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GP Explorer

Coordinates: 47°57′00″N 00°12′27″E / 47.95000°N 0.20750°E / 47.95000; 0.20750
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GP Explorer
VenueCircuit Bugatti
LocationFrance Le Mans, France
47°57′00″N 00°12′27″E / 47.95000°N 0.20750°E / 47.95000; 0.20750
Corporate sponsorAir Up
First race8 October 2022
Last race5 October 2025
Laps15 laps

GP Explorer was an annual Formula 4 car competition organized by French content creator Lucas "Squeezie" Hauchard with support from FFSA Academy,[1] bringing together internet personalities across the globe to race against each other. Primarily featuring French content creators, the competition later grew to include other personalities worldwide. The competition used chassis from Mygale prepped by Alpine and Oreca with de-tuned Renault engines.[2][3]

All three editions of GP Explorer were held at the Circuit Bugatti at Le Mans, France, the first of which was held on 8 October 2022. Broadcast live on Twitch, it was the highest-viewed French stream on the platform at the time, reaching a peak of over one million viewers and an average of 400,000 viewers.[4]

Event history

[edit]
Circuit Bugatti plays host to GP Explorer.

During the ZEvent charity in 2020,[5] Squeezie pledged to host a real-life Formula Renault tournament if the charity's live stream met a donation goal of €100,000. Two years later on 5 April 2022 during one of his Twitch live streams, Squeezie revealed GP Explorer, a race for French content creators competing in Formula 4 machinery around Circuit Bugatti at Le Mans, France.[6] The inaugural race began on 8 October 2022,[7] bringing together 22 French content creators, divided into eleven teams.[8][9][10] Participants trained for several months, with some obtaining racing licenses.[11]

The second race in 2023 featured French music artists alongside content creators, including SCH, Soso Maness and Kekra.[12]

The third race in 2025 was the last and most diverse GP Explorer event, dubbed "The Last Race", which featured an added sprint race, a revised points system, live broadcasting of team radio, international streams, and creator drivers from outside of France, including the United States, Spain, Canada, and Switzerland.[13]

Results by year

[edit]

2022

[edit]

Sylvain Levy of Vilebrequin [fr] won the race from second on the grid, ahead of Pierre-Olivier "Depielo" Valette and Étienne "Étienne Moustache" Jouneau. The trophies were handed out by Jamel Debbouze, Bigflo & Oli, and Matthieu Vaxivière.[citation needed]

During qualifying, Jordan "Joyca" Rondelli suffered a major accident at the exit of the Dunlop curve. His team's mechanics managed to repair the car and the videographer was able to start the race. Joyca described his hit, saying, "I got there, in the big Dunlop of death, there's a wall that's a little scary, well, I took it."[14] The event, broadcast live on Twitch, gathered just over one million concurrent viewers, becoming the most viewed French stream and one of the top 10 most viewed streams on the platform.[15] 40,000 spectators were present at the race.[8]

Pos. No. Personality Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 16 France Sylvain Levy NordVPN Vilebrequin [fr] 15 27:32.000 2
2 64 France Depielo Oscaro 15 +0.248 1
3 99 France Étienne Moustache World of Tanks 15 +5.100 3
4 94 France LeBouseuh PUBG Mobile 15 +23.079 8
5 14 France Squeezie MWII Racing Team 15 +26.329 6
6 30 France Valouzz Oscaro 15 +42.280 14
7 15 France Djilsi Alpine 14 +1 lap 15
8 6 France Manon Lanza Alpine 14 +1 lap 10
9 11 France Bibi Black Adam 14 +1 lap 11
10 31 France Dobby Fruitz 14 +1 lap 9
11 7 France Gotaga MWII Racing Team 14 +1 lap 16
12 26 France ThéoBabac Rhinoshield 14 +1 lap 17
13 27 France Kaatsup PUBG Mobile 14 +1 lap 13
14 49 France Amixem World of Tanks 14 +1 lap 20
15 3 France Seb la Frite Igraal 14 +1 lap 18
16 12 France Domingo Cupra Team PAX 14 +1 lap 21
17 24 France Prime Black Adam 13 +1 lap 4
18 8 France Sofyan Igraal 13 +2 laps 19
19 13 France Deujna Fruitz 13 +2 laps 22
20 29 France Joyca Rhinoshield 13 +2 laps 12
Ret 21 France Xari Cupra Team PAX 12 Collision 7
Ret 10 France Pierre Chabrier NordVPN Vilebrequin [fr] 12 Collision 5

