Le Mans Cup triumph drives Singaporean endurance racer Danial Frost towards bigger dreams

Danial Frost (left), 25, and French teammate Enzo Peugeot, 20, who race for R-ace GP, took the chequered flag in the season-ending race in Portugal.

PHOTO: FOCUS PARK MEDIA

Published Oct 25, 2026, 05:00 AM

Updated Oct 25, 2026, 12:33 PM

Danial Frost, 25, won the Michelin Le Mans Cup in Portugal with Enzo Peugeot, becoming the first non-European to win the league and saying he is “writing history”.

He returned to full-time racing in 2026 after two years of Singapore national service, after fighting to keep sharp through simulators, GT racing and a guest drive at Marina Bay.

Frost wants to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2027 and IndyCar in 2028, while calling for more support, sponsorship and a new Singapore karting track.

SINGAPORE – On the same weekend Max Verstappen made racing history by winning the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time in 2026, a milestone for local motorsport was also created nearly 12,000km away on Oct 10.

In the Portuguese coastal city of Portimao, Singaporean race car driver Danial Frost hoisted the LMP3 Michelin Le Mans Cup above his head, becoming the first non-European driver to triumph in the series since it was created in 2016.

Frost, 25, and French teammate Enzo Peugeot, 20, who race for R-ace GP, took the chequered flag in the season-ending race in Portugal, which wrapped up the 2026 season and meant they won half the six races.

They had also won in Catalunya, Spain, in April and Spa, Belgium in August.

“It feels amazing, I’m over the moon,” said a beaming Frost in recent a Zoom interview with The Straits Times.

“I’m glad that I’m writing history for Singapore and it’s a good feeling, especially, beating the European guys on their home turf. It’s definitely a moment to remember.”

The two-driver Le Mans Cup was conceived in 2016 by the same organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the prestigious endurance racing series that first took place over 100 years ago, as a stepping stone for up-and-coming drivers.

For Frost, his milestone achievement arrived after racing for nearly half his life, having first placed his hands behind the wheel of a go-kart aged 13 at the now-defunct KF1 Karting Circuit in Kranji.

Within two years, he was racing in single-seaters in Formula 4 South East Asia, where he placed fifth overall in 2016.

Eager to take his racing even further, he boldly sought to move abroad. After weighing between competing in Super Formula in Japan or IndyCar in the United States, Frost decided the latter was the better option due to their scholarship programme.

He signed with the Meritus.GP racing team and moved to Florida in 2017, aged 16, with his mother, Melor Ismail .

There, he progressed to racing in Indy Pro from 2019 to 2020 where he finished third in the 2020 championship, and went to Indy Lights, now rebranded as Indy NXT, from 2021 to 2023.

Michael Duncalfe, team principal of racing team and development programme Exclusive Autosport, said of Frost’s talent in 2019: “Danial never fails to impress… He has developed into a triple-threat driver as he has demonstrated that he has the ability and raw talent to win on ovals (circuits), street courses and top time sheets on natural terrain road courses.”

Frost’s burgeoning career, however, screeched to a temporary halt for nearly two years from January 2024, as he returned to Singapore to do his National Service.

“In the racing world, two years is an eternity,” he said.

While his rivals were continuing to race, Frost admitted he felt like he was “losing momentum” and “falling behind”.

Despite this, he was not ready to give up on his ambitions. Instead, he “adapted and looked for possibilities to stay in the motorsport scene”.

From doing simulator work to finding opportunities to race, Frost managed to continue racing in GT World Challenge Asia and the Asian Le Mans Series, even using up his annual leaves to compete.

The highlight of his return to Singapore was racing at the F1 Marina Bay street circuit for the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season finale – held in the lead up to that year’s Singapore GP – as a guest driver.

He finished sixth and eighth in two races among a field of 28 drivers.

“It was so nice that I was able to race on my home turf – my own country,” said Frost, who is bilingual in English and Malay.

“The feeling of seeing my own people being there and cheering me on… I tried to give everything I had because the atmosphere was there and I knew I had them watching my back.”

After completing NS, an opportunity came for Frost to sign for R-ace GP – which had also won the 2025 LMP3 Le Mans Cup – and he did not hesitate, as it gave him a platform to reintroduce himself to the racing world. And he made the most of it, despite it being his first time racing in Europe.

“Winning (the Le Mans Cup 2026) championship,” he explained, “showed that I never lost it, even though I wasn’t in the scene for two years.”

24 Hours Le Mans or IndyCar next?

Frost, who attended Pei Tong Primary School in Singapore and Marlborough College Malaysia in Johor before moving to the US, has resided in Florida for most of the last 10 years but still yearns for home comforts from time to time.

He confesses he makes special requests to his mum to cook local dishes like chicken rice if he feels a “craving”, even if he does get them satiated on his annual trips back to see friends and family.

