18. ^ "Historic Win For Inter Europol In Drama-Filled 4H Le Castellet". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  19. ^ Euwema, Davey (2024-05-05). "Inter Europol Win Drama-Filled 4H Le Castellet – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  20. ^ "Gael Julien : 14 ans et déjà l'étoffe d'un champion". Le Télégramme (in French). 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2024-05-05.

External links edit