Jakub Śmiechowski

Jakub Jerzy "Kuba" Śmiechowski (born 11 October 1991) is a racing driver from Poland and a three-time LMP2 class winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He competes in the European Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans with Inter Europol Competition, where he also serves as team principal.

Early career After competing in karting, Śmiechowski made his single-seater debut with Kochanski Motorsport in the Italian Formula Renault series in 2009, partaking in three race meetings. He moved into the Formula Renault Northern European Cup the following year. Remaining with Kochanski, the Pole finished seventh in the drivers' standings. In 2011, Śmiechowski switched to his father's team Inter Europol Competition and returned to the NEC series, finishing 12th overall. The two subsequent years saw Śmiechowski contest the NEC two further times, although his finishes would worsen, with 25th place in 2012 and 39th in 2013. During the latter year, Śmiechowski also took part in the Remus Formula Renault 2.0 Cup, where he won the title by taking victory in all six races he participated in.

2014 saw Śmiechowski switching to the BOSS GP championship, which he and Inter Europol would contest with a Dallara GP2/05 as part of the Open class. In his debut season, two race wins and 11 podiums earned the Pole a championship title. He switched to the Formula class in 2015, finishing second in the standings with five victories.

Sportscar career

ELMS and V de V Endurance split In 2016, Śmiechowski stepped into sportscar racing, partnering Jens Petersen in the LMP3 category of the European Le Mans Series. There, a best finish of fifth in the Algarve earned the team tenth in the standings. Śmiechowski reaped more rewards in the V de V Challenge, as he and Martin Hippe won the series LMP3 championship.

Śmiechowski and Inter Europol returned to both championships in 2017. The team saw their results improve, as a maiden podium in Le Castellet earned Śmiechowski and Martin Hippe fifth place in the standings. In the V de V Endurance Series, he retained his title thanks to four podiums including two victories alongside full-time teammate Hendrik Still. Additionally, he raced in the GT & Prototype Challenge that year, finishing second in the LMP3 class.

For the 2018 ELMS season, Śmiechowski and Hippe remained teammates at Inter Europol. They had a breakthrough in terms of accolades, with the team's first win in the category coming at the season-ending Portimão round, which, along with a podium at the Red Bull Ring, propelled the pair up to second place in LMP3. During the same year, Śmiechowski contested his final V de V campaign, where he finished fifth with one win. At the end of the year and going into 2019, the Pole managed to win two races in the Asian Le Mans Series alongside Hippe, and two additional second-place finishes earned the team the AsLMS title - as well as an invitation to the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans.

First LMP2 years 2019 would be Śmiechowski's debut season in the LMP2 category, which he and Inter Europol contested in the ELMS. A campaign of struggle was in order, as the No. 34 team could not supersede a best race result of 12th on their path to 17th and second-last in the teams' standings. At Le Mans, Śmiechowski, Nigel Moore, and James Winslow battled past technical gremlins with their Ligier JS P217 to finish 16th in the LMP2 class.

During the 2019-2020 winter, Inter Europol came back to the AsLMS, this time in LMP2. Despite partnering seasoned LMP2 veteran Mathias Beche as well as James Winslow, Śmiechowski and his partners took fifth in the standings, one place behind the sister IEC car.

Śmiechowski partnered René Binder and Matevos Isaakyan in the truncated ELMS campaign, having originally been slated to be joined by Beche. The team scored their best finishes in Le Castellet with seventh in the first race and sixth in August, results which helped IEC to finish 12th overall. In addition, Śmiechowski ran at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he finished 17th in class alongside his ELMS teammates, and drove in two races of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, where the Pole made his first racing appearances in an Oreca 07.

WEC seasons and Le Mans victories Ahead of 2021, Inter Europol made a permanent move to the FIA World Endurance Championship, fielding one Oreca 07 with Śmiechowski, Cadillac factory driver Renger van der Zande, and Alex Brundle in the lineup. The team experienced a consistent opening season, finishing all but one race in the top five, which included fourth at Monza and fifth at Le Mans. With these results, IEC ended up fifth in the teams' standings. Śmiechowski and his Le Mans-winning Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07. Remaining in the WEC in 2022, the now team principal Śmiechowski was joined by Brundle and ex-F1 driver Esteban Gutiérrez. A sophomore slump befell the outfit, as the car experienced electrical problems and a damaged clutch at Sebring and Brundle crashed in the wet at Spa. Their fortunes turned slightly after a 13th place in the Le Mans 24h, with a fourth place at Monza being the season highlight. However, IEC missed out on points in the final two rounds, leaving them 11th in the LMP2 table, only ahead of the four Pro-Am lineups.

