Julien Antoine Jules Canal (born 15 July 1982 in Le Mans) is a French racing driver. Having won his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in , and whilst driving GT cars, Canal became a staple of the LMP2 category, winning the WEC class title in 2015 and 2017.

Early career

Single-seaters After competing in karting, where he finished third in the French Championship Elite in 2000, Canal stepped up to single-seaters in 2003. He raced in French Formula Renault for four seasons, scoring his first podium in his final season in 2006 and finishing sixth overall. He also raced in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series in each of those four seasons.

GT racing Canal switched to GT racing in 2007 when he started racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup France. He finished ninth, tenth and eighth in the three seasons he contested, scoring one podium finish and two pole positions. In 2010, he took part in the FFSA GT Championship.

Canal joined the Larbre Compétition team to race their Saleen S7-R in the opening round of the 2007 Le Mans Series season at Circuit Paul Ricard, where they were the only team entered in the GT1 class. He returned to the team for the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, where they won the GT1 class.

Canal remained with the team for the 2011 season, racing in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. The team's highlight came at Le Mans once again, as Canal and Gabriele Gardel, as well as new teammate Patrick Bornhauser, repeated their victory, this time triumphing in the LMGTE Am class. Canal and the team returned to the LMGTE Am category in 2012, this time entering the newly-formed FIA World Endurance Championship. The year yielded three wins, which included Canal's third win at Le Mans, with Pedro Lamy making the pass for the class lead during the final hour. In 2013, Canal remained with Larbre for his fourth and final season with the team, getting two podiums and ending up fifth in the LMGTE Am standings of the WEC.

Prototype career Canal switched to prototype racing for the 2014 season, competing in the LMP2 class with G-Drive Racing. Alongside Olivier Pla and Roman Rusinov, he garnered four victories, although a retirement at Le Mans and a major accident for Pla caused by a brake failure at the season finale in São Paulo eventually consigned them to second in the championship. For 2015, Canal remained with G-Drive, this time being joined by pro driver Sam Bird along with Rusinov. In the burgeoning class, the trio led by Bird dominated, scoring podiums in all but one race and winning the title with four victories.

Canal moved to Greaves Motorsport in 2016, competing in the European Le Mans Series. He and Memo Rojas failed to finish on the podium during the year, ended up sixth at Le Mans, and finished seventh in the ELMS teams' standings. The following season, Canal returned to the WEC, this time partnering Bruno Senna and Nico Prost at Vaillante Rebellion. Their campaign began strongly, as three podiums in the opening four races propelled them into the title battle. After a win in Mexico, however, the floodgates opened, with Rebellion winning the final three races and taking home the LMP2 title — Canal's second in the championship — following a resilient performance by Senna at Bahrain despite a late loss of power steering.

In 2018, Canal returned to the ELMS with Panis Barthez Competition, racing alongside Timothé Buret and Will Stevens. After a number of points finishes, the team concluded the campaign with two podiums to end up sixth overall. Canal came back to drive Panis's Ligier JS P217 in 2019, though he, Stevens, and René Binder struggled to attain top results, leaving them 11th in the standings despite a mid-season switch to the Oreca 07 chassis. For the COVID-affected 2020 season, Canal remained with the rebranded Panis Racing team, this time driving an Oreca 07 for the whole year together with Stevens and Nico Jamin. Despite starting out with a retirement at the opening race, the trio bounced back with a third place at Spa; three further top-five finishes propelled Panis Racing to fourth place overall. Canal's Le Mans 24 Hour venture that year yielded a positive result too, as he scored his first LMP2 podium at the event since 2015 by finishing third alongside Jamin and Matthieu Vaxivière.

Following that clean and successful year, Canal returned for another ELMS campaign with Panis, driving together with Stevens and fifth-year pilot James Allen. A podium at Barcelona started off the year, though it was a victory at Monza, which was the team's first win in the series, that helped Canal and his teammates in the championship. They finished third overall, having scored another podium in Belgium, meanwhile their Le Mans success continued with another third place in class.

In 2022, Canal entered his final ELMS season with Panis, teaming up with Jamin and Job van Uitert. This turned out to be his magnum opus in the championship, as four podiums helped Panis to second place in the standings. After moving back to the WEC in 2023 with Alpine, for whom he scored a podium at Monza and finished seventh in the standings, Canal did not partake in any competitions during 2024.

Personal life Canal operated a McDonald's restaurant in his hometown Le Mans. As of 2022, Canal has opened three McDonald's restaurants in cities outside Le Mans.

