# Vincent Abril

Vincent Abril (born March 1, 1995, in Alès, France) is a French-Monégasque race car driver based in Monaco. He was the 2015 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup champion.

## Racing career

In 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 2nd place finish at Lédenon followed by a 6th place finish at the same track the following day. After not finishing in 2 of the next 4 races, Abril won his first race in the series at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. In September, Abril finished 2nd and 3rd at Circuito de Navarra. In October, after finishing 3rd in the first race at Circuit Paul Ricard, Abril got his second win of the season at the season finale, which led to a 4th 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-10 in the first 4 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 3rd 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 7th 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 4th 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, however, Abril had one of the best years of his career. He 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 4 wins, 8 podium finishes, and 10 top 5's 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 10th.
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.
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 5th and drove the car to a 12th place finish overall, 5th in their class.
After Bathurst, Abril returned to both series again. In the Blancpain Endurance Series, he finished 2nd 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 6th.
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.
In 2019, Abril, Soucek, and Soulet again raced in the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, this time, piloting their car to a 6th place finish overall, a career high finish for the three drivers. Abril also 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.
For 2021, Abril joined the DTM as the championship swapped to GT3 regulations. Driving for Mercedes-AMG, 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 at the opening weekend, as well as qualifying meaning he lost the points for pole position, due to fuel irregularities.
In 2022 Abril continued racing GT machineries, signing a contract with JP Motorsport and making a full-time switch to GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. Monagesque also contested Asian Le Mans Series, placing 4th in GT overall classification, as well as took part in 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 9th in GTE Am class.

## Racing record
### Career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
| 2011 | SEAT León Supercopa France | Team Speedcar | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 15th |
| 2012 | SEAT León Supercopa France | Team Speedcar | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 216 | 4th |
| 2013 | French GT Championship | Team Speedcar | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 125 | 4th |
| 2013 | Blancpain Endurance Series | Speedcar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2014 | FFSA GT Championship | Team Speedcar | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 12th |
| 2014 | Blancpain GT Sprint Series | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 12th |
| 2015 | ADAC GT Masters | Bentley Team HTP | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 34th |
| 2015 | Blancpain GT Sprint Series | Bentley Team HTP | 12 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 135 | 1st |
| 2015 | Blancpain Endurance Series | Bentley Team HTP | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 20th |
| 2016 | Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup | Bentley Team M-Sport | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 24th |
| 2016 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | Bentley Team M-Sport | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 25th |
| 2016 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | Bentley Team M-Sport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 14th |
| 2017 | Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup | Bentley Team M-Sport | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 6th |
| 2017 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | Bentley Team M-Sport | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 79 | 2nd |
| 2017 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | Bentley Team M-Sport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 7th |
| 2017 | SprintX GT Championship | Absolute Racing | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 13th |
| 2018 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | Bentley Team M-Sport | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 26th |
| 2018 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | Bentley Team M-Sport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 15th |
| 2019 | Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup | Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP | 10 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 78.5 | 3rd |
| 2019 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 25th |
| 2019 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - GTE Am | Proton Competition | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th |
| 2019-20 | FIA World Endurance Championship - GTE Am | MR Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2020 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Haupt Racing Team | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 7th |
| 2020 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | Mercedes-AMG Team HRT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17th |
| 2020 | International GT Open | AF Corse/APM Monaco | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 110 | 3rd |
| 2020 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - GTE Am | MR Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF |
| 2021 | Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | Mercedes-AMG Team HRT | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 14th |
| 2021 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | Mercedes-AMG Team HRT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2021 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | BWT Haupt Racing Team | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16th |
| 2022 | Asian Le Mans Series - GT | AF Corse/APM Monaco | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 45 | 4th |
| 2022 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | JP Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 26th |
| 2022 | GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup | JP Motorsport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 14th |
| 2022 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - GTE Am | AF Corse | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 9th |
| 2023 | Le Mans Cup - GT3 | Iron Lynx | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 6th |
| 2024 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 16th |
| 2024 | International GT Open | Spirit of Race | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 104 | 3rd |
| 2024 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro | DragonSpeed | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 229 | 42th |

### Complete GT World Challenge results
#### GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup

(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points |
| 2013 | Speed Car | Audi R8 LMS Ultra | Pro | MNZ | SIL | LEC 17 | SPA 6H | SPA 12H | SPA 24H | NÜR | NC | 0 |
| 2015 | Bentley Team HTP | Bentley Continental GT3 | Pro | MNZ 46 | SIL Ret | LEC 36 | SPA 6H 32 | SPA 12H 16 | SPA 24H 9 | NÜR Ret | 20th | 10 |
| 2016 | Bentley Team M-Sport | Bentley Continental GT3 | Pro | MNZ 14 | SIL 8 | LEC 13 | SPA 6H 7 | SPA 12H 3 | SPA 24H 18 | NÜR 9 | 25th | 16 |
| 2017 | Bentley Team M-Sport | Bentley Continental GT3 | Pro | MNZ 6 | SIL 5 | LEC 1 | SPA 6H 5 | SPA 12H 5 | SPA 24H 2 | CAT Ret | 2nd | 79 |
| 2018 | Bentley Team M-Sport | Bentley Continental GT3 | Pro | MNZ 43 | SIL 14 | LEC 36 | SPA 6H 3 | SPA 12H 32 | SPA 24H Ret | CAT 5 | 26th | 17 |
| 2019 | Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Pro | MNZ 39 | SIL Ret | LEC Ret | SPA 6H 4 | SPA 12H 7 | SPA 24H 13 | CAT 38 | 25th | 9 |
| 2020 | Haupt Racing Team | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | Pro | IMO 15 | NÜR 3 | SPA 6H 12 | SPA 12H 4 | SPA 24H 7 | LEC 6 | | 7th | 40 |
| 2021 | BWT Haupt Racing Team | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | Pro | MON 13 | LEC 38 | SPA 6H 16 | SPA 12H 15 | SPA 24H 36 | NÜR | CAT | NC | 0 |
| 2022 | JP Motorsport | McLaren 720S GT3 | Pro | IMO 5 | LEC Ret | SPA 6H | SPA 12H | SPA 24H | HOC 39† | CAT 38 | 26th | 10 |
| 2024 | AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Pro | LEC 17 | SPA 6H 13 | SPA 12H 22 | SPA 24H Ret | NÜR 10 | MNZ 3 | JED 21 | 16th | 17 |

### 24 Hours of Le Mans results

| 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

(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 |