Bertrand Gachot
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| Formula One World Championship career | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Belgian (1989-1991) French (1992, 1994-1995) |
| Active years | 1989–1992, 1994–1995 |
| Teams | Onyx, Rial, Coloni, Jordan, Larrousse, Pacific |
| Entries | 84 (47 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 5 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First entry | 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1995 Australian Grand Prix |
Bertrand Gachot (born 23 December 1962 in Luxembourg) is a French-Belgian former racing driver.
Career
Gachot is the son of a French European Commission official. He began karting at the age of 15. In 1983 he attended Winfield School, a well-known racing-driving school in France. After this, he focused on his racing career, competing first in the Formula Ford 1600 series. By 1986, he had won the British Formula Ford championship.
In 1987, Gachot joined the British Formula 3 series, finishing second in the championship for the West Surrey Racing team. In 1988, he switched to the Formula 3000 series, but met some success. In 1989, he entered the storied world of Formula One, driving for the newly-formed Onyx team. Although his performances were promising, after making statements in the press which raised the ire of his erratic team boss, Gachot lost his drive before the season's end. Instead, he switched in 1990 to the Subaru-powered Coloni team with little success.
In 1991, he joined the Jordan Grand Prix racing team, helping them to fifth in the constructor championship. However, his season was cut short by a two-month prison stint, received for spraying CS gas on a London taxicab driver after a traffic altercation (his race seat was filled temporarily by then-unknown Michael Schumacher, making his Formula One debut). When he was finally released from prison after two months, he had missed four Grands Prix (including his home Grand Prix in Belgium). The Jordan Grand Prix racing team was not interested in returning his seat (which was given to Alessandro Zanardi) for the last two races of the season, in Japan and Australia. Finally, he was able to compete in the last Grand Prix of that season with Larrousse, replacing Éric Bernard, but he failed to qualify. Gachot then spent the complete 1992 season with the Larrousse team, scoring 1 point in the Monaco Grand Prix where he finished in 6th place.
Gachot spent the next several years racing in various formulae. He was involved in the Pacific Racing F1 team behind the scenes, as well as driving for them for most of their two-year existence. The high point of Gachot's career is winning the renowned 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race in 1991 in a Mazda (with co-drivers Johnny Herbert and Volker Weidler). In later years, Gachot has concentrated on his business interests which include marketing "Hype", a high-energy beverage; he still keeps his contacts with Formula One and owns an F1 website.
Gachot competed in a total of 47 grands prix for eight different teams. He never won a race, but he did score five championship points during his F1 career, and recorded the fastest lap of the 1991 Hungarian Grand Prix for Jordan.
Nationality
Born in Luxembourg as the son of a French European Commission official, Gachot raced under more than one one flag during his career. He initially competed with a Belgian FIA Super Licence, despite carrying a French passport.[1] From the 1992 season onwards he changed to a French licence.[2][3][4]
In a 1991 interview, Gachot said that "I am not really one nationality. I feel very much a European, but today I have to accept that a united Europe is not yet a reality. Certainly from a legal point of view."[1] Gachot's helmet design features the circle of yellow stars on a blue background from the flag of Europe.[1]
Complete Formula One results
(key)
References
- ^ a b c Saward, Joe (1991-10-01). "Interview: Bertrand Gachot". grandprix.com. Inside F1. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ Henry, Nick (1992). "F1 Drivers' Statistics". Autocourse 1992-93. Hazleton Publishing. p. 248. ISBN 0-905138-96-1.
- ^ Henry, Nick (1994). "1994 FIA World Championship". Autocourse 1994-95. Hazleton Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 1-874557-95-0.
- ^ Henry, Nick (1995). "1995 FIA World Championship". Autocourse 1995-96. Hazleton Publishing. p. 232. ISBN 1-874557-36-5.
External links