For the 2023 season, Śmiechowski was partnered by former Lamborghini factory driver Albert Costa and third-year LMP2 racer Fabio Scherer. The trio proved that the team had progressed, scoring points finishes in the opening two races before finishing third at Spa. However, the ultimate triumph came at Le Mans, as Inter Europol were able to take victory despite a foot injury for Scherer and radio issues during the final stages, with Śmiechowski being on pace with the majority of other silver-ranked drivers. With further points finishes during the remaining three races, Śmiechowski and his teammates were able to defend second place in the standings. Śmiecowski's class-winning No. 43 car at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans Śmiechowski took a step back from racing full-time in 2024, as he limited his schedule to the Endurance Cup rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. In a season where teammates Tom Dillmann and Nick Boulle won the overall LMP2 title, Śmiechowski aided them with podiums at Watkins Glen and Indianapolis. The trio finished second in the Michelin Endurance Cup standings. Śmiechowski also returned to defend his Le Mans crown in 2024, partnering Clément Novalak and Vladislav Lomko. Despite losing a wheel and dropping one lap behind the leaders on Saturday evening, the team fought back to end the event in second place.

Joined by Dillmann and Nick Yelloly, Śmiechowski returned to a full schedule in 2025 with a season in the European Le Mans Series. The season began with a mechanical failure in Barcelona, which dropped the No. 43 IEC squad to tenth in class. Śmiechowski then held the lead for a majority of the opening stint at Paul Ricard, having started on wet tyres, though he was undone by having to pit immediately after a safety car at the end of the first hour. The team managed to recover to second in the Pro class. The 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans yielded more success for Śmiechowski's career: despite having had to change the front bodywork after Śmiechowski ran through the gravel midway through the race, as well as a late drive-through penalty for Yelloly that lost the team the lead, the No. 43 crew profited from a suspension failure for the leading Panis Racing entry of Esteban Masson to retake the lead in the final 20 minutes and claim victory for a second time. The battle with VDS Panis Racing continued throughout the year in the ELMS series, where it ended with a victory for the French team. Five second places in a total of six races earned Śmiechowski and his teammates second place in the overall series standings.

During 2025, Śmiechowski also made his Nordschleife debut.

For 2026, Śmiechowski remained in the ELMS alongside Yelloly and Dillmann. They finished fifth at Barcelona and seventh in class at Le Castellet. Śmiechowski and his teammates entered the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans as pre-race favourites. They lived up to expectations, driving a clean race and focusing on fuel saving to secure the team's third victory in four years.

Racing record

Racing career summary Season still in progress.† As Śmiechowski was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

† As Śmiechowski was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 NEC results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete BOSS GP results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete European Le Mans Series results Season still in progress.

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) + Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 Pos. Points 2018–19 Inter Europol Competition LMP3 Ligier JS P3 Nissan VK50 5.0 L V8 SHA FUJ BUR SEP 1st 87 2019–20 Inter Europol Endurance LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SHA BEN SEP BUR 5th 28

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2018–19 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA LMS SIL FUJ SHA SEB SPA LMS NC† 0 2019–20 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL FUJ SHA BHR COA SPA LMS BHR NC† 0 2021 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA ALG MNZ LMS BHR BHR 6th 84 2022 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 15th 20 2023 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB PRT SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 2nd 114

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2019 Inter Europol Competition Nigel Moore James Winslow Ligier JS P217-Gibson LMP2 325 45th 16th 2020 Inter Europol Competition René Binder Matevos Isaakyan Ligier JS P217-Gibson LMP2 316 42nd 17th 2021 Inter Europol Competition Alex Brundle Renger van der Zande Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 360 10th 5th 2022 Inter Europol Competition Alex Brundle Esteban Gutiérrez Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 360 17th 13th 2023 Inter Europol Competition Albert Costa Fabio Scherer Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 328 9th 1st 2024 Inter Europol Competition Vladislav Lomko Clément Novalak Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 297 16th 2nd 2025 Inter Europol Competition Tom Dillmann Nick Yelloly Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 367 18th 1st 2026 Inter Europol Competition Tom Dillmann Nick YellolyOreca 07-Gibson LMP2 361 15th 1st

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rank Points 2020 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB ELK ATL PET LGA SEB 11th 58 2024 Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB WGL MOS ELK IMS ATL 17th 1581 2026 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB WGL MOS ELK IMS PET 27th* 325* † Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.