Kerong – “That would have been in the World Racing League (WRL), which is an amateur racing [series] in the United States. I think our first race was at Road Atlanta in a BMW M4 GT4.”

Jean-Francois – “That was also an endurance race…”

K – “Eight hours.”

J-F – “Eight hours. Up until that point, I’d coached Kerong in Radicals and a few other cars. But Road Atlanta was the first time we co-drove together.”

J-F – “Gosh! I mean, we’ve had some really good moments…

K – “Finishing every race this year has been pretty good.”

J-F – “Yep. I’d also say our first podium, in Mugello, was mega. [Leipert Motorsport] didn’t have the car back from Dubai, so we had to jump into a Porsche 911 [with HRT Performance]. And Kerong had never driven a 911 before, which, compared with the Lamborghini, is very different. But he did an awesome job, we got on the podium together, and, yeah, that’s an awesome memory.”

K – “First win too.”

J-F – “…were we P1 in Mugello?”

K [and CREVENTIC] – “Yeah!”

J-F – “Oh right, it was our first win!” 

K – “This guy’s old! [Both laugh]”

J-F – “Well, I mainly remember it as our first podium. But, yeah, Mugello was an awesome race. We had everything stacked against us – no car, literally two weeks before the race – so to end up winning in GTX was just a great reward.”

J-F – “His favourite track… well, it keeps changing! He did [La Sarthe] this year in a support race for 24 Hours of Le Mans, and that had to be the most spectacular. But I know he loves Road Atlanta, which was the first big race he did. And Spa-Francorchamps too.”

K – “Oh, Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring. Easy!”

K – “The Red Bull Ring.”

J-F – “Yeah, the Red Bull Ring. I know that’s one [Kerong] really wants to do, and it’s a track I’ve never been too. In fact we were telling Helen [Roukens, CREVENTIC team relations] that maybe the 24H SERIES could go back there some day.* That would be cool.”

* Good memory Jean-Francois! The 24H SERIES last visited Spielberg, Austria in 2017 for the first – and so far, only – Hankook 12H RED BULL RING.

J-F – “His aptitude to learn. When I met him, he’d never really driven a race car, and he went from zero to 100 in a very short period of time.”

K – “Two years ago?”

J-F – “Two, maybe two and a half years ago. And he was at a very amateur level. But today… I mean, he just got out of the [Leipert Lamborghini] an hour ago after a mega stint [during which] he was consistent, clean and had strong pace. So, yeah, how quickly he got to this level is impressive.”

K – “Honestly, he’s a really good coach. I mean, a really safe driver, because he has a lot of experience. That’s a talent, and during these 12-hour, 24-hour races, he always keeps the car safe and races cleanly. I’ve learnt a lot watching him do that.”

J-F – “Honestly, he eats like a horse. It’s insane! In the catering tent, he’ll show up and sit down with three plates of food, and eat all three plates. It defies physics because I don’t know where he puts it!

K – “He’s done a lot, honestly…

J-F – “No I didn’t!” [Laughs]

K – “Like I say, he knows how to drive fast on the track, and he’s a safe driver. But, on the road, I can get car sick. So when he’s driving, I’m always telling him, ‘slow down Jean.’ And one time, I brought my girlfriend to the track and we went out together. 20 minutes driving with him, she tells me, ‘I never want to sit in his car again.’”

J-F – “Wait, what?!”

K – “I didn’t want to break your heart, so I never told you that!” [Laughs]

J-F – “Oh my God, that’s the first time I’ve heard that. Oh, we are definitely going to have a talk!”

Ford or Ferrari?

o   J-F – “Ferrari.”

o   K – “For sure, Ferrari. He owns one!”

o   J-F – “Yep, a 458. Ferrari is next to Godliness!”

12 Hours, or 24 Hours?

o   J-F – “24 hours.”

o   K – “24 hours.”

Cats or Dogs?

o   J-F – “Dogs.”

o   K – “Dogs.”

Petrol or electric?

o   J-F – “Petrol.”

o   K – “Petrol.”

Max or Lewis?!

o   K – “Lewis!”

o   J-F – “Max.”

J-F – “Driven.”

K – “Hard-worker. That counts, right…?”

J-F – “Well that’s not fair!”

K – “I almost passed his lap-time today.”

J-F – “He did, yeah. I’m still the master but the student is really catching up! But you know what? If I do my job well, he should be beating me. So it’s only a matter of time.”