2023

[edit]

Pierre-Olivier "Depielo" Valette won the second edition of GP Explorer from pole position, ahead of Sylvain Levy and Étienne "Étienne Moustache" Jouneau. 60,000 spectators were present at the race, and the event's live stream garnered over one million concurrent viewers for the second year in a row.[16][17]

French YouTuber Manon Lanza [fr] was subject to misogyny and sexual harassment by viewers online following a collision between herself and Maxime Biaggi on lap 2 of the race. These comments were quickly condemned by the organizers of GP Explorer and fellow content creator drivers in the event. Lanza was stretchered out of her car and taken to hospital for evaluation.[18]

Pos. No. Personality Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 64 France Depielo Racers by Alpine 15 38:41.998 1
2 1 France Sylvain Levy NordVPN Vilebrequin [fr] 15 +4.824 3
3 43 France Étienne Moustache Wargaming.net 15 +6.836 2
4 94 France LeBouseuh Overwatch 2 15 +18.923 4
5 16 France Ana On Air Mouv' 15 +37.873 5
6 10 France Pierre Chabrier NordVPN Vilebrequin [fr] 15 +38.656 7
7 14 France Squeezie Gentle Mates 15 +40.180 9
8 49 France Amixem Wargaming.net 15 +41.363 8
9 13 France Soso Maness Samsung 15 +50.511 10
10 27 France Kaatsup Overwatch 2 15 +54.309 12
11 7 France Gotaga Gentle Mates 15 +59.086 16
12 38 France Mister V Subway 15 +1:08.312 15
13 23 France Theodort Alpine 15 +1:20.373 14
14 15 France Djilsi Alpine 15 +1:26.425 17
15 3 France Seb la Frite Rhinoshield 15 +1:32.332 18
16 98 France Theo Juice Subway 15 +1:35.400 19
17 28 Switzerland Baghera Jones Cupra 15 +1:50.518 20
18 31 France Maghla Rhinoshield 14 +1 lap 23
19 66 France Horty Cupra 13 +2 laps 24
Ret 8 France Billy Crunchyroll 14 - 21
Ret 92 France Kekra Crunchyroll 10 - 22
Ret 19 France SCH Samsung 8 - 13
Ret 97 France Maxime Biaggi Mouv' 2 Collision 6
Ret 11 France Manon Lanza Racers by Alpine 2 Collision 11

2025

[edit]

The third GP Explorer event was the final year of competition.[13] The 2025 edition garnered the largest audience in the competition's history, being broadcast to 1.4 million viewers on Twitch, 1.22 million viewers on live television via France 2,[19] and drawing 200,000 live spectators across three days at Circuit Bugatti, peaking at 80,000 on Sunday.[20][21]

International broadcasts were featured for the first time, including English language streams hosted by Pokimane and Hasan Piker who were both present at the event.[22] The trophies were presented by Charles Milesi, Victor Martins, and Sébastien Loeb.[23]

For the first time in the competition, a sprint format was used. Spanish streamer Karchez won both races.[24][25] An additional exhibition race was also introduced, dubbed the 'Race of Legends', where the four personalities who finished in the top four places in the previous two editions, those being Depielo, Sylvain Lévy, Etienne Moustache and LeBouseuh, competed against each other in the Ligier JS P4 in a 12-lap race. Etienne Moustache ultimately emerged victorious.[26]

