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Éric Bernard
Éric Bernard (born 24 August 1964) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . Born in Martigues, Bernard began competitive kart racing aged 13, winning several national titles. He graduated to Formula Renault after attending the Winfield Racing School at Paul Ricard. Bernard debuted in Formula One at the 1989 French Grand Prix for Larrousse, where he remained until . He returned in with Ligier, achieving his only podium at the . He made his final appearance at the with Lotus. After his departure, he competed in sportscar racing, finishing runner-up in the 1999 American Le Mans Series with Panoz. Early career Bernard was born in Martigues, near Marseille. He started karting in 1976 and in the seven years that followed, won four French titles. In 1983 he attended racing school at Paul Ricard and was one of the finalists at the Volant Elf competition. He beat Jean Alesi and Bertrand Gachot to the prize, earning himself a fully sponsored dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martigues
Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A direct translation from the Martigues TourismeMartigues-Tourisme Official Website , page of direct translation, quoting Martigue as "The Venice of Provence" website states the following about Martigues: Nicknamed the "Provençale Venice", Martigues is a point of passage between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Martigues (now Etang de Berre), close to the Côte d'Azur. The charm of its canals, its docks and bridges made it "The Venice of Provence". Martigues possesses also its cooperative winery "La Venise provençale": Coteaux d'Aix en Provence, r ... |
Winfield Racing School
The Winfield Racing School (formal name: ''École de Pilotage Winfield'') is a French school for racing drivers at Paul Ricard in France. History Winfield Racing School was established as École de Pilotage Jim Russell by Bill Knight, Arthur Owen and Jim Russell with help from Gérard Crombac at Magny-Cours, France in 1963. The name was changed to ''École de Pilotage Winfield'' (Winfield Driver School) in 1964 when Bill Knight, a successful land speed records campaigner from Jersey island, who owned a karting circuit in Mallorca among other ventures named Winfield, :fr:Winfield Racing School (in French). decided to make the new project independent from Jim Russell. At the time, Magny-Cours circuit (also called the Jean Behra circuit) was just built in 1960 by the local owner/farmer, Jean Bernigaud, whom Gérard 'Jabby' Crombac knew about, and the school became the main user of the otherwise under-utilized local racing course. There were many aspiring young drivers in France ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dijon-Prenois
Dijon-Prenois is a motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends. Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix five times, and the Swiss Grand Prix in 1982 Swiss Grand Prix, 1982. The non-championship 1975 Swiss Grand Prix was also held at Dijon. The circuit currently hosts the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or, and last hosted the FFSA GT Championship in 2018. History Planned in 1967, work commenced in December 1969. The track was part of a plan to make Dijon an automotive centre. It was the brainchild of rugby-player and wrestler François Chambelland (sometimes assumed to be the masked wrestler l'Ange Blanc), and was developed with the aid of racers Jean-Pierre Beltoise and François Cevert, as well as motoring journalist .Furet, p. 13 In spite of lack of support from the city government and a chronic lack of funds, the track was declared open on 26 May 1972, with Guy Ligier making the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reynard Motorsport
Reynard Motorsport was the world's largest racing car manufacturer in the 1980s. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Three, Formula 3000 and CART. History Founded by Adrian Reynard in 1973 as Sabre Automotive Ltd, the company built on its success in lower formulae (particularly Formula Ford and its variants; Reynard himself was a top driver in Formula Ford 2000 in the late seventies) to progress in March 1994 to CART racing and collaborate with British American Racing from 1999 in the design of its early Formula One cars. Adrian Reynard formed a very effective working partnership with friend and Formula Ford rival Rick Gorne, who looked after the sales and commercial side of the business. Gorne was one of the first people to bring a commercial mindset to the sale of racing cars - he worked out pricing models for cars and spares ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralt
Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under the Ralt name (standing for Ron and Austin Lewis Tauranac). Tauranac won the 1954 NSW Hillclimb Championship in the Ralt 500. Cars Early Ralts Built with the assistance of Tauranac's younger brother, Austin, in Australia. The Mk was powered by a 1,932cc pushrod Norton ES2. Tauranac made his own flywheel, connecting rods, and cylinders. The Mk2 was a sports car built by and for Austin, with a Ford 10 engine, Standard 10 gearbox, and Morris 8 rear axle. The Mk3 was purchased from the Hooper brothers when they retired. Tauranac designed a new chassis for it, and the car was primarily driven by Austin. The Mk4 began as a special, using a Vincent-HRD V-twin and a de Dion rear suspension. The car took two years to develop in Tauranac's s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become too expensive, and was dominated by works-run cars with factory engines; the hope was that Formula 3000 would offer quicker, cheaper, more open racing. The series began as an open specification, then tyres were standardized from 1986 onwards, followed by engines and chassis in 1996. The series ran annually until 2004, and was replaced in 2005 by the GP2 Series. The series was staged as the Formula 3000 European Championship in 1985, as the Formula 3000 Intercontinental Championship in 1986 and 1987 and then as the Formula 3000 International Championship from 1988 to 2004. Engines Formula 3000 replaced Formula Two, and was so named because the engines used were limited to 3000cc maximum capacity. Initially, the Cosworth DFV was a popular ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Formula Three
Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adopted by the FIA in 1950) evolved from postwar auto racing, with lightweight tube-frame chassis powered by 500 cc motorcycle engines (notably Nortons and JAP speedway). The 500 cc formula originally evolved in 1946 from low-cost "special" racing organised by enthusiasts in Bristol, England, just before the Second World War; British motorsport after the war picked up slowly, partly due to petrol rationing which continued for a number of years and home-built 500 cc cars engines were intended to be accessible to the "impecunious enthusiast". The second post-war motor race in Britain was organised by the VSCC in July 1947 at RAF Gransden Lodge, 500cc cars being the only post-war class to run that day. Three of the seven entrants were non-s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bertrand Gachot
Bertrand Jean Gachot (; born 23 December 1962) is a Belgian and French former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Gachot won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with Mazdaspeed, Mazda. Gachot was born in Luxembourg City to a French father and German mother and began competitive kart racing at the age of 15 before attending the Winfield Racing School at Paul Ricard Circuit, Paul Ricard in 1983. Gachot enjoyed some success in the junior formulae, winning titles in Formula Ford before progressing through Formula 3 and Formula 3000, reaching Formula One in 1989. After winning the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, Gachot was sentenced to 18 months in prison for an Assault occasioning actual bodily harm, aggravated assault that had occurred the previous December. He was released after two months on appeal, but was replaced by debutant Michael Schumacher, Roberto Moreno and Alessandro Zanardi for the remainder of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Alesi
Jean Robert Alesi (; born Giovanni Roberto Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Alesi won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix with Ferrari. Born and raised in Avignon, Alesi started karting aged 16 with a desire to eventually compete in rallying. He progressed to open-wheel racing aged 20, winning the French Formula Three Championship in 1987 and graduating to International Formula 3000. His subsequent title with Jordan in 1989 led to a Formula One drive with Tyrrell, replacing Michele Alboreto from the 1989 French Grand Prix onwards, where he finished fourth. Alesi scored his maiden podium at the opening round of the season, repeating this feat in Monaco. He signed for Ferrari in to partner Alain Prost, scoring several podiums across five seasons before taking his sole victory at the in . He left at the end of the season after twice finishing fifth in the standings, swapping seats with Michael Schumacher in to join B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karting
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports. Most modern Formula One drivers, including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, and Max Verstappen, have begun their racing careers in karting. Karts vary widely in speed, and some (known as superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding , while recreational go-karts intended for the general public may be limited to lower speeds. History American Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in Southern California in 1956. Early karting events were held in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Rhône river. Marseille is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, second-most populous city proper in France, after Paris, with 873,076 inhabitants in 2021. Marseille with its suburbs and exurbs create the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, with a population of 1,911,311 at the 2021 census. Founded by Greek settlers from Phocaea, Marseille is the oldest city in France, as well as one of Europe's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited settlements. It was known to the ancient Greeks as ''Massalia'' and to ancient Romans, Romans as ''Massilia''. Marseille has been a trading port since ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1999 American Le Mans Series
The 1999 American Le Mans Series was the inaugural season of the IMSA American Le Mans Series, and is now recognised as the 29th season of the IMSA GT Championship. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into three classes: LMP, GTS, and GT. It began March 20, 1999, and ended November 7, 1999, after eight races. The American Le Mans Series officially replaced the dwindling IMSA GT Championship after the 1998 season. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which organized the 24 Hours of Le Mans, allowed IMSA's owner Don Panoz to create a series closely modeled after the formula used at Le Mans. The first official ACO-backed event had been held at the 1998 Petit Le Mans The 1998 Petit Le Mans was a sportscar race for the 1998 IMSA GT Championship season, then known as the Professional SportsCar Racing series. It also served as a prelude to the first American Le Mans Series race held at Sebring in 1999. Don Pa ..., which was part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
