Gérard Larrousse

Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse (born 23 May 1940) is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France. His greatest success as a driver was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 and 1974, driving a Matra-Simca MS670. After the end of his career as racing car driver, he continued to be involved in Formula One as a team manager for Renault. He later founded and ran his own Formula One team, Larrousse, from 1987 to 1994.

Gérard Larrousse
Born (1940-05-23) 23 May 1940
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityFrance French
Active years1974
TeamsScuderia Finotto
Entries2 (1 start)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1974 Belgian Grand Prix
Last entry1974 French Grand Prix

Racing career

Born in Lyon, Larousse began his motorsport career in rallying before focusing on circuit racing. He won the French Rally Championship with an Alpine A110. His biggest successes in international rallies came in a Porsche 911. He won the Tour de Corse in 1969, and placed second at the Monte Carlo Rally in 1969, 1970 and 1972. On gravel, he achieved a sixth place at the 1970 RAC Rally.

Gérard Larrousse driving a Porsche 908/2 at the Nürburgring in 1970

In a team with Vic Elford in 1971, Larrousse won the 12 Hours of Sebring with a Porsche 917K and the 1000km Nürburgring in a Porsche 908/03. He would follow this with victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 and 1974 alongside Henri Pescarolo for Matra-Simca. He participated in two Grands Prix, debuting on 12 May 1974, but failed to any score championship points. He drove Brabham BT42s for Scuderia Finotto.

Team management

Following his sports car career, he moved into racing management, running the Elf Switzerland operation in the European Formula Two Championship. From there, Larrousse went on to run the original factory Renault Formula One team during its final days as a full-fledged factory team in 1984 and 1985.

Larrousse also shared ownership of an eponymous Formula One team with various partners, from 1987 to 1994. His team achieved limited success in F1, with a best finish of 6th in the Constructor's Championship in 1990. However the team struggled in following seasons and by 1994, Larrousse was forced to run several pay-drivers to help make ends meet. Although plans were in place to participate in the 1995 season, a lack of funds meant that the team was forced to withdraw from Formula One.

Racing record
With Ford Capri RS in 1973 at 6 hours of Nürburgring

Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 WDC Pts.
1974 Scuderia Finotto Brabham BT42 Ford V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL
Ret		 MON SWE NED FRA
DNQ		 GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA NC 0
Sources:[1][2]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1967 France Ecurie Savin-Calberson France Patrick Depailler Alpine A210 P
1.15		 204 DNF DNF
1968 France Société des Automobiles Alpine France Henri Grandsire Alpine A220 P
3.0		 204 DNF DNF
1969 Germany Porsche System Engineering Germany Hans Herrmann Porsche 908 Coupé P
3.0		 372 2nd 1st
1970 Germany Martini Racing Team Germany Willi Kauhsen Porsche 917L S
5.0		 338 2nd 2nd
1971 Germany Martini Racing Team United Kingdom Vic Elford Porsche 917LH S
5.0		 DNF DNF
1972 Switzerland Ecurie Bonnier Switzerland Sweden Jo Bonnier
Netherlands Gijs van Lennep		 Lola T280-Ford Cosworth S 3.0 213 DNF DNF
1973 France Equipe Matra-Simca Shell France Henri Pescarolo Matra-Simca MS670B S
3.0		 355 1st 1st
1974 France Equipe Gitanes France Henri Pescarolo Matra-Simca MS670C S
3.0		 337 1st 1st
Sources:[3][4][5]

Complete IMC results
Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1970 Porsche System Engineering Porsche 911 S MON
2		 SWE ITA KEN AUT GRE GBR
6
1971 Porsche System Engineering Porsche 914/6 MON
Ret		 SWE ITA KEN MAR AUT GRE GBR
1972 Porsche System Engineering Porsche 911 S MON
2		 SWE KEN MAR GRE AUT ITA USA GBR
Source:[1]

References
  1. "Gerard Larrousse". Motor Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  2. Small, Steve (2000). "Gérard Larrousse". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. p. 334. ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  3. "Gerard Larrousse". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  4. "Gerard Larrousse Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  5. "Complete Archive of Gérard Larrousse". Racing Sports Cars. pp. 2–6. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
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