Emmanuel Collard

Emmanuel Collard at the 6 hours of Le Castellet 2011

Collard in the 1995 Porsche Supercup

Emmanuel Collard in the Porsche RS Spyder at the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km race in 2009

Emmanuel Collard (born April 3, 1971 in Arpajon ) is a French racing driver .

Career

Beginnings in motorsport

Collard began his motorsport career in 1982 with karting . After winning various kart championships up to 1988, he switched to French Formula Renault in 1989 . Right away he was runner-up and in the following season he won the championship. He then switched to the French Formula 3 Championship in 1992 in the International Formula 3000 Championship , where he was less successful. In 1994, Collard switched to sports cars and competed in the Porsche Supercup . From the beginning he fought for the championship, which he finally won in 1996.

Engagement in Formula 1

Collard tried several times to gain a foothold in Formula 1 , but never got beyond the role of test driver. As the youngest racing driver ever to drive a Formula 1 racing car, he became a test driver in 1990 for the Ligier Formula 1 team , where he stayed until 1991. In 1995 he was given another place as a test driver at Benetton . When Collard tested for Tyrrell in 1996 , he had great prospects of a racing debut, but the British racing team had to forego its commitment due to a lack of budget. Team boss Ken Tyrrell was disappointed that such a talented pilot did not receive sufficient financial support from sponsors. At the beginning of 1997 the name Collard was circulating again in the Formula 1 paddock. This time he was being talked about as a replacement for the disappointing Shinji Nakano at Prost . But since Mugen-Honda did not want to do without its driver, Prost had to give up his plans. When Olivier Panis was injured at the Canadian Grand Prix, Collard had hopes for his racing debut. Surprisingly, however, team boss Alain Prost, under pressure from Flavio Briatore , chose his pilot Jarno Trulli to replace Panis. With no prospect of racing, Collard spent another year at Arrows as a test driver in Formula 1 in 1998 .

BPR Global GT Series and FIA GT Championship

In the Porsche works team , Collard was allowed to drive the new Porsche 911 GT1 at the end of the season of the BPR Global GT Series in Zhuhai and won the race together with Ralf Kelleners . In the successor series called the FIA GT Championship , Collard drove a Porsche 911 GT1 from JB Racing in 1997 with alternating teammates , but remained unsuccessful. After a single outing at Roock Racing in 1998, he drove a Porsche 996 GT3-RS from Freisinger Motorsport in two races in 2002 . With Stéphane Ortelli he first won in Anderstorp and a short time later achieved an even greater success when he achieved third overall place with Romain Dumas and Ortelli as well as the class win at the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race . In 2003 he played half a season with EMKA Racing and won a race. In the 2004 season, Collard started again for Freisinger Motorsport, where he had his most successful season to date with three class wins. He was able to celebrate again at Spa-Francorchamps with Ortelli and Dumas, among others, and finally achieved second place in the drivers' standings in the N-GT class . In Group M Racing , Collard won two races in 2005 and scored one win for Ebimotors the following season . In the 2007 season, with Marc Lieb and Matteo Malucelli at BMS Scuderia Italia, he achieved his third victory at the season highlight of the FIA ​​GT Championship. In 2008, Collard joined Richard Westbrook at Prospeed Competition . The first season in his new team was initially less successful and he could only get one win with Westbrook. With three race wins in 2009, Collard fought for the title to the end. However, at the last race in Zolder, Porsche ordered Collard to be put in the Brixia Racing car to increase the probability of a Porsche driver winning. While Westbrook won the race and secured the championship, Collard was only sixth and had to be content without the title, although he and his teammate Westbrook had competed the entire season up to then.

American Le Mans Series

In 2000, Collard made his American Le Mans Series debut for DAMS . There he drove a Cadillac Northstar LMP with Éric Bernard , but without much success. The following year he started his season with Alex Job Racing and achieved class victory at the 12-hour race in Sebring with Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen in the Porsche 996 GT3-RS . He later shared a cockpit in the Cadillac with Christophe Tinseau , but had no chance against the superior Audi R8 and Panoz LMP-1 . Until Cadillac withdrew from the ALMS, Collard played another season with Bernard in 2002, but did not come out on a fourth place at the Petit Le Mans . Since 2006, Collard has been back on individual ALMS assignments. He supports the regular Penske Racing drivers in the Porsche RS Spyder at the two highlights of the season. In 2006, Collard celebrated class victory at the Petit Le Mans with Timo Bernhard and Maassen. In Sebring, Collard achieved one of the greatest successes of his career in 2008 when he clinched overall victory with Romain Dumas and Bernhard and was able to beat the much more powerful Audi R10 TDI .

Le Mans Series

In the newly founded Le Mans Series , Collard began the 2004 season with a job at Pescarolo Sport . He spent the rest of the season at Freisinger Motorsport and achieved class victory in the GT category with Ortelli at the 1000 km race in Spa-Francorchamps . From 2005 Collard played a full season for Pescarolo. He and his teammate Jean-Christophe Boullion won two races, which was enough to win the championship. In 2006, Collard and Boullion dominated the championship at will and decided all five races for themselves. So they managed to defend their title with a clear margin. In 2007, however, the team had to admit defeat to the Peugeot works team, which won every race with the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP . In 2008, Collard and Boullion had no chance either, as the Audi R10 TDI from Joest Racing now also took part in the series in addition to the Peugeot . Collard started in the Porsche RS Spyder in 2009 as part of the preparation program for the 24-hour race of Le Mans at the 1000 kilometers of Spa. Casper Elgaard , Kristian Poulsen and Collard finished the race as winners in the LMP2 category .

