He had a seat at Alpine, six races at the pinnacle of motorsport and then the void. Now, after a year without competing, the Australian makes his debut in endurance racing with a clear goal: to prove that his talent doesn't depend on a category.
Jack Doohan lived every driver's dream, in 2025 he contested six Formula 1 Grands Prix with the Alpine team, it was his big opportunity but when the season ended, the seat disappeared: Doohan became Haas's reserve driver in 2026, a role that guarantees him travel to the circuits but not racing, almost a year without feeling the adrenaline of the start, until now.
This weekend, the Australian makes his debut in the European Le Mans Series aboard an LMP2 prototype for Nielsen Racing. Contrary to what most people think, this is not a step back, it's an unexpected turn in his career: Doohan faces the 4 Hours of Barcelona with the same ambition with which he dreamed of F1: "I'm very excited to get back to racing, it's going to be almost 12 months since my last race," he confessed in an interview published by Autohebdo Sport.
The change is radical, an F1 is a guided missile that weighs less than 800 kilos and generates brutal G force, an LMP2 is heavier, has a roof and forces you to share the car with two teammates. Doohan explains it honestly: "The first thing you notice is the roof and some visibility limitations, but even so it's a very interesting variant in terms of driving style." He will share the Oreca number 24 with Ed Pearson and Roy Nissany, an old acquaintance from Formula 2.
The Barcelona circuit is not unknown to him, there he achieved a pole in F2 and several podiums in the junior categories, but the track has a special meaning for his family: his father, Mick Doohan, five time motorcycle world champion, won at the same venue in 1997 and 1998. Jack wants to write his own chapter in Montmeló's history, even if it's on four wheels and with a roof.
Away from the track, Doohan admits he lives obsessed with racing: "I think about racing," he answers when asked about his hobbies, only surfing in Australia and the simulator in Monaco manage to clear his mind because the rest of the time, he trains and waits.
His debut in LMP2 doesn't close the door to F1, as he remains Haas's reserve driver, but while he waits for a new opportunity in the top category, Doohan has decided not to stand still. He prefers to race even if it's in a prototype with a roof rather than watch races from the pit wall, endurance racing offers him a refuge and a new challenge, and he, at 23 years old with the Doohan surname on his shoulders, is ready to prove that his talent doesn't understand categories.