| Franck Montagny | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Montagny at the2011 24 Hours of Le Mans driver parade | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-01-05)5 January 1978 (age 47) Feurs,Loire, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Franck Montagny (born 5 January 1978) is a French former racing driver. He briefly raced for theSuper AguriFormula One team in2006.
Born inFeurs,Loire, Montagny started racingkarts there in 1988, winning the cadet class in the French Karting Championship in 1992, and the National 1 class the following year.
He made his debut in cars in 1994, aged 16, promptly winning the French Renault Campus championship. The next two years were spent inFormula Renault, with finishes in fourth (the highest-finishing rookie that year) and sixth (despite missing half the season with multiple fractures obtained in an accident at Le Mans) respectively, before transferring up to FrenchFormula Three in 1997 with theLa FilièreMartini team, debuting with another fourth place championship finish.
Montagny had a breakthrough year inFormula Three in 1998, including apole position at theSpa-Francorchamps race ahead of much more experienced drivers includingMark Webber,Luciano Burti,Enrique Bernoldi andPeter Dumbreck. He repeated the feat in theZandvoort Masters in theNetherlands later that year, beating then German Formula Three championNick Heidfeld. He consistently outpaced long-time teammateSébastien Bourdais and ended the season with 10 wins from 22 races, including 12 pole positions, finishing the championship as runner-up behind David Saelens.
Montagny moved up toFormula 3000 in 1999, driving for theDAMS team which was falling from its peak by then. One podium finish at theHungaroring was his main success; he totalled only 6 points and tenth place that season. He however ended the year with success in the Elf Masters Karting atParis-Bercy.
A repeat of his unsuccessful year in Formula 3000 prompted a move toWorld Series by Nissan in 2001, signing for the Epsilon by Graff team. He won 8 races out of a possible 16, and beatTomas Scheckter to the championship. He changed teams for 2002 to Racing Engineering, but was beaten into second place in the championship byRicardo Zonta. He supplemented this with a sixth-place finish forOreca at theLe Mans 24 hours.
Montagny returned to the World Series by Nissan in 2003 with Gabord Competicion, and secured his second championship title with nine victories, ahead ofHeikki Kovalainen. This performance earned him a test with theRenault Formula One team, in which he impressed sufficiently to earn a contract as a test driver in 2003, moving up to become third driver during the2004 &2005 seasons. He did an impressive one-off forJordan as third driver on the Friday of the2005 European Grand Prix, clocking a quicker time thanNarain Karthikeyan andTiago Monteiro, the official Jordan drivers.
In mid-2004, as part of his Renault F1 testing duties, Montagny became the chief test and development driver for the newGP2 Series, which would be powered by Renault engines. Montagny was the first driver to take the wheel of the car, and along with former F1 driver and ex-Renault F1 tester and Friday driverAllan McNish, divided testing duties between them, before the GP2 Series was officially launched in 2005. Much of the success of the championship and the drivability of the car has been placed on the development skills of Montagny. This was further evidenced at the start of the 2006 GP2 Series season, when Montagny was called in to test for the newly createdFMS International team, to aid them and their drivers in understanding the complexities of the car, atCircuit Ricardo Tormo,Valencia, Spain, where Montagny had put in hundreds of testing laps in his time with Renault F1.
For 2006,Super Aguri took Montagny on as third driver; however, he was promoted to full race driver in May after it was announced thatYuji Ide was to drop back into testing; Ide was demoted at the behest of the governing body who considered him insufficiently experienced for Formula One. Montagny hence competed in his first Grand Prix, the2006 European Grand Prix on 7 May, qualifying last and retiring with a hydraulics problem. He did not finish his second race2006 Spanish Grand Prix: after a great start, enabling him to gain 3 positions, he retired on lap 10 with a mechanical failure. It was third time lucky for him at theMonaco Grand Prix, when he finished the 78-lap race in 16th place, three laps behind the leader.
During the break between theBritish Grand Prix and theCanadian Grand Prix, Montagny was able to participate in theLe Mans 24 Hours, finishing second forPescarolo Sport behind only the dominatingAudi factoryR10s. He was the first active Formula One driver to also participate at Le Mans in the same year sinceMark Blundell in 1995.
On 12 July, Super Aguri announced thatSakon Yamamoto would replace him from theGerman Grand Prix onwards. Montagny did not appear in his role as third driver for the next two weekends as only two Super Aguri SA06s were available but a third chassis was prepared during the summer break enabling him to reprise this role at theTurkish Grand Prix.