Le Mans 24 hour race

In 1995 Collard first took part in the Le Mans 24-hour race ; the finish was denied him. But the following year he reached the goal and finished the race in seventh place. In 1997 he entered the Porsche works team with a 911 GT1, in which he shared the cockpit with Yannick Dalmas and Ralf Kelleners. However, while in the lead, a fire broke out in the cockpit that morning, forcing the team to give up. From 1998 Collard started for Toyota in the GT-One . Martin Brundle and Éric Hélary were in promising positions in their debut year, but after 14 hours the team dropped out due to an accident. The following year, Collard, Brundle and Vincenzo Sospiri started the race from pole position and were eliminated after 90 laps due to a puncture. From 2000 Collard started for DAMS in the Cadillac Northstar LMP. However, the car was not yet fully developed, so that Collard with Éric Bernard and Franck Montagny only achieved 19th place. The following year, Marc Goossens , Bernard and Collard's Cadillac had to be taken out of the race after just a few hours due to an accident. When the vehicle was a little more competitive in 2002, the team JJ Lehto , Bernard and Collard improved to twelfth place. In 2003, Collard had a single participation in the Le Mans 24 Hours for Alex Job Racing. Towards the end of the race, Sascha Maassen, Lucas Luhr and Collard were in 14th place in the Porsche 996 GT3-RS and were able to celebrate class victory in the GT category .

From 2004 to 2008 Collard started exclusively for Pescarolo Sport. On his first Le Mans participation for Pescarolo, however, Collard and his teammates Sébastien Bourdais , Nicolas Minassian , dropped out. In 2005, Érik Comas , Jean-Christophe Boullion and Collard were close to victory when they covered just two laps less than the victorious Audi R8 and finished second. A year later, Collard, Minassian and Comas finished fifth, 28 laps back. In 2007, Collard reached the podium again when he finished the race with Romain Dumas and Boullion in third place. The same team started again in 2008, but dropped out after 238 laps. After winning the Spa 1000 km, Collard competed in Le Mans with Casper Elgaard and Kristian Poulsen in 2009. As the fastest LMP2 driver, Collard qualified the now green and white painted Porsche RS Spyder in 20th place. The trio of drivers finished the race in tenth place overall and won the LMP2 category .

In the 2017 race , where he survived a serious accident uninjured, he had his 23rd race start at Le Mans.

Nürburgring long distance

In 2003 Collard drove for the first time on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring. With Lucas Luhr and Timo Bernhard, he was in 2003 in the team Manthey Racing third in the 24-hour race . In 2005 he contested this 24-hour race for Manthey Racing for the second time. With his teammates Marcel Tiemann , Lucas Luhr and Marcel Tiemann, Collard was in the lead for a long time until an engine failure that morning threw the team back to ninth place. In 2008, Collard took part in the HISAQ Competition team with Frank Stippler and Richard Westbrook in a race in the BFGoodrich Endurance Championship , which the team finished second. A little later he started for the same team in the 24-hour race. The quartet of Marino Franchitti , Stippler, Westbrook and Collard were in the lead for a long time until a gearbox damage threw the car out of the race that night. Back at Manthey Racing, Collard drove a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S of the GT3 group in two races of the endurance championship at the beginning of the 2009 season . In this vehicle, Collard competed in the same year with Wolf Henzler , Richard Lietz and Dirk Werner in the 24-hour race, where the team took third place and was able to place on the podium. At the last round of the endurance championship, Collard shared the cockpit of the Manthey Porsche 997 GT3-RSR with Marcel Tiemann and thus achieved second place.

Other races and racing series

In 1998, Collard won the Petit Le Mans, which was still part of the IMSA GT Championship . With his teammates Eric van de Poele and Wayne Taylor , he was just in front at the end of the race in the Ferrari 333 SP. In 1998 and 1999 he won the FIA sports car championship with Vincenzo Sospiri in a Ferrari 333 SP . Collard achieved another success in 1999 at the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race, which at that time was not yet part of a racing series. In 2005, Collard won the Daytona 24-hour race with Max Angelelli and Taylor . In 2009 he started again in Daytona and achieved second place in the GT class .

