Michel Pignard

Michel Pignard (2016)

Michel Pignard (born February 1, 1945 in Lyon ) is a former French rally and circuit racing driver .

Racing career

Michel Pignard was born to Germaine and Paul Pignard during the Second World War . His father ran a motorcycle - and car - workshop in Lyon and denied after the war, motorcycle and car races. He owned some interesting vehicles with which he competed. This included a BMW 328 and an Osca MT4 .

Michel Pignard did an apprenticeship as an automobile mechanic in his father's workshop, which was now a Volvo dealer . As a small child he was a constant guest in the workshop and his father, who had a penchant for nicknames , called him Nail Box . Later he was called Pinuche by his friends ; under this name he became known in French motorsport. In 1968 he took over his father's garage in Crépieux-la-Pape and specialized in the sale and repair of NSU models .

The racing career began in 1966 with a Volvo 144 in hill climbs . Pignard won numerous hill climbs and in the mid-1970s switched from an NSU TT to a monoposto racing car from March . With a 75S he won the Group 5/7 class in 1975 and in 1976 the overall ranking of the French Hill Climbing Championship on a 762 . He was twice runner-up in racing cars in the European Hill Climb Championship . 1975 in March behind Mauro Nesti , who contested the season with cars from Lola and Chevron . In 1980 he entered the race with a TOJ SC206 and was only beaten by Jean-Marie Alméras in a Porsche 935 . In total, he was able to win 20 individual races in the European Championship by the end of his career.

In sports car racing, he was primarily at the start in the Le Mans 24-hour race . When he was first used in 1977 , he achieved his best position in the final ranking with sixth place. This rank, achieved with partners Jacques Henry and Albert Dufréne in the Chevron B36, was synonymous with victory in the class for sports cars up to 2-liter displacement. He achieved a second success in this class in 1978 . In the 1980s he drove at Le Mans for Welter Racing , the team led by Peugeot designer Gérard Welter . In this phase the best placement was a 17th place in 1985 with Jean Rondeau and Jean-Daniel Raulet in the P85 World Championship .

He has competed in rallies throughout his career . In 1992 he won the Ronde Régionale du Jura , a run for the French rally championship, on a Citroën Visa 1000 Pistes . After the end of the 1995 season, he retired from active racing.

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1977	Racing Organization Course	Chevron B36	Jacques Henry	Albert Dufrene	Rank 6 and class win
1978	ROC La Pierre du Nord	Chevron B36	Lucien Rossiaud	Laurent Ferrier	11th place and class win
1979	WM AEREM	WM P79	Jacques Coulon	Serge Saulnier	failure	suspension
1980	Hubert Striebig	Toj SM01	Hubert Striebig	Mario Ketterer	failure	ignition
1981	WM AEREM	WM P79 / 80	Thierry Boutsen	Serge Saulnier	failure	accident
1982	WM Esso	WM P82	Didier Theys	Jean-Daniel Raulet	failure	Gearbox damage
1983	WM Secateva	WM P83	Didier Theys	Jean-Daniel Raulet	failure	Motor overheated
1984	WM Secateva	WM P83B	Pascal Pessiot	Jean-Daniel Raulet	failure	Motor overheated
1985	Welter Racing	WM P83B	Jean Rondeau	Jean-Daniel Raulet	Rank 17
1986	WM Secateva	WM P85	François Migault	Jean-Daniel Raulet	failure	Engine failure

Web links

Commons : Michel Pignard  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• About Michel Pignard (French)
• Michel Pignard at the Driver Database
• Michel Pignard at Racing Sports Cars

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rally results