How CLX Builds the Next Generation for Le Mans: “We Believe in Their Potential”

Three 19‑year‑olds heading into the 24 Hours of Le Mans as one of the youngest line‑ups in the race’s history — and we sat down with them to find out how they got here. This is the story behind CLX Motorsport’s bold decision to put its future in the hands of a fearless teenage trio. 

The French‑based Swiss team, founded in 2017 and previously known as Cool Racing, is pushing its next generation forward with remarkable speed and talent. After claiming last year’s ELMS LMP3 title with Paul Lanchere, Adrien Closmenil and Theodor Jensen, the latter two have now stepped up to the LMP2 class in the #37 Oreca. And with the support of the newly launched CLX Academy, the team added Mexican talent Ian Aguilera — completing a trio of teenagers going for glory in ELMS and chasing success at the world’s most iconic endurance race.

Building the Next Generation of Endurance Talent 

Within the freshly rebranded CLX Motorsport, the team has launched the CLX Academy to prepare the next generation in the best way possible. “It’s an idea that we had a couple of years ago,” says Tom Olmos, Team Manager of CLX Motorsport, to GT REPORT. “We realized that a few other teams were sometimes lacking opportunities to get those drivers in their car. And so, at some point, we decided that we should do something about it.” 

What started as an idea quickly became something serious. “We obviously have a few seats available, but it’s never enough considering the demand we have and the number of young drivers and young talents that we see.” 

To avoid missing out on promising young drivers, CLX Academy was created to allow the team to follow more talent than just the ones already racing under their banner. “The idea is that we give them the opportunity to find a drive with one of our partner teams, mostly in Le Mans Cup. At the same time, we also give them support with our driver coach, testing sessions, and just simple chats with us. It’s a good way to monitor their performance.” 

The most important aspect for CLX is that the academy drivers are under contract with the team. “Depending on the performance indicators that we set up for the season, they have seats available with us the following year. The idea is really to give them room and opportunity to drive in endurance.” 

Danish driver Theodor Jensen and Frenchman Adrien Closmenil, both of whom we spoke to and who will be featured in an exclusive article, are two examples of drivers who climbed the ladder. This season, they race in the highest class of ELMS and will also participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “It’s the first year that the academy is up, and we are already very happy about what we see,” Tom says proudly.

The Risk–Reward Balance of Choosing the Right Driver 

The team, founded by multiple 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 champion Nicolas Lapierre and Alexandre Coigny, selects drivers from all backgrounds, including single‑seater series. “We believe that single‑seater is a very good driving school,” explains Tom. 

Every young kid dreams of driving in Formula 1, but not everyone will make it. Tom sees that this doesn’t mean a driver feels their career is unfinished, nor that they only have eyes for one racing series. “The endurance world is living its best life at the moment, with a lot of constructors and manufacturers involved in Hypercar. We can feel that a lot of drivers no longer see F1 as the only final path, but endurance as well.” 

And that is exactly why the search for the next talented drivers is so widely spread. “This is why we tend to follow young drivers in single‑seater. First, because they are often very good drivers, but also because they are interested in coming into endurance now — and that wasn’t necessarily the case before.” 

Bringing in a driver from a single‑seater background naturally comes with risk: they need to adapt to a completely different way of driving and racing. The car itself is also totally different. “It’s not always easy,” admits Tom about selecting a driver who can adjust to these changes. “I’m not gonna lie, sometimes it can happen that we are wrong about a driver.” 

Yet Tom remains confident in their approach. “Most of the time we test them. Ideally more than once, so we can have a rough idea about how they behave in the simulator.” 

A driver is not only tested off‑track but also on it. “We need to get this proper human idea about how they are. Are they willing to listen to what we are saying, or do they think they already know everything?” 

This is how CLX selects drivers for their academy program. “We can feel not only the potential but also the human aspect of every one of them, and it’s very important for the team. The driver has to fit within the team and the line‑up to extract the most from all aspects — and that includes the car.” 

Adrien Closmenil is one of the drivers within CLX who followed this path and became successful; he went from F4 to LMP3. “He jumped in the LMP3 and straight away he was very quick.” 

