Michel Cosson (4 August 1931 – 11 June 2022) was a French businessman. He was Director-General of from 1986 to 1992 and President of the

Automobile Club de l'Ouest The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organ ...

(ACO) from 1992 to 2003. A prominent figure in motor racing, he was known for aiding the financial recovery of the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

in the 1990s and the creation of similar competitions abroad.

Biography

Cosson graduated from

Supélec École supérieure d'électricité (, ), commonly known as Supélec (), was a French graduate school of engineering. It was one of the most prestigious grande écoles in France in the field of electrical engineering, energy and information scien ...

in 1955 with a degree in economics. He began his career with

ONERA The Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales ( English: National office for aerospace studies and research) or ONERA, dubbed ''The French Aerospace Lab'' in English, is the French national aerospace research center. Originally f ...

before becoming President of the Club des Nageurs du Mans from 1965 to 1975. He was Director-General of Défense Automobile et Sportive from 1981 to 1993 and of Mutuelles du Mans from 1986 to 1992. When Cosson became President of ACO in 1992, it was facing major difficulties. As an , ACO required a

debt moratorium A debt moratorium is a delay in the payment of debts or obligations. The term is generally used to refer to acts by national governments. Moratory laws are usually passed at times of special political or commercial stress: for instance, on severa ...

due to the installation of the

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 H ...

, which led the club to accumulate debts of 85 million francs. He collaborated with local and regional authorities to implement agreements on the repayment of debt. In 2001, a Syndicat Mixte took over the circuit's installations, therefore saving the 24 Hours of Le Mans event. In the early 1990s, the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...

(FIA) decided to end the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...

. This led the ACO to require its own recruitment of car manufacturers. After great pressure, the FIA and the ACO created the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

in 2012. After discussions with

Don Panoz Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American entrepreneur who founded two pharmaceutical companies. Early life Panoz was an Italian-American. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States from ...

, Cosson created the

Petit Le Mans Petit Le Mans (French language, French for ''Little Le Mans'') is a sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States. The race has been held for a durat ...

in 1998. This race was the starting point for the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

, which was followed by the birth of the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

and the

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second s ...

. After discussions with

Claude Michy Claude Michy, born 3 April 1949 in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme), is the President of the Clermontois football club Clermont Foot Auvergne 63, since 2005. He is also the creator and president of PHA Claude Michy Manager since 1994, and organises ...

, the

French motorcycle Grand Prix The French motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The Grand Prix was held on different circuits in its history: on the Charade Circuit (Puy-de-Dôme) between 1959 and 1967, L ...

was raced at Le Mans beginning in 2000. After further discussions with , the Le Mans Classic was started in 2002. At a local level, Michel Cosson created the departmental commissions of the ACO. Michel Cosson died on 11 June 2022 at the age of 90.

Distinctions

*Knight of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

*Knight of the

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosson, Michel 1931 births 2022 deaths 20th-century French businesspeople 21st-century French businesspeople French motorsport people Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Supélec alumni