Paul Jouffreau opens up to AutoHebdo’s Medhi Casaurang-Vergez about his early career, time in EuroNASCAR and a possible future in sports car racing.
Paul Jouffreau gave an in-depth interview to Medhi Casaurang-Vergez from AutoHebdo where he talks about his early career difficulties, the present success as one of EuroNASCAR’s top drivers and a possible future in sports car racing.
The interview can be read in the March 2026 edition of the AutoHebdo magazine. It is available in both online and magazine form by subscribing to AutoHebdo’s subscription program.
Jouffreau was approached by AutoHebdo in February when he was busy giving his sponsor representatives a special track day programme as a “thank you” for their support.
The timing gave AutoHebdo an opportunity to talk about Jouffreau’s early financial difficulties. More specifically, Jouffreau opened up on the moment when he realized that his initial dream of reaching Formula 1 was impossible due to the high costs involved in junior formula competition.
“My father and I had been in contact with teams interested in going to the European Formula 3 Championship,” said Jouffreau. “Of the five interested teams, the cheapest budget was 850,000 euros – excluding taxes – for one season.”
“I will always remember it, because that’s when I understood that my dream of reaching this pyramid of single-seater racing was simply impossible.”
“My entire budget is provided by my sponsors. Thanks to them, I can pursue my childhood dream, and without it I would have stayed sitting on my sofa in front of the television.”
Jouffreau and his family soon searched for alternatives, having initially looked at sports car racing before finding EuroNASCAR.
They ultimately decided to join EuroNASCAR, after learning that EuroNASCAR’s full-season budget was “four times less than a [season in] Championnat de France FFSA GT4 France.”
Having first joined SpeedHouse for a Club Challenge and EuroNASCAR 2 campaigns in 2021 and 2022 respectively, Jouffreau moved to RDV in 2023 where he has remained since.
It was with RDV where he achieved his biggest success, becoming EuroNASCAR 2 champions in 2023 and runner-up in EuroNASCAR PRO the following year.
Jouffreau described RDV as “a true wellspring of knowledge,” stating that the expertise of team boss Franck Violas and chief engineer Claude Galopin allowed him to better understand the intricacies of a race car.
“They taught me how to tell if there’s enough camber, caster, toe, clicks, compression and rebound damping on the shock absorber, the spring rates, and so on,” said the 22-year old on Violas and Galopin’s expertise.
“Now, as soon as I get in a car, all of that is immediately apparent to me. I owe this entirely to the team because they trusted me, and they are very competent people.”
Jouffreau also spoke about EuroNASCAR’s high level of competition, stating that “about ten of us can win at every meeting” in his interview with Casaurang-Vergez.
“It’s like the golden age of motorsport,” adds Jouffreau on the topic. “The cars don’t have aerodynamic downforce, so we follow each other very closely and there are a lot of attacks. As a driver, it’s a huge challenge.”
Jouffreau is also open minded on the possibility of going to sports car racing. The renaissance of sports car racing, helped by record high manufacturer interest in classes like Le Mans Hypercar, LMDh and GT3, enticed him to give the category a go in the future.
“Just talking about the 24 Hours of Le Mans makes my eyes light up,” admits Jouffreau. “I firmly believe I can make my mark in endurance racing, especially since we’re going through a period where this discipline is expanding. It’s the right time to attract manufacturers’ interest.”
For now, however, his focus remains in EuroNASCAR where he’s due to contest the 2026 season with the No. 3 Ford Mustang in EuroNASCAR PRO.
Jouffreau also expressed his excitement at finally being able to race the EuroNASCAR stock cars in France.
With Circuit Paul Ricard set to host the 2026 NASCAR GP France in the full layout, Jouffreau believes that the event will bring the best out of him.
“It’s going to be an incredible atmosphere,” said the Blaye-born driver. “We’re expecting more than 30,000 spectators for this weekend, which is being held in conjunction with the Grand-Prix Camions du Castellet.”
“I want to get the French crowd to sing La Marseillaise [the French national anthem]!”
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.