Gérard Larrousse
Gérard Larrousse (born 23 May 1940 Lyon ) is a former French sports car and Formula 1 racing driver and team manager.
Career
Racer
After a business administration degree from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce in Paris gave Larrousse after his motor sports passion, and went in the early 1960s with a Renault Dauphine rallies at the national level in France. 1966 Larrousse decided to make motor sport into a career. In 1969 he was works driver in sports car team of Porsche. His biggest success in 1971 was the team 's victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 917 on the side of Vic Elford.
After a trip to the touring cars as Ford works driver Larrousse could win Matra in 1973 and 1974 with Henri Pescarolo, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Also in 1974 came in a Brabham BT42 Larrousse Scuderia Finotto at the Grand Prix of Belgium as his sole Formula 1 races, but he could not finish. A second attempt at the GP of France in the same year already ended in qualifying. 1969 and 1974 he won the overall classification of the Tour de France for automobiles.
Team principal and owner
In 1975, Larrousse the Elf Switzerland Formula 2 team and could get with his driver Jean -Pierre Jabouille the European title. On the Hockenheimring Larrousse won a Formula 2 race in one of his own car. 1976 Larrousse sporting director of the newly formed motorsport division of Renault. Under his management the team rose to the Formula 1, won in 1978 in Le Mans and 1981, the Monte Carlo Rally. In the course of nine Formula 1 season, the Renault team was never able to enter 15 wins, but win the World Cup. End of 1985, the team was disbanded.
Larrousse moved for a year to Ligier and then founded with partner Didier Calmels own Formula 1 team, Larrousse - Calmels, based in Antony, near Paris. With a car from Lola and Ford engines the team with Philippe Alliot Larrousse entered as a driver in the 1987 season for the first time in the highest class of motor sport. The most successful year was the 1990 season in which the team with Lamborghini engines and the drivers Éric Bernard and Aguri Suzuki took. Eleven championship points, a place on the podium and sixth place in the constructors' championship have been achieved. Suzuki scored with his 3rd place at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka is the only place on the podium for Larrousse. In 1995, the team was disbanded for financial reasons. Gérard Larrousse returned to the sports car scene, but remained largely unsuccessful.