In another article, coming soon, Adrien tells the full story of how it all unfolded for him.

Building Further on a Young Winning Formula 

Last year, Closmenil claimed the ELMS LMP3 title in dominant fashion together with fellow young driver Theodor Jensen from Denmark and the more experienced, also French, Paul Lanchere. The trio took a record‑breaking five wins and five pole positions from the six races that season. “They did an amazing job last year,” says Tom with a big smile on his face. 

Elaborating on the two young drivers, the French team manager adds: “These two kids, because I tend to call them kids, they were impressive and very calm. We didn’t have any troubles with them at the wheel; they apply every piece of advice we give them. It was a flawless season for sure.” 

The successful season didn’t come together solely because of Adrien and Theodor showing their talent. “Thanks to Paul Lanchere, the bronze driver who was sharing the wheel with them.” The experience and knowledge of the now 34‑year‑old played a huge role in helping the two young drivers develop. 

For this year, the young drivers have stepped up to the LMP2 class of ELMS, the highest category in the competition. This brings another level of expectations for both 19‑year‑olds. “Now that we’ve seen them performing so well, we obviously want them to perform in the next stage.” But Tom remains realistic. “We know that the field is very competitive and that it will for sure take a bit more time for them to adapt to this category and to be able to fight against the very high‑level drivers that we can find in this field.” 

The team will be completed by newcomer Ian Aguilera, who we also spoke to and who will tell his story in the next exclusive article about this team. 

The Mexican‑born driver, also 19 years old, showed his potential in ELMS driving for Euronational in LMP3. “We followed his path in the last few seasons; he did some karting before he jumped into an LMP3 car. We felt that he was performing very well considering the car that, with all due respect, wasn’t always at the same level as our car, we believe. So, we thought that he would be a good addition to the team,” explains Tom about how and why Ian came to CLX. “Once we had the confirmation with Adrien and Theodor, we felt like Ian was the perfect candidate. We managed to have him testing with us and we got along very easily with him. It was clear in our mind to make this a young silver driver line‑up.” 

Staying Calm Under the Biggest Spotlight 

With this line‑up forming the #37 CLX Motorsport entry in LMP2 this season and heading to Le Mans as one of the youngest line‑ups ever, a lack of experience could seem like an issue. 

Tom isn’t worried. “We as a team have experience, we have references that we can use to make sure that the kids are going in the right direction.” 

CLX Motorsport also fields another car in the LMP2 Pro‑Am class of ELMS (#47). The pro drivers Charles Milesi (25) and Felipe Fraga (30) will play an important role with their experience in helping the #37 crew. “We tend to share a lot of information between the cars’ data so we can compare straight away after the session.” This allows the team to analyse how both cars are being driven and how each crew can extract the maximum performance.

Heading to Le Mans with the #37 car means a lot for the team. “We are very proud of it. We want to go there and perform because we believe in their potential.” 

Performing at Le Mans is no simple task. That’s why Tom expects a lot from them before the big race arrives. “They don’t have a lot of time in front of them to show everybody that they are able to perform, so the sooner we can step on the podiums the better it is. We firmly believe that we can, from Le Castellet onwards, be a good contender for the podium.” 

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most iconic races a driver can compete in. “I cannot tell how they will react to all of this before we eventually go there,” says Tom when asked whether the young drivers feel extra pressure. “But I know from my own experience that it is a lot of pressure in the preparation of the event. It’s not only the race itself but also the whole build‑up and the ten days we spend there as a team.” 

But CLX will make sure the young drivers are ready. “We will try to accompany them as much as possible to make sure that they know their schedule by heart and that they also take advantage of the few calm moments. Making sure they rest well and are well prepared for the race.” 

Tom concludes by saying he fully trusts his drivers and is not concerned about their age. “It seems like they are very, very, very calm. They are not suffering from any pressure; it’s a very good quality that they have. Pressure is not touching them.” 

Coming up next 

We sat down with the three young drivers themselves. How did they reach this level at just nineteen years of age? Getting to the top so young is never a straight path. Which challenges shaped them, what pushed them forward, and how do they handle the pressure of the road to Le Mans — the biggest stage they will ever face.