Olivier Lombard

Lombard karted from 2004 to 2008 in French national championships. In 2007, at 16, he reached the final of the Volant ACO Le Mans selection event and placed third in the Auto Hebdo category. His karting results attracted BMW scholarship support, and he joined the BMW Junior Team ahead of a move into cars.

In 2009, Lombard competed in the Formula BMW Europe series with EuroInternational, finishing 16th overall and fourth among rookies across 16 races. His best result was fifth at the final round at Monza. He also contested two rounds of the Formula BMW Americas series with EuroInternational at Virginia International Raceway and Road America as a guest, ineligible for points.

In 2010, Lombard switched to sportscars, contesting the final three rounds of the Le Mans Series in the Formula Le Mans class with Hope Polevision Racing, sharing an Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet with Luca Moro and Steve Zacchia. After a retirement at the 1000 km of Algarve he finished second in class at the 1000 km of Silverstone and third in class at the 1000 km of Hungaroring.

In 2011, Lombard raced an FLM car at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1000 km of Spa before joining Greaves Motorsport mid-season in their LMP2 Zytek Z11SN-Nissan, driven in partnership with Karim Ojjeh and Tom Kimber-Smith. The trio won the LMP2 class at the 6 Hours of Imola and the 6 Hours of Silverstone, contributing to Greaves winning the LMP2 team championship.

Lombard's defining achievement came at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans with Greaves Motorsport. Driving the number 41 Zytek Z11SN-Nissan alongside Ojjeh and Kimber-Smith, the crew completed 326 laps and finished eighth overall, first in LMP2, six laps clear of the runner-up. Lombard had tested the car only a week before the race. The Zytek was powered by a naturally aspirated 4.5-litre Nissan VK45DE V8 producing approximately 450 horsepower. A rival Oreca crashed at Arnage during the race, removing a key competitor and giving Greaves an unassailable margin. Rain in the final stages added complexity; Kimber-Smith spun on a damp section but the accumulated gap was sufficient.

At 20 years old, Lombard became the youngest driver to win the LMP2 class at Le Mans.

In 2012, Lombard competed in the full FIA World Endurance Championship with Signatech-Nissan in LMP2, sharing an Oreca 03-Nissan with Franck Mailleux and Jordan Tresson. The team achieved a best finish of second in the LMP2 class at the 6 Hours of Bahrain. At Le Mans the team finished ninth in LMP2 after mechanical issues caused a significant delay. Lombard finished 32nd overall in the championship standings with 8.5 points.

For 2013, Lombard moved to Morand Racing for a partial WEC programme in a Morgan LMP2-Judd alongside Natacha Gachnang and Franck Mailleux. At Le Mans the crew completed 320 laps, finishing eleventh overall and fifth in LMP2. Lombard also made eight appearances in the Porsche Carrera Cup France that year.

From 2014 to 2017, Lombard raced across European endurance and GT series. In 2014 he competed in the European Le Mans Series GTC class with Sébastien Loeb Racing in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra. In 2015 he raced in both the V de V Challenge Endurance Proto series in a Norma M20 FC and in four rounds of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup with Bentley Team HTP in a Continental GT3, contributing to a Silver Cup class win at Brands Hatch with co-driver Jules Szymkowiak. In 2016 he entered the ELMS with his own SO24! By Lombard Racing team in a Ligier JS P2-Judd. His 2017 season included the FRD LMP3 Series with FS Sports in a Ligier JS P3-Nissan.

From 2012 Lombard was involved in hydrogen-powered racing through the Green GT LMPH2G prototype. Between 2018 and 2020 he participated in the Mission H24 project, a collaborative initiative aimed at developing a hydrogen fuel cell prototype for the FIA World Endurance Championship, including demonstration laps at the 2019 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The Mission H24 car produced up to 653 horsepower and was refuelled using a Total mobile hydrogen station at Spa.

In 2019, Lombard founded Hopium, a company focused on hydrogen fuel cell systems for heavy and light mobility. He described racing as an open-air laboratory for testing clean technologies and his seven-plus years driving hydrogen-powered vehicles informed the company's direction.