Racing record

Racing career summary SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition2003French Formula Renault ChampionshipCD Sport80000029thFormula Renault 2.0 Eurocup400000NC†Formula Renault 2000 GermanyASM200000NC†2004Formula Renault 2.0 EurocupGraff Racing1700001024thFrance Formula Renault 2.080000621st2005Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0Graff Racing1600001716thFrance Formula Renault 2.0800001714th2006France Formula Renault 2.0Graff Racing130111616thEurocup Formula Renault 2.0200000NC†2007Porsche Carrera Cup FranceGraff Racing140000439th2008Porsche Carrera Cup FranceGraff Racing1401004510thFrench GT ChampionshipDKR Engineering413026813thFIA GT Championship - GT1100000NC†2009Porsche Carrera Cup FranceGraff Racing140111828thFormula Le Mans Cup10000834th2010French GT ChampionshipGraff Racing112012487thLe Mans Series - GT1Larbre Compétition11011333rd24 Hours of Le Mans - GT111001N/A1st2011Intercontinental Le Mans Cup - LMGTE AmLarbre Compétition710050NC†Le Mans Series - LMGTE Am300020NC†24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am11001N/A1stAmerican Le Mans Series - GT100000NC†2012FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmLarbre Compétition830040NC†24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am11001N/A1st2013FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmLarbre Compétition80002975th24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am10000N/A5th2014FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2G-Drive Racing841041372nd24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/ADNFBlancpain Endurance Series - Pro-AmSofrev ASP10000425th2015FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2G-Drive Racing844071781st24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/A3rdEuropean Le Mans Series - LMP2Krohn Racing100001018th2016European Le Mans Series - LMP2Greaves Motorsport600003610th24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/A6thFIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2Manor10000646th2017FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2Vaillante Rebellion940081861st24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/A14thIMSA Sportscar Championship - PrototypePR1/Mathiasen Motorsports100002141st2018European Le Mans Series - LMP2Panis Barthez Competition6000245.59th24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/A9th2018–19FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2Larbre Compétition10000819th2019European Le Mans Series - LMP2Panis Barthez Competition6000019.518th24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/A8th2020European Le Mans Series - LMP2Panis Racing50001474th24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210001N/A3rd2021European Le Mans Series - LMP2Panis Racing6100374.53rd24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210001N/A3rd2022European Le Mans Series - LMP2Panis Racing60004942nd24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/A12th2023FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2Alpine Elf Team70001837th 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/A4thIMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2AF Corse100010NC † As Canal was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) YearTeam1234567891011121314151617PosPoints 2003 CD SportBRN1BRN2ASS1ASS2OSC1OSC2DON1DON2 30th 0 2004 Graff RacingMNZ1MNZ2VAL1VAL2MAG1MAG2HOC1HOC2BRN1BRN2DON1DON2SPAIMO1IMO2OSC1OSC2 24th 10 2005 Graff RacingZOL1ZOL2VAL1VAL2LMS1LMS2BIL1BIL2OSC1OSC2DON1DON2EST1EST2MNZ1MNZ2 16th 17 2006 Graff RacingZOL1ZOL2IST1IST2MIS1MIS2NÜR1NÜR2DON1DON2LMS1LMS2CAT1CAT2 NC† 0 † As Canal was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) YearEntrantClassChassisEngine123456RankPoints 2010 Larbre Compétition GT1 Saleen S7-R Ford 7.0 L V8 LEC SPA ALG HUN SIL 3rd 33 2011 Larbre Compétition GTE AM Chevrolet Corvette C6.R Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 LEC SPA IMO SIL EST NC 0 2015 Krohn Racing LMP2 Ligier JS P2 Judd HK 3.6 L V8 SIL IMO RBR LEC EST 18th 10 2016 Greaves Motorsport LMP2 Ligier JS P2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL IMO RBR LEC SPA EST 10th 36 2018 Panis Barthez Competition LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC MNZ RBR SIL SPA ALG 9th 45.5 2019 Panis Barthez Competition LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC MNZ CAT SIL SPA ALG 18th 19.5 2020 Panis Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC SPA LEC MNZ ALG 4th 47 2021 Panis Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT RBR LEC MNZ SPA ALG 3rd 74.5 2022 Panis Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC IMO MNZ CAT SPA ALG 2nd 94

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points 2012 Larbre Compétition LMGTE Am Chevrolet Corvette C6.R Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 SEB SPA LMS SIL SÃO BHR FUJ SHA 56th† 1.5 2013 Larbre Compétition LMGTE Am Chevrolet Corvette C6.R Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 SIL SPA LMS SÃO COA FUJ SHA BHR 5th 97 2014 G-Drive Racing LMP2 Morgan LMP2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA LMS 2nd 137 Ligier JS P2 COA FUJ SHA BHR SÃO 2015 G-Drive Racing LMP2 Ligier JS P2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA LMS NÜR COA FUJ SHA BHR 1st 178 2016 Manor LMP2 Oreca 05 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA LMS NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 46th 6 2017 Vaillante Rebellion LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL SPA LMS NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 1st 186 2018–19 Larbre Compétition LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA 20th 8 Panis Barthez Competition LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LMS SIL FUJ SHA SEB SPA LMS 2023 Alpine Elf Team LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB PRT SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 7th 83 † There was no LMGTE Am drivers championship that year, the result indicates standings in overall standings.* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results