Visit to the ANS Motorsport workshop: behind the scenes of a racing team

👉 What really happens behind the walls of a motorsport racing team? 🤔

In this video, I went to visit the facilities of ANS Motorsport, a French team specialized in sports prototypes, led by driver and team manager Nicolas Schatz.

As the 2026 season approaches, the workshop is in full preparation mode: some cars are undergoing servicing, others are already ready to head out for testing, while the team organizes upcoming trips to various circuits 📋

An opportunity to discover the cars entered by the team and to see concretely what the behind-the-scenes of a racing team really looks like.

ANS Motorsport: A Team Specialized in Sports Prototypes

Today, ANS Motorsport has established itself as one of the most recognized French teams in the field of prototypes.

In the workshop, several cars prepared for different competitions are getting ready. Among them:

• Ligier JS P325, third-generation LMP3 cars competing in the Michelin Le Mans Cup
• several Nova NP02, notably racing in the Ultimate Cup Series
• Ligier JS P4 cars entered in the Ligier European Series
• Norma CN prototypes
• as well as two Ligier JS2R
• and a few Mitjet cars

The team’s positioning is clear: to specialize in sports prototypes. A deliberate strategy that allows the team to develop true technical expertise on these demanding cars, whether in terms of set-up, reliability, or race operations 💪

ℹ️ At the time of filming, the workshop is particularly busy: some cars are about to head out for testing in Portimão, while others are scheduled to run on various European circuits in the following days. 😲

ANS Motorsport: A Rapid Rise Toward Top-Level Racing

ANS Motorsport did not always have the impressive 1,500 m² workshop that we see today.

As Nicolas explains in the video, the team was created around ten years ago. At the beginning, the structure operated from a small building of about 200 m², with far more limited resources.

Since then, the activity has grown significantly, with more cars entered, more staff, and increasingly ambitious racing programs 📈

ℹ️ In its early days, the team first made a name for itself in hill climb racing, a discipline in which Nicolas Schatz built an impressive record with several French Championship titles. Gradually, the team shifted towards circuit racing, running CN prototypes before taking a major step into GT4 with the entry of two Ginetta G55 cars in the French FFSA GT Championship as early as 2018.

Today, this translates into a highly structured organization, capable of running several cars simultaneously across different championships, with everything that entails in terms of preparation, logistics, and technical follow-up.

Beyond pure performance, the ANS team has also built a strong reputation in driver support and development. The structure has notably run or supported drivers who now compete at a high level, such as Mathys Jaubert (Genesis LMDh), Karen Gaillard (Iron Dames), and Erwan Bastard in endurance racing.

An important aspect of the team, which does not simply run cars, but is also deeply involved in driver progression, from the gentleman driver to professional programs 👌

Nicolas Schatz: From Driver to Team Principal

At the head of ANS Motorsport is Nicolas Schatz, a well-known figure in French motorsport 🙂

Before becoming a team manager, he made his mark as a driver, notably in hill climb racing, where he won seven French Championship titles and established himself as one of the specialists of the discipline. But his experience is not limited to the mountains: he has also raced on circuit, in GT4, in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, and even in the ELMS behind the wheel of LMP3 prototypes, with podium finishes and a victory at Road to Le Mans 🏆

Today, his role is very different: managing a racing structure, preparing the cars, supervising drivers, and organizing all the logistics required to run a team competing at this level.

A job that is often invisible to the public, demanding and underestimated, yet absolutely essential to perform in motorsport.

Behind the Scenes of a Professional Racing Team

This visit also highlights what managing a competitive racing team truly involves 🥵

Behind every car entered on a circuit, there are:

• hours of maintenance and rebuilding work
• very precise set-ups tailored to each driver and each track
• heavy logistics, including transport, scheduling, and team coordination
• and all the preparation ahead of testing and race weekends

In the workshop, some cars are undergoing servicing, while others are already ready to be loaded into the transport trucks to head out for testing or competition.

It is a continuous process, often unseen, yet directly determining on-track performance 🔥

Full Tour of the ANS Motorsport Workshop

I now invite you to discover the workshop and the ANS Motorsport cars in this video, with Nicolas’ explanations.

You will see concretely how a team operates when running race cars at this level 👇