Michel Cosson (4 August 1931 – 11 June 2022) was a French businessman. He was Director-General of from 1986 to 1992 and President of the

Automobile Club de l'Ouest The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organ ...

(ACO) from 1992 to 2003. A prominent figure in motor racing, he was known for aiding the financial recovery of the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

in the 1990s and the creation of similar competitions abroad.

Biography

Cosson graduated from

Supélec École supérieure d'électricité, commonly known as Supélec (), was a French graduate school of engineering. It was one of the most prestigious grande écoles in France in the field of electrical engineering, energy and information sciences. ...

in 1955 with a degree in economics. He began his career with

ONERA The Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) is the French national aerospace research centre. It is a public establishment with industrial and commercial operations, and carries out application-oriented research to supp ...

before becoming President of the Club des Nageurs du Mans from 1965 to 1975. He was Director-General of Défense Automobile et Sportive from 1981 to 1993 and of Mutuelles du Mans from 1986 to 1992. When Cosson became President of ACO in 1992, it was facing major difficulties. As an , ACO required a

debt moratorium A debt moratorium is a delay in the payment of debts or obligations. The term is generally used to refer to acts by national governments. Moratory laws are usually passed at times of special political or commercial stress: for instance, on severa ...

due to the installation of the

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hou ...

, which led the club to accumulate debts of 85 million francs. He collaborated with local and regional authorities to implement agreements on the repayment of debt. In 2001, a Syndicat Mixte took over the circuit's installations, therefore saving the 24 Hours of Le Mans event. In the early 1990s, the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...

(FIA) decided to end the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and No ...

. This led the ACO to require its own recruitment of car manufacturers. After great pressure, the FIA and the ACO created the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

in 2012. After discussions with

Don Panoz Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American entrepreneur who founded various pharmaceutical companies. Early life Panoz was an Italian-American. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States f ...

, Cosson created the

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans ( French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which a ...

in 1998. This race was the starting point for the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

, which was followed by the birth of the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

and the

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. ...

. After discussions with Claude Michy, the

French motorcycle Grand Prix The French motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the World Motorcycle Racing season. The Grand Prix was held on different circuits in its history: on the Charade Circuit (Puy-de-Dôme) between 1959 and 1967, Le Mans circ ...

was raced at Le Mans beginning in 2000. After further discussions with , the

Le Mans Classic The Le Mans Classic is a biennial historic racing, vintage sports car racing, sports car event held on the grounds of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, created by Peter Auto and Richard Mille, and associated with Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It began ...

was started in 2002. At a local level, Michel Cosson created the departmental commissions of the ACO. Michel Cosson died on 11 June 2022 at the age of 90.

Distinctions

*Knight of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

*Knight of the

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosson, Michel 1931 births 2022 deaths 20th-century French businesspeople 21st-century French businesspeople French motorsport people Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Supélec alumni