Sprint race

[edit]
Pos. No. Personality Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 21 Spain Karchez Cupra 8 - 1
2 97 France Maxime Biaggi Lego Racing Team 8 +4.681 5
3 14 France Squeezie Netflix 8 +5.558 3
4 77 France Houdi Durex 8 +8.467 8
5 2 Canada Cocottee Erborian 8 +10.249 9
6 15 France Djilsi Lego Racing Team 8 +11.703 14
7 7 France Gotaga Lofi Girl Gentle Mates 8 +14.324 19
8 23 France Théodort Andros Be Nuts! 8 +15.846 16
9 4 France Nikof Lofi Girl Gentle Mates 8 +19.869 18
10 17 Spain Ander Cupra 8 +20.630 22
11 48 France Lea Élui Sol de Janeiro 8 +25.288 17
12 3 France Anyme Durex 8 +28.384 23
13 28 Switzerland Baghera Jones Erborian 8 +35.777 24
14 42 United States Ludwig Ahgren The Crew Motorfest 8 +36.028 7
15 92 France PLK Subway 8 +36.218 6
16 16 France Ana On Air Alpine 8 +37.584 4
17 31 France Maghla Sol de Janeiro 8 +42.821 20
18 38 France Mister V Subway 8 +45.958 10
19 51 United States Michael Reeves The Crew Motorfest 8 +54.824 12
20 19 France SCH Samsung 8 +1:00.969 11
21 10 France AmineMaTue Netflix 8 +1:02.091 13
22 56 France Maastu Andros Be Nuts! 7 +1 lap 21
Ret 27 France Kaatsup Alpine 6 Accident 2
Ret 99 France Billy Samsung 2 Accident 15
Source:[23]

Feature race

[edit]
Pos. No. Personality Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 21 Spain Karchez Cupra 16 - 1
2 27 France Kaatsup Alpine 16 +10.642 4
3 97 France Maxime Biaggi Lego Racing Team 16 +11.329 10
4 92 France PLK Subway 16 +12.682 5
5 77 France Houdi Durex 16 +13.421 7
6 17 Spain Ander Cupra 16 +17.857 2
7 7 France Gotaga Lofi Girl Gentle Mates 16 +23.005 6
8 15 France Djilsi Lego Racing Team 16 +23.154 13
9 42 United States Ludwig Ahgren The Crew Motorfest 16 +51.674 8
10 16 France Ana On Air Alpine 16 +56.693 14
11 19 France SCH Samsung 16 +56.987 11
12 4 France Nikof Lofi Girl Gentle Mates 16 +1:04.789 15
13 38 France Mister V Subway 16 +1:23.338 16
14 51 United States Michael Reeves The Crew Motorfest 16 +1:23.570 12
15 2 Canada Cocottee Erborian 16 +1:24.038 20
16 56 France Maastu Andros Be Nuts! 16 +1:35.592 18
17 10 France AmineMaTue Netflix 16 +1:36.922 22
18 3 France Anyme Durex 16 +3:49.398 19
19 28 Switzerland Baghera Jones Erborian 16 +4:09.596 17
20 48 France Lea Élui Sol de Janeiro 16 +6:29.667 24
21 99 France Billy Samsung 16 +8:33.304 23
22 31 France Maghla Sol de Janeiro 16 +9:25.691 21
23 14 France Squeezie Netflix 15 Accident 9
Ret 23 France Théodort Andros Be Nuts! 2 Accident 3
Source:[27]

'Race of Legends'

