Vincent Abril (born 1 March 1995 in Alès, France) is a French-Monégasque former race car driver based in Monaco. He was the 2015 Blancpain Sprint Series champion, and primarily raced for Bentley, Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari throughout his professional career.
| Vincent Abril | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).png) Abril in 2022. | |
| Nationality |  French Monégasquevia dual nationality |
| Born | 1 March 1995 |
| Categorisation |  FIA Silver (until 2015) FIA Gold (2016–)[1]
|
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 2019–2020, 2022 |
| Teams | Proton Competition, MR Racing, AF Corse |
| Best finish | 36th (2019) |
| Class wins | 0 |
Racing career
editIn 2011, Abril raced in the SEAT León Supercopa France series for Team Speedcar. In a season with six top-tens, he finished 15th in the point standings.
In 2012, Abril returned to the SEAT León Supercopa France series. He started the season with a second place finish at Lédenon followed by a sixth place finish at the same track the following day. After not finishing in two of the next four races, Abril won his first race in the series at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. In September, Abril finished second and third at Circuito de Navarra. In October, after finishing third in the first race at Circuit Paul Ricard, Abril got his second win of the season at the season finale, which led to a fourth place finish in the points standings.
For 2013, Abril moved to the French GT Championship series, driving an Audi R8 LMS Ultra for Team Speed Car. The season didn't start very well, as Abril finished outside the top-ten in the first four races of the season. However, the following month, Abril got his first pole, and race win of the season at Spa-Francorchamps which was then followed by a third place finish the race after at the same track. The same month, Abril had a one-off race at Circuit Paul Ricard with Team Speed Car in the Blancpain Endurance Series, where he finished in 17th. In August, Abril returned to the French GT Championship racing at Val de Vienne where he finished seventh and 14th. The following month, Abril got back to back wins at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. These wins would eventually help Abril to a fourth place finish in the points standings.
Abril raced in two series throughout 2014, racing for Team Speed Car in the Championnat de France series, and for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. This would be a down year for Abril, as he only finished on podium once in both series, and also finished 14th in both point standings.
In 2015, Abril started the year driving for Bentley Team HTP in both the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup and the Blancpain Endurance Series. Even though he didn't show results in the Blancpain Endurance Series, where he finished 20th in the points standings, Abril got four wins, eight podium finishes, and ten top-fives throughout the season, which helped Abril win the 2015 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup championship along with teammate Maximilian Buhk. In December, Abril raced in the 2015 running of the Sepang 12 Hours for the Bentley Team M-Sport finishing in tenth.
2016 was another season to forget for Abril as he returned to the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series. This year however, Abril didn't run the entire season, also failing to finish on the podium even once. This led to Abril finishing 25th in the BES and 24th in the BGTSSC. In 2016, Abril also ran a race in the Intercontinental GT Challenge series at Spa-Francorchamps where he finished 14th place.
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In 2017, for the first time in his career, Abril raced in the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, driving the No. 8 Bentley Continental GT3 for Bentley Team M-Sport along with drivers Andy Soucek and Maxime Soulet. The trio started fifth and drove the car to a 12th place finish overall, fifth in their class.[2] After Bathurst, Abril returned to both series again. In the Blancpain Endurance Series, he finished second in the standings after winning a race at Circuit Paul Ricard and getting on the podium 2 times. Abril also joined the Pirelli World Challenge, finishing the season 13th in the point standings after having a highest finish of sixth.
In 2018, Abril again raced in the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, again with Soucek and Soulet. This time however, a tire issue 58 laps in caused the trio to exit the race early, resulting in a 46th place finish overall.[3]
In 2019, Abril, Soucek, and Soulet again raced in the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, this time, piloting their car to a sixth place finish overall, a career high finish for the three drivers.[4] Abril also won three times for Mercedes-linked AKKA ASP Team en route to third in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, and drove the No. 78 Porsche 911 for Proton Competition in the 2019 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with drivers Louis and Phillipe Prette. They would finish 36th overall after qualifying in 50th.[5]
For 2021, Abril joined the DTM as the championship swapped to GT3 regulations. Driving for Mercedes-AMG Team HRT, Abril took pole position for the first race of the season, but slipped back to second in the race. He was later disqualified from both races as well as qualifying, meaning he lost the points for pole position, due to fuel irregularities.[6] He ended the season 14th.
In 2022, Abril switched to McLaren machinery, signing a contract JP Motorsport and making a full-time switch to GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. The Monégasque also contested Asian Le Mans Series, placing fourth overall in an AF Corse Ferrari, and took part in the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he achieved pole position in GTE Am.
After a year spent at Lamborghini-affiliated Iron Lynx in Le Mans Cup, Abril became an official AF Corse driver in 2024. He came third in that year's International GT Open and raced Pro-class Ferraris in GT World Challenge Europe, notably securing a podium at the 2025 24 Hours of Spa with Alessandro Pier Guidi and Alessio Rovera.[7]
On 3 April 2026, Abril announced his retirement from professional motorsport.[8]
Racing record
editCareer summary
editThis section needs to be updated. (April 2026) |
Complete GT World Challenge Europe results
editGT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
edit(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup
edit(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
24 Hours of Le Mans results
edit| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Proton Competition |
Louis Prette Phillipe Prette |
Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Am |
332 | 36th | 6th |
| 2020 |  MR Racing |
Kei Cozzolino Takeshi Kimura |
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am |
172 | DNF | DNF |
| 2022 |  AF Corse |
 Conrad Grunewald Louis Prette |
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am |
339 | 42nd | 9th |
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Mercedes-AMG Team HRT | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | MNZ 1 DSQ |
MNZ 2 DSQ |
LAU 1 Ret |
LAU 2 14 |
ZOL 1 4 |
ZOL 2 Ret |
NÜR 1 12 |
NÜR 2 8 |
RBR 1 9 |
RBR 2 8 |
ASS 1 Ret |
ASS 2 9 |
HOC 1 9 |
HOC 2 9 |
NOR 1 14 |
NOR 2 8 |
14th | 34 |
References
edit- ↑ Goodwin, Graham (7 December 2015). "2016 FIA Driver Categorisation Completed". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ↑ "02/05/2017 race: Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour (EX) - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ↑ "02/04/2018 race: Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour (EX) - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ↑ "02/03/2019 race: Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour (EX) - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ↑ "06/16/2019 race: 24 Hours of Le Mans (EX) - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ↑ "Mercedes driver Abril disqualified from Monza DTM weekend". www.motorsport.com. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ↑ Klein, Jamie (24 February 2024). "Abril, Vidales Become AF Corse-Contracted Drivers". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ Wane, Ewan (3 April 2026). "Abril Steps Back From Professional Racing". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 3 April 2026.