But these are small discomforts he is willing to live with as he plots his next step in the motorsports world.

It would be a “dream come true” to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2027, he said, although he is more likely to compete one rung lower at LMP2, which is also one higher than LMP3 on the endurance racing ladder.

His other ultimate goal is to race in IndyCar – the highest level of open-wheel auto racing in the US – in 2028.

Noting that funding remains an “important part of progressing in motorsport”, Frost said he has only recently begun exploring opportunities with Singapore companies, and is close to sealing a partnership with one, though he did not name the company.

He also spelt out his gratitude Singapore-based company Den-Jet Marine – which specialises in high-pressure water-blasting equipment for marine and offshore industries – for their backing, saying they have been behind him “from the very start”.

“They’ve helped me a lot and I would say they’re the reason why I’m still here racing,” he said.

He added: “I do hope my recent Le Mans Cup win will help raise my profile and open doors to meaningful partnerships with Singapore companies and investors, allowing me to continue pursuing my racing ambitions while representing Singapore on the international stage.”

Perhaps it is fitting Frost is an endurance driver, for his chosen format of racing implies the requirements of tenacity, perseverance and staying power, all of which he has demonstrated thus far as he works towards his IndyCar aspiration.

“Behind this dream,” he said, “is something deeply personal.

“I want to show that my family’s sacrifices were not in vain, and I prove that Singaporean drivers can compete on the biggest stages of international motorsport. Not because the road was paved for me, but because I fought for every opportunity.

“And if that day eventually comes, it will not simply be the story of a driver who made it. It will be the story of a Singaporean who kept going when very few people were watching.”

Interested parties can reach Frost’s team at opportunities@danialfrost.com

25 岁的丹尼尔·弗罗斯特（左）和他的法国队友、20 岁的恩佐·标致（右）效力于 R-ace GP 车队，在葡萄牙举行的赛季收官战中率先冲过终点线。

图片：FOCUS PARK MEDIA

发布于2026年10月25日 上午5:00

更新于2026年10月25日下午12:33

25 岁的丹尼尔·弗罗斯特驾驶恩佐·标致赛车在葡萄牙赢得了米其林勒芒杯，成为第一个赢得该项赛事的非欧洲车手，他表示自己正在“创造历史”。

在新加坡服完两年国民服役后，他于 2026 年重返全职赛车生涯。此前，他通过模拟器、GT 赛车以及在滨海湾的客串驾驶来保持竞技状态。

弗罗斯特希望参加 2027 年勒芒 24 小时耐力赛和 2028 年印地赛车，同时呼吁获得更多支持、赞助和一条新的新加坡卡丁车赛道。

新加坡——就在马克斯·维斯塔潘在2026年首次赢得新加坡大奖赛冠军，创造赛车历史的同一个周末，10月10日，在近12000公里之外，当地赛车运动也创造了一个里程碑。

在葡萄牙沿海城市波尔蒂芒，新加坡赛车手丹尼尔·弗罗斯特高举 LMP3 米其林勒芒杯，成为自 2016 年该系列赛创立以来首位赢得冠军的非欧洲车手。

25 岁的弗罗斯特和 20 岁的法国队友恩佐·标致效力于 R-ace GP 车队，他们在葡萄牙举行的赛季收官战中率先冲过终点线，结束了 2026 赛季，这意味着他们赢得了六场比赛中的一半。

他们还在 4 月份赢得了西班牙加泰罗尼亚站的冠军，并在 8 月份赢得了比利时斯帕站的冠军。

“感觉太棒了，我欣喜若狂，”弗罗斯特在最近接受《海峡时报》Zoom采访时笑容满面地说。

“我很高兴能为新加坡书写历史，这种感觉很棒，尤其是在欧洲队的主场击败他们。这绝对是值得铭记的时刻。”

勒芒杯双人赛由勒芒24小时耐力赛的同一批组织者于2016年创办，旨在为崭露头角的车手提供一个跳板。勒芒24小时耐力赛是一项享有盛誉的耐力赛，于100多年前首次举办。

对于弗罗斯特来说，他的里程碑式成就到来之前，他已经参加了近半生的赛车比赛。他13岁时第一次在克兰芝现已关闭的KF1卡丁车赛道上驾驶卡丁车。

不到两年，他就参加了东南亚四级方程式单座赛车比赛，并在 2016 年获得了总成绩第五名。

为了在赛车领域更上一层楼，他大胆地寻求出国发展。在权衡了参加日本超级方程式锦标赛和美国印地赛车锦标赛之后，弗罗斯特最终选择了后者，因为后者提供奖学金项目。

2017 年，16 岁的他与 Meritus.GP 赛车队签约，并和他的母亲 Melor Ismail 一起搬到了佛罗里达州。

在那里，他从 2019 年到 2020 年参加了 Indy Pro 赛事，并在 2020 年锦标赛中获得第三名，然后从 2021 年到 2023 年参加了 Indy Lights 赛事（现已更名为 Indy NXT）。