[edit]
Pos. No. Personality Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 43 France Étienne Moustache Wilkinson Sword 16 - 2
2 94 France LeBouseuh Wilkinson Sword 16 +8.415 4
3 64 France Depielo Wilkinson Sword 16 +35.076 1
4 16 France Sylvain Levy Wilkinson Sword 16 Disqualified 3
Source:[27]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "YouTuber Squeezie is aiming to democratise motor sport with a ground-breaking project". Kartcom. 2025-01-31. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  2. ^ "Alpine takes centre stage in the maiden Grand Prix Explorer". Newsroom Alpine. 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  3. ^ Hodicq, Alexandre (2025-10-05). "GP Explorer 3: que vaut vraiment le chrono de Karchez par rapport aux pilotes pros de Formule 4?". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  4. ^ "Squeezie bat le record de vues sur une chaîne Twitch francophone avec son GP Explorer". BFM TV (in French). 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  5. ^ "Grand Prix Explorer: tout ce qu'il faut savoir sur l'événement organisé par le streamer Squeezie". Le Télégramme (in French). 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  6. ^ "Squeezie compte bien concurrencer la F1 ce week-end". Le HuffPost (in French). 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  7. ^ "GP Explorer: 22 des plus grands streamers français dans une course de Formule 4". 20 minutes (in French). 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  8. ^ a b Birken, Maxime (2022-10-08). "Squeezie compte bien concurrencer la F1 ce week-end". Le HuffPost (in French). Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  9. ^ Pierret, Benjamin (2022-10-08). "Squeezie au Mans pour son Grand Prix automobile, avec 21 autres stars d'Internet". BFM TV (in French). Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  10. ^ "GP Explorer: le youtubeur Squeezie organise une course de F4 sur le circuit Bugatti du Mans". CNews (in French). 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  11. ^ "Esport - Jeux vidéo: Squeezie organise un Grand Prix de Formule 4 entre youtubeurs". L'Équipe (in French). 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  12. ^ "Dates, pilotes, surprises: ce que l'on sait du GP Explorer 2, la course de Formule 4 de Squeezie". BFMTV (in French). 2023-05-04. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  13. ^ a b "GP Explorer 3 - The Grand Finale Is Coming". Kartcom. 2025-06-13. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  14. ^ Lavenant, Gwenaëlle (8 October 2022). "GP Explorer au Mans: après le crash de Joyca, les internautes émus". Ouest France (in French). Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  15. ^ Le Lay, Clément; Nédelec, Guillaume (2022-10-08). "GP Explorer au Mans. Devant plus d'un million de spectateurs, Sylvain Levy s'impose au Bugatti". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  16. ^ "GP Explorer 2 : les 60 000 billets vendus en 30 minutes, certains se revendent déjà à prix d'or". Sud Ouest (in French). 2023-05-26. ISSN 1760-6454. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  17. ^ "Grand Prix Explorer 2 sur Twitch : record d'audience en France". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  18. ^ ""Force à Manon": les pilotes du GP Explorer soutiennent Manon Lanza face au sexisme en ligne". BFMTV (in French). 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  19. ^ "French YouTuber Squeezie's Gp Explorer Motor-Racing Event Draws Record 1.4M Spectators For Twitch". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  20. ^ "Streaming stars' Le Mans race scores Twitch viewer record". RFI. 2025-10-06. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  21. ^ Harbinson, Darragh (2025-10-06). "Gentle Mates co-founder Squeezie runs 80,000-attended racing event". Esports News UK. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  22. ^ Harbinson, Darragh (2025-10-06). "Gentle Mates co-founder Squeezie runs 80,000-attended racing event". Esports News UK. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  23. ^ a b Squeezie - Rediffusions (2025-10-04). GP Explorer 3 : Journée du Samedi - Rediffusion Squeezie du 04/10. Retrieved 2025-10-05 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ Ostermann, Flo (2025-10-04). "GP Explorer 3 : Résultats et classement course sprint". Dicodusport (in French). Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  25. ^ "Le grand favori Karchez remporte le GP Explorer 3 devant Kaatsup et Maxime Biaggi, Squeezie finit en larmes". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  26. ^ Chambenoit, Mathieu (2025-10-05). "GP Explorer 3 – The Last Race : ce qu'il ne fallait pas manquer de la journée du dimanche". AutoHebdo (in French). Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  27. ^ a b Squeezie - Rediffusions (2025-10-05). GP Explorer 3 : Journée du Dimanche - Rediffusion Squeezie du 05/10. Retrieved 2025-10-07 – via YouTube.
[edit]
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