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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: 5 Questions With Bertrand Baguette
OAK Racing’s latest signing talks about transition to LMP1 and the FIA World Endurance Championship...
Bertrand Baguette has shifted gears to the FIA World Endurance Championship with OAK Racing. (Photo: Markus Berger/OAK Racing)
The launch of the FIA World Endurance Championship has seen an influx of open-wheel stars migrate to sports car racing. Bertrand Baguette is one such example. The single-seater star, who nearly won last year’s Indy 500, has signed with OAK Racing for its LMP1 campaign in this year’s global sports car championship.
The 26-year-old Belgian, who will join Guillaume Moreau and Dominik Kraihamer aboard the French squad’s No. 15 Oak-Pescarolo Judd, caught up with SPEED.com to get his thoughts on the transition and his new challenge in endurance racing.
DAGYS: Why make the move to endurance racing?
BAGUETTE: It's a completely new thing for me. I've never done endurance [racing] before. I've come from single-seaters but I think endurance is more or less the same characteristics as sprint races. It's long sprint [racing] and you need to push the car to the limits. That's what I like to do and that's why I decided to make the change now.
I had the chance to join OAK Racing with a very competitive car. I have two very good teammates in Guillaume [Moreau] and Dominik [Kraihamer], so it's the perfect way for me to learn endurance and I hope we can do a good season together.
DAGYS: What do you think will be the biggest adjustment for you?
BAGUETTE: The driving style is more or less the same because I'm used to driving big, powerful cars from GT1, IndyCar and World Series by Renault. This one is more or less the same, it's a big car that's powerful. The big difference is that I have to share my car with teammate. It's a 12-hour race; it's very long. So it's a different philosophy, but the driving style is the same.
DAGYS: With the series being an FIA-sanctioned World Championship, does it give any extra incentive?
BAGUETTE: It's very good to compete in the World Championship. I think F1 is a little bit different right now. It's very difficult to reach it. I think the WEC is a very good championship. Audi is there, Toyota will join us. And we have a very good private team like OAK Racing. I think we are one of the best among the private teams. We will try to prove it. I'm very happy to compete in this championship.
DAGYS: Who do you see as your main competitors in LMP1 and do you think the challenge will increase when teams like Rebellion and Pescarolo debut their 2012 updates or cars?
BAGUETTE: I think it may be tougher later in the year because a lot of teams will come with an evolution, like Rebellion and Pescarolo, which will be coming with a complete new car [at Spa]. We will try to take as many points as possible here and try to do the same for the rest of the season.
DAGYS: Having completed the 2010 IndyCar season with Conquest Racing and having run the Indy 500 last year, do you still have ambitions in open-wheel?
BAGUETTE: I still want to do the Indy 500 this year after what I did last year. But for sure my priorities are the WEC. If I can do Indy, it would be a plus. But my main priority is this championship and nothing else.
If [Conquest team owner] Eric [Bachelart] wants me to drive his car, I'll drive it, no problem. But money has been the same problem for everyone. But I'm very happy to be here full-time in [WEC].
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
The 26-year-old Belgian, who will join Guillaume Moreau and Dominik Kraihamer aboard the French squad’s No. 15 Oak-Pescarolo Judd, caught up with SPEED.com to get his thoughts on the transition and his new challenge in endurance racing.
DAGYS: Why make the move to endurance racing?
BAGUETTE: It's a completely new thing for me. I've never done endurance [racing] before. I've come from single-seaters but I think endurance is more or less the same characteristics as sprint races. It's long sprint [racing] and you need to push the car to the limits. That's what I like to do and that's why I decided to make the change now.
I had the chance to join OAK Racing with a very competitive car. I have two very good teammates in Guillaume [Moreau] and Dominik [Kraihamer], so it's the perfect way for me to learn endurance and I hope we can do a good season together.
DAGYS: What do you think will be the biggest adjustment for you?
BAGUETTE: The driving style is more or less the same because I'm used to driving big, powerful cars from GT1, IndyCar and World Series by Renault. This one is more or less the same, it's a big car that's powerful. The big difference is that I have to share my car with teammate. It's a 12-hour race; it's very long. So it's a different philosophy, but the driving style is the same.
DAGYS: With the series being an FIA-sanctioned World Championship, does it give any extra incentive?
BAGUETTE: It's very good to compete in the World Championship. I think F1 is a little bit different right now. It's very difficult to reach it. I think the WEC is a very good championship. Audi is there, Toyota will join us. And we have a very good private team like OAK Racing. I think we are one of the best among the private teams. We will try to prove it. I'm very happy to compete in this championship.
DAGYS: Who do you see as your main competitors in LMP1 and do you think the challenge will increase when teams like Rebellion and Pescarolo debut their 2012 updates or cars?
BAGUETTE: I think it may be tougher later in the year because a lot of teams will come with an evolution, like Rebellion and Pescarolo, which will be coming with a complete new car [at Spa]. We will try to take as many points as possible here and try to do the same for the rest of the season.
DAGYS: Having completed the 2010 IndyCar season with Conquest Racing and having run the Indy 500 last year, do you still have ambitions in open-wheel?
BAGUETTE: I still want to do the Indy 500 this year after what I did last year. But for sure my priorities are the WEC. If I can do Indy, it would be a plus. But my main priority is this championship and nothing else.
If [Conquest team owner] Eric [Bachelart] wants me to drive his car, I'll drive it, no problem. But money has been the same problem for everyone. But I'm very happy to be here full-time in [WEC].
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa
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