Michel Jourdain Lascurain, better known as Michel Jourdain Jr. (born September 2, 1976), is a Mexican racecar driver, best known for winning two
Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Team ...
Formula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level cla ...
series at the age of 12. He then moved to the Mexican Formula K and
Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...
series.
In 1996, Jourdain ran several races in the
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsor (commercial), sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American American open-wheel car racing, open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United S ...
(IRL) and the CART (now
Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Team ...
) series, including the
Indy 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
. At the age of 19, he became one of the youngest drivers to race in both Champ Car and the Indy 500. Jourdain raced full-time in Champ Car from 1997–2004. In his early years, he was largely considered a back marker; however, after joining the Rahal team in 2002, he became a championship contender. Jourdain ended his Champ Car career in 2004 with 1 pole, 2 wins, and 9 podium (top three) finishes.
NASCAR
Jourdain was supported by Mexican sponsors throughout his years in Champ Car. After losing his sponsorship following the 2004 season, Jourdain looked to the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...
Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...
. At the time, NASCAR was trying to expand its fan base among
Mexicans
Mexicans ( es, mexicanos) are the citizens of the United Mexican States.
The most spoken language by Mexicans is Spanish, but some may also speak languages from 68 different Indigenous linguistic groups and other languages brought to Mexi ...
and
Hispanic Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
.
Jourdain made 18 starts driving the number 10
ppc Racing
ppc Racing is a former NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team was owned by Greg Pollex. ppc Racing came about from a merger of Pollex's Busch Series team with a car owned by Steve DeSouza and Ted Campbell in 1999. The tea ...
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
in 2005. He was able to notch one top ten finish, however in July ppc Racing announced that the team could not continue with a full season due to insufficient sponsorship. He ran two races later in the season for Keith Barnwell. Michel drove in his home race in Mexico City at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as well as two more races in the #15 in 2006 for Jill Burgdoff as well as 7
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of ...
races in the
Roush Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Politics
* Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana
*J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of:
** J. Edward Roush Lake, a res ...
#50 truck.
WTCC
In 2007 Jourdain competed in the
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backs ...
World Touring Car Championship
The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a s ...
for
SEAT Sport
Cupra Racing, formerly known as SEAT Sport, is the high-performance motorsport subsidiary of the Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT, founded in 1985, succeeding the "SEAT Special Vehicles department" which had been formed in 1971 with the mis ...
. A troubled season saw him finish the year down in 18th place on points. Later in the year he was signed to drive in the
A1GP
A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
series for
A1 Team Mexico
A1 Team Mexico is the Mexican team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.
Management
''A1 Team Mexico'' owners are Juan Cortina and Julio Jáuregui.P-WRC class of the
2010 Rally Mexico
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
where he finished 7th in class.
Rally
During the 2003
Baja 1000
The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pear ...
Jourdain, supported by girlfriend Ana Paola Romo, raced a
SCORE Baja Challenge
Score or scorer may refer to:
*Test score, the result of an exam or test
Business
* Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio
* Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company
* Score Media, a former Canadian m ...
class vehicle finishing 6th in their class with a time of 31:01.31SCORE Baja 1000 Official Finishers ''desertrides.com''
In October 2010 Jourdain and his
co-driver
A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of rallying, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity ...
Miguel Ángel Diez got the second overall in
La Carrera Panamericana
''La Carrera Panamericana'' is a 1992 video of the Carrera Panamericana automobile race in Mexico. The film was directed by Ian McArthur, and included a soundtrack entirely of music by the band Pink Floyd, as the band's guitarist David Gilm ...
in a
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers ...
1953, just 12.9 seconds behind from
Harri Rovanperä
Harri "Rovis" Rovanperä (; born 8 April 1966) is a Finnish rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship from 1993 to 2006. He drove for SEAT (1997– 00), Peugeot (2001– 04), Mitsubishi (2005) and Red Bull Škoda Team ...
.
The
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and 2011 World Rally seasons saw him start eight rallies with a best finish of 14th in the
2011 Rally México
The 2011 Rally México was the second round of the 2011 World Rally Championship season. It was the season's first event held on gravel roads. The rally took place over 3–6 March, beginning with a street stage in Guanajuato. The rally was also th ...
.
Motorsports career results
American open-wheel racing results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (ma ...
)
IndyCar Series
Indianapolis 500
CART/Champ Car
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (ma ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
* ^ New points system implemented in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
.
Complete World Touring Car Championship results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (ma ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete A1 Grand Prix results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (ma ...
)
WRC results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (ma ...
) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)