赛车队及发展计划 Exclusive Autosport 的车队负责人 Michael Duncalfe 在 2019 年评价 Frost 的天赋时说：“Danial 总是能给人留下深刻印象……他已经成长为一名全能型车手，因为他已经证明自己有能力和天赋在椭圆形赛道、街道赛道上赢得比赛，并在自然地形公路赛道上取得最佳成绩。”

然而，弗罗斯特蓬勃发展的职业生涯从 2024 年 1 月起戛然而止，近两年时间里，他返回新加坡服兵役。

“在赛车界，两年就像一个世纪那么长，”他说。

当他的对手们继续比赛时，弗罗斯特承认他感觉自己“正在失去势头”并且“落后了”。

尽管如此，他并没有放弃自己的抱负。相反，他“调整了自身状态，并寻找留在赛车界的机会”。

从进行模拟器训练到寻找比赛机会，弗罗斯特设法继续参加 GT 世界挑战赛亚洲赛和亚洲勒芒系列赛，甚至用掉了他的年假去参赛。

他重返新加坡的亮点是作为特邀车手参加了 2025 年保时捷卡雷拉杯亚洲赛季收官战——在当年新加坡大奖赛之前于 F1 滨海湾街道赛道举行。

在28名车手中，他参加了两场比赛，分别获得第六名和第八名。

“能够在自己的主场——自己的国家比赛真是太好了，”弗罗斯特说道，他精通英语和马来语。

“看到自己的同胞在场为我加油……那种感觉……我竭尽全力，因为现场气氛很好，我知道他们在背后支持着我。”

完成NS项目后，弗罗斯特获得了加盟R-ace GP车队的机会——该车队曾赢得2025年勒芒LMP3组别冠军——他毫不犹豫地接受了邀请，因为这为他重返赛车界提供了一个绝佳的平台。尽管这是他首次在欧洲参赛，但他依然充分把握住了机会。

他解释说：“赢得（2026 年勒芒杯）冠军表明，即使我有两年时间不在赛场上，我也从未失去过冠军头衔。”

接下来是勒芒24小时耐力赛还是印地赛车？

弗罗斯特曾在新加坡的培童小学和马来西亚柔佛州的马尔堡学院就读，之后移居美国。过去十年间，他大部分时间都居住在佛罗里达州，但仍然时不时地怀念家乡的舒适。

他坦言，如果自己“想吃”鸡饭之类的当地菜肴，就会特别要求妈妈做，即使他每年回家探望亲朋好友时都能吃到。

但这些都是他愿意忍受的小小不适，因为他正在规划自己在赛车运动领域的下一步。

他表示，如果能参加 2027 年的勒芒 24 小时耐力赛，那将是“梦想成真”。不过，他更有可能参加低一级的 LMP2 组别的比赛，而 LMP2 组别在耐力赛的级别中也比 LMP3 组别高一级。

他的另一个终极目标是在 2028 年参加 IndyCar 赛事——美国最高级别的方程式赛车比赛。

弗罗斯特指出，资金仍然是“赛车运动发展的重要组成部分”，他表示自己最近才开始探索与新加坡公司合作的机会，并且即将与其中一家公司达成合作协议，但他没有透露该公司的名称。

他还对总部位于新加坡的 Den-Jet Marine 公司表示了由衷的感谢，该公司专门为海洋和近海行业提供高压水射流设备。他表示，Den-Jet Marine 从“一开始”就一直支持他。

“他们给了我很多帮助，可以说，正是因为他们，我才能继续在这里比赛，”他说。

他补充道：“我希望我最近在勒芒杯上的胜利能够提高我的知名度，并为我与新加坡公司和投资者建立有意义的合作关系打开大门，使我能够在代表新加坡参加国际比赛的同时，继续追求我的赛车梦想。”

或许弗罗斯特成为一名耐力赛车手是理所当然的，因为他选择的比赛形式意味着需要坚韧、毅​​力和持久力，而到目前为止，他在朝着印地赛车梦想努力的过程中已经展现了所有这些品质。

他说：“这个梦想背后，有着非常私人的东西。”

“我想证明我的家人付出的牺牲没有白费，我也要证明新加坡车手能够在国际赛车运动的最高舞台上竞争。这并非因为有人为我铺好了路，而是因为我为每一个机会而奋斗。”

“如果那一天真的到来，那将不仅仅是一个车手成功的故事，更是一个新加坡人在几乎无人关注的情况下坚持不懈的故事。”

有兴趣者可联系Frost团队，邮箱地址为opportunities@danialfrost.com