Stéphane Proulx (December 12, 1965 – November 21, 1993) was a Canadian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

Early life

Proulx was born in Sainte-Adèle, Quebec. His mother,

Monique Monique is a female given name. It is the French form of the name Monica. The name has enjoyed some popularity in the United States since about 1955, and is less common in other English-speaking countries except for Canada although mostly used ...

, was a

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club ...

driver in the 1970s and was one of the first women to be sponsored by a cigarette company. She gave up racing to support the career of her son.

Career

Stéphane won the 1987 Canadian

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

2000 Championship driving a Reynard 87SF for the Spenard-David Racing School. In 9 races he won 6, took 3 pole positions and finished on the podium in every race. In 1989 he made the step up to

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...

, joining GA Motorsport bringing his Player's Ltd sponsorship with him. He drove a

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lol ...

T89/50

Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had f ...

but had a difficult season adjusting to the power and to the new circuits. He finished 5th at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

and finished the season 17th in the Championship with 2 points. In 1990 he stayed in Formula 3000 but switched to Pacific Racing. Pacific had lost their sponsorship from Philip Morris and so Stéphane's Player's Ltd funding was a welcome addition. Proulx was competitive but he failed to capitalise on it. A 12th at Donington was followed by accidents at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

, Pau,

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Located in southwestern Iberia, it lies on the Campi� ...

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

and Enna-Pergusa. 10th at

Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain, Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" ( ...

in a rare finish was followed by gearbox failure at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

. After two more accidents at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and Le Mans, he finished 7th at

Nogaro Nogaro (; Gascon: ''Nogaròu'') is a commune in the Gers department, Southwestern France. It is the site of a distillery of Armagnac brandy. Geography The commune is bordered by six other communes: Caupenne-d'Armagnac to the northwest, ...

in the final round. In 1991 Proulx came back to Canada and drove a

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIF ...

tuned by Mauro Lanaro in the Canadian rounds of the IMSA Molson

series, being declared the Canadian

Champion, after a win in the last round at Vancouver. In 1992 he competed in five rounds of the French F3 Championship driving a Dallara F392 Alfa Romeo for Formula Project Racing.

Later life

On April 3, 1993, while participating in a Formula Atlantic race at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

, Proulx was hit on his head by a wheel lost by another competitor. He sustained injuries from which he never recovered. Proulx died of complications resulting from

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

-related illness on November 21, 1993, in Sainte-Adèle.

References

External links

Stéphane Proulx, F3000
- The AUTOSPORT Bulletin Board *
Stéphane Proulx
Motorsport Memorial {{DEFAULTSORT:Proulx, Stephane International Formula 3000 drivers Racing drivers from Quebec 1993 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Canada Atlantic Championship drivers Sportspeople from Laurentides 1965 births Canadian racing drivers