Rene Binder won the final race ever to be contested in the World Series Formula V8, which, as the Renault World Series, has been one of the most valuable sources of talent for Formula 1 over the course of many years.
Binder Junior was even rewarded by the Renault F1 Team with a test at Paul Ricard in 2017 for his race victories in single-seater racing, but instead of becoming a test driver, he opted to make his way across the pond to the USA where he became the first Austrian to contest no less than six grand prix races in the Indycar series.
As a canny master of strategy and tyre management, Rene found a new home in endurance racing in 2019, tackling the American IMSA Series, the European Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series which he promptly won in 2021.
Driving for Algarve Pro Racing, the team with which he achieved his success, he also emerged triumphant in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished runner-up in the LMP2 Pro Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2022.
His grandfather, Franz Binder Senior, was an Austrian national rally champion while his dad was a champion in German F3 Trophy racing and his uncle (Hans Binder) an F1 driver back in the fabulous 70s, so, as you may by now have realised, Rene Binder was born with motor racing in his blood, for sure.
But the Binders have another great passion that they never tire of pursuing. They are mad about wood for the construction industry, and what first started out as a small sawmill 60 years ago is today one of Europe’s leading wood processing companies with a big name for innovation.
For more information, visit: www.binderholz.com
Binder Junior first made a name for himself as a motor racing driver when he finished second in the German Junior Kart Championship. After competing for just one year in the Formel ADAC, he moved up to contest the German Formula 3 where he secured several podiums and won three races. His greatest, most notable triumph in the series was his success in the rain-hit race at Spa Francorchamps in 2012.
In his debut season in GP2, Rene booked a respectable sixth and seventh place at Monte Carlo. Thanks in particular to his ability to nurse tyres, the young Tyrolean from the Zillertal produced impressive results with the underfunded Lazarus outfit. Two tough years then followed before he made his big breakthrough in the World Series Formula V8 with four wins and ten podiums. After switching to the US IndyCar series, the ambitious Austrian driver answered the call of endurance racing and set himself fresh goals: “Some day, I would like to finish on the top rung of the podium in one of the great endurance classics at Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona or Road Atlanta.”
career highlights
2022 FIA WEC Pro/AM Class
2021 Asian Le Mans Series
Champion, 2 wins, 1 P2
2020 European Le Mans Series
P6 “4 hours of Le Castellet”, P7 “Le Castellet 240”
2019 IMSA / ELMS / 24H Le Mans
P8 in Le Mans, Daytona and Watkins Glen, P7 in Spa and Portimao
2018 Verizon IndyCar Series
6 Grand Prix events – P16 in Barber, P17 in Toronto
2017 World Series Formula V8
4 wins, 5 podiums, 2 pole positions – 4th overall
2016 World Series Formula V8
5 podiums – 7th overall
2015 GP2 Series
P8 in Monza
2014 GP2 Series
P8/P9 in Bahrain
2013 GP2 Series
P6/P7 in Monte Carlo, P8 in Sepang
2012 German Formula 3
3 wins, 7 podiums – 6th overall
2011 German Formula 3
1 podium
2010 German Formula 3
1 podium
2009 ADAC Formula Masters
3 podiums
2008 German Junior Kart Championship
multiple podiums – 2nd overall
The European Endurance Championship is set to embark on its 20th season this year. Six 4-hour races at amazing circuits with famous drivers, legendary cars and the classic changes of driver will convey all the atmosphere of Le Mans.
The series is open to Le Mans prototypes subdivided into the classes LMP2, LMP3 with a category for GT vehicles, the LMGE.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance race for sports cars and sports prototypes, held on the outskirts of Le Mans, France, since 1923. Along with the Indy500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, it is one of the world’s top-three, best known races and is the ultimate test of man and machine.
Rene Binder secured his maiden victory in class at the circuit on the Sarthe in June last year and is now looking to achieve another top-class result to mark Le Mans’ centenary year.
Binder: “This has to be one of the most iconic car races in the world while being both tough and exhausting at the same time. Le Mans is a legend!”
19/20 April 2023, Barcelona Test
18 March 2023, Le Castellet
7 May 2023, Imola
11/12 June 2023, Le Castellet
26 August 2023, Aragon
24 September 2023, SpaFrancorchamps
22 October 2023, Bahrain
The introduction of ‘hypercars’ in 2021 marked the start of a new era that will have a big impact on endurance racing itself and also on the status of international motor sport. The new HYPERCAR premier class of the FIA WEC will serve as a platform for two models:
By modifying these two models, it should prove possible to interlink American and European endurance racing and have competitive races at both Le Mans and Daytona.