successes

• 1988: Formula A kart world champion
• 1990: French Formula Renault champion
• 1996: Champion of the Porsche Supercup
• 1998: Winner of the Petit Le Mans
• 1998: Champion of the FIA ​​Sports Car Championship
• 1999: Champion of the FIA ​​Sports Car Championship
• 1999: Winner of the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race
• 2002: 3rd place in the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race (class win)
• 2003: 3rd place in the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring
• 2004: 3rd place in the 24-hour race of Spa-Francorchamps (class win)
• 2005: Winner of the Daytona 24 Hours
• 2005: 2nd place in the Le Mans 24-hour race
• 2005: Champion of the Le Mans Series
• 2006: Champion of the Le Mans Series
• 2007: 3rd place in the Le Mans 24-hour race
• 2008: Winner of the Sebring 12-hour race
• 2009: 3rd place in the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1995	Larbre Compétition	Porsche 911 GT2	Dominique Dupuy	Stéphane Ortelli	failure	accident
1996	La Filière Elf	Courage C36	Franck Lagorce	Henri Pescarolo	Rank 7
1997	Porsche AG	Porsche 911 GT1	Yannick Dalmas	Ralf Kelleners	failure	Vehicle fire
1998	Toyota Motorsport GmbH	Toyota GT-One	Martin Brundle	Eric Helary	failure	accident
1999	Toyota Motorsport GmbH	Toyota GT-One	Martin Brundle	Vincenzo Sospiri	failure	Tire damage
2000	DAMS	Cadillac Northstar LMP	Eric Bernard	Franck Montagny	Rank 19
2001	DAMS	Cadillac Northstar LMP	Eric Bernard	Marc Goossens	failure	accident
2002	DAMS	Cadillac Northstar LMP	Eric Bernard	JJ Lehto	Rank 12
2003	Alex Job Racing	Porsche 996 GT3 RS	Lucas Luhr	Sascha Maassen	14th place and class win
2004	Pescarolo sport	Courage C60	Sébastien Bourdais	Nicolas Minassian	failure
2005	Pescarolo sport	Pescarolo C60	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Érik Comas	Rank 2
2006	Pescarolo sport	Pescarolo C60	Érik Comas	Nicolas Minassian	Rank 5
2007	Pescarolo sport	Pescarolo 01	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Romain Dumas	Rank 3
2008	Pescarolo sport	Pescarolo 01	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Romain Dumas	failure
2009	Team Essex	Porsche RS Spyder	Casper Elgaard	Kristian Poulsen	Rank 10 and class win
2010	Corvette Racing	Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1	Oliver Gavin	Olivier Beretta	failure	accident
2011	Pescarolo team	Pescarolo 01	Christophe Tinseau	Julien Jousse	failure	accident
2012	Pescarolo team	Pescarolo 03	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Stuart Hall	failure	Engine failure
2013	Prospeed Competition	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	François Perrodo	Sébastien Crubilé	Rank 36
2014	Prospeed Competition	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	François Perrodo	Markus Palttala	failure	suspension
2015	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	François Perrodo	Rui Águas	Rank 26
2016	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	François Perrodo	Rui Águas	Rank 27
2017	TDS Racing	Oreca 07	François Perrodo	Matthieu Vaxivière	failure	accident

Sebring results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
2000	Motorola DAMS	Cadillac Northstar LMP	Eric Bernard			failure	Clutch damage
2001	Alex Job Racing	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Lucas Luhr	Sascha Maassen		Rank 8 and class win
2002	Team Cadillac	Cadillac Northstar LMP	Eric Bernard	JJ Lehto		failure	Electrics
2006	Penske Motorsports	Porsche RS Spyder	Lucas Luhr	Sascha Maassen		failure	malfunction
2007	Penske Racing	Porsche RS Spyder	Ryan Briscoe	Sascha Maassen		Rank 21
2008	Penske Racing	Porsche RS Spyder	Timo Bernhard	Romain Dumas		Overall victory
2010	Corvette Racing	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	Oliver Gavin	Olivier Beretta		Rank 16
2012	Pescarolo sport	Pescarolo 01	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Julien Jousse		Rank 6
2017	Ebimotors	Lamborghini Huracán GT3	Emanuele Busnelli	Fabio Babini	Michele Beretta	Rank 27

Individual results in the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9
2012	Pescarolo team	Pescarolo 01 Pescarolo 03	SEB	SPA	LEM	SIL	SAO	BAH	FUJ	SHA
			6th		DNF
2013	Prospeed Competition AF Corse	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	SIL	SPA	LEM	SAO	OUT	FUJ	SHA	BAH
					36					16
2014	Prospeed Competition	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR Porsche 911 RSR	SIL	SPA	LEM	OUT	FUJ	SHA	BAH	SAO
			DNF	25th	DNF	27	19th	23	25th	17th
2015	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	SIL	SPA	LEM	ONLY	OUT	FUJ	SHA	BAH
			17th	25th	26th	25th	23	24	21st	29
2016	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	SIL	SPA	LEM	ONLY	MEX	OUT	FUJ	SHA	BAH
			22nd	20th	27	25th	23	28	25th	25th	28
2017	TDS Racing	Oreca 07	SIL	SPA	LEM	ONLY	MEX	OUT	FUJ	SHA	BAH
			6th	15th	DNF	12	11	11	8th	10	13
2019/20	AF Corse	Ferrari 488 GTE EVO	SIL	FUJ	SHA	BAH	OUT	SEB	SPA	LEM
			18th

Web links

Commons : Emmanuel Collard  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• official homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Oliver Rutschke: http://www.speedweekmagazin.com/news/8072/Der-traurige-Champion.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Status: October 26, 2009