Driver: Louis-Philippe Dumoulin

Number: #47 WeatherTech Canada / Groupe Bellemare

Age: 38 years old

Hometown: Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada

When did you start racing?

I started racing on ice, on a lake, in a Renault 5 (Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada). We had no money for karting. My dad had bought some cars at the scrap yard and we were fixing them after school. My dad, brother and I were going on the lake with friends during the weekends and that’s when we began racing.

What is the most stand-out race you’ve been in?

The Grand Prix Trois-Rivières (GP3R, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada) race in 2014 has certainly been a good one. A lot of action happened during the race as well as overtaking and clean battles between the drivers. I must say that this race was in my hometown and winning with my partners, family and friends has been incredible.

The 12 hours of Sebring (Sebring, Florida, USA) in 2012 has also been a very demanding race, even if the results did not equal the efforts put. We finished second but it was like a first place to me because of the intensity of the race. I was also proud to be the only Canadian to participate in this race.

What is your greatest achievement?

Nowadays, it has been winning the NASCAR Pinty’s Series (Canadian Tire at that moment)championship in 2014. We are working hard to repeat this.

What is your pre-race ritual?

It is very important to rest before race day. I enjoy having dinner early, going to bed early, not to forget that I always watch the last year’s event in the evening.

Who has influenced your career the most excluding family?

Maurice Richard has been a major influence in my life. My mom had a collection of books and one of them was about this great man. It is because of his determination that he has built a solid reputation, without forgetting his family values of honesty and justice towards all.

Which Canadian racer do you idolize the most?

Gilles Villeneuve certainly is. He has become one of the most impressive race car drivers in history and he has built his career from nothing, just like my brother Jean-François and me. His success started from a passion which became a goal and then reality…And of course a lot of arduous work.

What is your favourite memory from Honda Indy Toronto?

There is a lot of them. I won the Formula Ford 1600 race in 2002 and I fought hard throughout every lap to climb the peloton and find myself at the front to win the race.

What advice do you have for aspiring race car drivers?

Be tenacious, believe in your dream, make the right decisions and surround yourself with the right people.  We all dream of bigger, but it is so important to go step by step and to make the right decisions. To be a race car driver is not just to be good at driving the car, there are several other aspects in which you must succeed and consider.

Do you have a pump-up playlist? Can you give us five songs that are on that list?

I don’t really have a pump-up playlist but I do prefer some artists on my playlist as:

• Johnny Cash
• AC/DC
• Metallica
• Pearl Jam
• Whitesnake