Kevin Estre, the Porsche ace who drove this record lap at the Nürburgring, is known for a very aggressive style. As a driver who got his start in karts, he naturally developed the flicks and abrupt direction changes possible in most karts, but as he climbed the karting ladder and moved into machines with more and more grip, his pushy style became more of a hindrance. With fast corners and enough mechanical grip to turn strong necks into limp linguine, this forceful style — chock full of oversteer and two-wheeling —prevented him from carrying as much exit speed as some of his rivals in the top tiers of karting.

For our viewing pleasure, but mainly for his own comfort, he’s retained that style well into his GT career. He’s learned exactly how it can both help, and hinder, his progress. “On a qualifying lap, or in the first lap of a race, where you really need to push, I drive with my feeling and don’t think about too much,” he says.

Estre wringing his McLaren’s neck at the Nürburgring.

“Then I start to be really aggressive on turn-in, which produces a bit of oversteer.” This helps him generate tire temperature early in the race, which is a massive advantage. With warmer tires, he can streak away while more conservative drivers bring their tires up to temperature more cautiously. In the early laps, this extra pace can eke out a gap that might be insurmountable.

However, the downside of this style is, aside from being high-risk, it can sap some speed in faster corners. As shown in the title video, his gutsy charge into Road America‘s unforgiving Turn 11 (3:01), produces a mid-corner snap that would have put anyone without Estre’s quick hands into the wall.

Estre has spent the majority of his career in GT cars, which allow and occasionally reward this assertive style of driving —manhandling, even. However, his experience in the lighter and grippier cars caused Estre to make a few adjustments to his fiery style.

A Smoother Style for Downforce

After running a Ligier JS P2-Honda in the 24 Hours of Le Mans four years ago, he found the experience caused him to tailor his style slightly. Even in Le Mans trim, the Ligier’s downforce dictates a smoother style of driving to encourage airflow over the wings to press the car into the asphalt; going sideways limits clean airflow.

Returning to Blancpain in the McLaren 650S GT3, he nearly spun several times at Silverstone because he was pushing too hard and expecting LMP2-levels of aerodynamic grip to carry him through the course’s faster corners. However, after dialing his speed and assertion back slightly, he found his inputs had softened somewhat; the experience of a prototype had encouraged him to roll a little more speed through the middle of the corner instead of dialing in a bit of yaw at entry.

Though he’s still one of the more spectacular drivers around, Estre is slowly adopting a gentler style — the hallmark of an evolving driver. At 29, he still has many years ahead of him. It’s likely that, with age and experience, he’ll learn to be as subtle, smooth, and composed as some of the greats. After all, he has the talent and the tenacity.

For more insight on how smooth driving compares with ragged driving, you can read this in-depth article on the subject.