Motorsport98 is the only Belgian team on the Michelin Le Mans Cup grid and Eric De Doncker is looking for his third podium finish of the 2025 season at his home race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday 23rdAugust.
The former GT4 European Cup and Group C Racing Class 1 Champion is also one of only two Belgian drivers to finish on the podium at Spa in the MLMC when he finished third in 2017 and second in 2019, the other driver being former champion Jean Glorieux.
This year De Doncker has teamed up with former MLMC and LES Champion Gillian Henrion, the young French driver already enjoying success with Motorsport98 with a podium finish in Le Castellet and in the first Road To Le Mans race in June. The team are currently lying in third place in the LMP3 Pro/Am championship standings on 34 points.
We caught up with Eric De Doncker as he prepared for his home race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Q: With two podiums from four races, how would you sum up the season so far for you and the team?
Eric De Doncker: “It is a good start of the season. It is a shame that I’ve been involved in the first lap accident at Barcelona race, otherwise I am sure that we would be closer of the championship lead. But that’s racing!”
Q: You’ve teamed up with former MLMC and LES Champion Gillian Henrion this year.Tell us a bit more on how you chose Gillian to join Motorsport98 this year and how is he fitting in with the team?
ED: “I was looking for a fast Silver driver to race with me, I did test a few drivers during the winter testing, Gillian was fast, a nice kid, really mature for his age and a real Ligier “product”. As I am close to the Ligier’ family, the choice was easy. The whole team is delighted to work with Gillian, he deserves to race at the highest level, I will do my best to help him in his career.”
Q: Next up is your home race at Spa-Francorchamps.You are only one of two Belgian drivers who has finished on the MLMC podium since 2016, the other being Jean Glorieux.What does it mean to you to race at Spa in front of your home crowd?
ED: “It is always special to race at Spa-Francorchamps, even if the pressure to do well at home is even bigger. It is nice to see more friends and supporters.”
Q: What are your thoughts on the track and do you have a favourite corner or corners?
ED: “You know, I’ve been racing at Spa-Francorchamps for 44 years… and it is always magical to race on this amazing track. Even if the Raidillon is very special, I like very much the “Double gauche”/ Pouhon, it is a really challenging corner. The whole track is fantastic, there is no bad corner, they are all technical.”
Q: How are you finding the third generation LMP3 cars? How does the Toyota powered Ligier compare to the Nissan powered cars you’ve raced in previous seasons?
ED: “I did immediately love the new Ligier JSP325, it suits my driving style better, even if it took me some laps to get used to the Turbo power Toyota engine compare to the normally aspirated Nissan engine.”
Q: What would you consider a good result for you and the team in Spa?
ED: “Of course I am dreaming of winning the Spa race, we will do our best. Racing is racing, so never easy…hopefully we will be able to score a maximum of points to keep a chance to fight for the Championship. See you at Spa!”
