Jean-Marc Gounon (born 1 January 1963) is a French
racing driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
. He raced in
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
in and , participating in a total of 9 Grands Prix and scoring no championship points. He is the father of fellow racing driver
Jules Gounon
Jules Gounon (born 31 December 1994 in Aubenas) is an Andorran-based French professional racing driver. He is best known for his victories in the 24 Hours of Spa in 2017 and 2022 and Bathurst 12 Hour in 2020 and 2022.
Career 1994-2015: Youth i ...
.
Career
After winning the French
Formula 3
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...
Championship in 1989, Gounon moved into
International Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become t ...
in 1990. He was the only man to win F3000 races in a non-
Reynard
Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, as ...
in 1991 and 1992, in a
RALT
Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under t ...
and
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
* Lola (fo ...
respectively. He also became known for his quick starts, and might have had another win at
Enna
Enna ( or ; grc, Ἔννα; la, Henna, less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( scn, Castrugiuvanni ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering ...
in 1991, but was controversially adjudged to have jumped the start in the era before electronic detection.
In 1993 Gounon bought a two-race deal with
Minardi
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...
after
Christian Fittipaldi
Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and parti ...
was dropped but he finished neither race, being withdrawn at
Suzuka and spinning off in the season-closer, Adelaide's
1993 Australian Grand Prix
The 1993 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Adelaide on 7 November 1993. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1993 Formula One World Championship.
The 79-lap race was won by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Ford. In ...
.
The next year Gounon benefited from
Andrea Montermini
Andrea Montermini (born 30 May 1964) is an Italian racing driver.
Career
Montermini raced in Formula 3 in 1989, taking second place in the Monaco GP support race and 4th in the Italian F3 Championship. He then moved up to Formula 3000, racing ...
having broken his leg, and finished 9th for
Simtek
Simtek (Simulation Technology) was an engineering consultancy firm and Formula One racing team. The Formula One (F1) engineering consultancy arm, Simtek Research, was founded in 1989 by Max Mosley and Nick Wirth. It originally was involved ...
at his home race, France (Simtek's joint best ever result). He raced in seven grands prix that season and qualified for all of them, being finally replaced after the Portuguese Grand Prix by the better-funded
Domenico Schiattarella
Domenico "Mimmo" Schiattarella (born 17 November 1967) is an Italian racing driver. He participated in 7 Formula One Grands Prix for Simtek, debuting on October 16, 1994, and finishing when the team folded the next year. He scored no championsh ...
, ending his F1 career.
Later in his career he went on to drive sports cars.
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 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 (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
† Driver did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete Formula One 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 (map ...
)
24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
Sources
Profile at www.grandprix.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gounon, Jean-Marc
1963 births
Living people
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
ADAC GT Masters drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
French Formula One drivers
French Formula Three Championship drivers
French racing drivers
International Formula 3000 drivers
Minardi Formula One drivers
People from Aubenas
Simtek Formula One drivers
Sportspeople from Ardèche
Aston Martin Racing drivers
DAMS drivers
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers
Oreca drivers
David Price Racing drivers
Epsilon Euskadi drivers
FIA GT Championship drivers
Audi Sport drivers
BMW M drivers
Pescarolo Sport drivers