Montagny tested forToyota F1 in September 2006 atSilverstone. A month later, Toyota confirmed that he would join the team as test driver for the2007 season, asOlivier Panis andRicardo Zonta were leaving the team. After spending 2007 as a test driver, Montagny left the team after a test at theCircuit de Catalunya in November.[1] He was still interested in gaining a drive in F1,[2] and had been linked with theRenault F1 team for the 2010 season,[3] but Renault signedVitaly Petrov.
Montagny competed in the finalChamp Car World Series race, held at the Long Beach circuit on April 20, 2008. He finished second in his first appearance in a race in the United States, five seconds behind AustralianWill Power. In June, he drove thePeugeot 908 HDi FAP at the2008 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished in the third place withRicardo Zonta andChristian Klien.
Montagny made his debut in theAmerican Le Mans Series withAndretti Green Racing at the2008 Northeast Grand Prix atLime Rock Park in July 2008, driving anAcura ARX-01B.[4]
He made hisIndyCar Series debut in 2009 at theIndy Grand Prix of Sonoma atInfineon Raceway withAndretti Green Racing.
Montagny has signed up to drive theGirondins de Bordeaux entry in theSuperleague Formula for the2010 season.[5]
In May 2014,Andretti Autosport announced that Montagny would race for them in the inaugural season of theFIA Formula E Championship in 2014–15.[6] He raced for the team inBeijing andPutrajaya, scoring a podium in Beijing and scoring 18 points overall in the two races. However, he was replaced inPunta del Este byJean-Éric Vergne. It was not immediately known why, but Montagny later admitted that hetested positive forbenzoylecgonine, a cocaine derivative after the Putrajaya ePrix.[7] In March 2015, Montagny was given a two-year ban from racing, and was also disqualified from the Putrajaya race, in which he initially placed fifteenth.[8]
Montagny now works as a pit lane summariser and expert for French television.[9]
** Team standings
† Championship merged into theIndyCar Series after one race.
‡ Not Eligible for points
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | DAMS | LMP | Lola B98/10 | Judd GV4 4.0 L V10 | SEB | ATL | MOS | SON | POR | PET Ret | MON | LSV | NC | 0 | [13] | ||||
| 2000 | MotorolaDAMS | LMP | Cadillac Northstar LMP | CadillacNorthstar 4.0 L Turbo V8 | SEB | CHA | SIL | NÜR 5 | SON | MOS | TEX | ROS | PET | MON | LSV | ADE | 40th | 20 | [14] |
| 2008 | Andretti Green Racing | LMP2 | Acura ARX-01b | Acura 3.4L V8 | SEB | STP | LNB | UTA | LIM 5 | MID 7 | AME 7 | MOS 4 | DET 1 | PET 7 | MON 1 | 11th | 90 | [15] | |
| 2009 | Team PeugeotTotal | LMP1 | Peugeot 908 HDi FAP | PeugeotHDi 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel) | SEB 2 | STP | LNB | UTA | LIM | MID | AME | MOS | PET 1 | MON | 9th | 56 | [16] | ||
| 2010 | Team PeugeotTotal | LMP1 | Peugeot 908 HDi FAP | PeugeotHDi 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel) | SEB | LNB | MON | UTA | LIM | MID | AME | MOS | PET 1 | NC | – | [17] | |||
| 2011 | Peugeot SportTotal | LMP1 | Peugeot 908 | PeugeotHDi 3.7 L Turbo V8 (Diesel) | SEB 3 | LNB | LIM | MOS | MID | AME | BAL | MON | PET 1 | NC | – | [18] | |||
| 2012 | Level 5 Motorsports | P2 | HPD ARX-03b | Honda HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 | SEB | LNB | MON 2 | LIM | MOS | MID | AME | BAL | VIR | PET | NC | – | [19] | ||
(key)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | DAMS | IMO 10 | MON 9 | CAT Ret | MAG 7 | SIL 6 | A1R 12 | HOC 6 | HUN 3 | SPA Ret | NÜR 9 | 12th | 6 |
| 2000 | DAMS | IMO Ret | SIL 7 | CAT 6 | NÜR Ret | MON 6 | MAG 4 | A1R 17 | HOC Ret | HUN 12 | SPA Ret | 15th | 5 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Epsilon by Graff | JAR 1 1 | JAR 2 1 | EST 1 5 | EST 2 4 | ALB 1 9 | ALB 2 1 | VAL1 1 Ret | VAL1 2 1 | MZA 1 Ret | MZA 2 1 | MAG 1 1 | MAG 2 1 | CAT 1 5 | CAT 2 1 | VAL2 1 2 | VAL2 2 Ret | 1st | 211 | ||
| 2002 | Racing Engineering | VAL1 1 2 | VAL1 2 1 | JAR 1 2 | JAR 2 12 | ALB 1 5 | ALB 2 4 | MZA 1 2 | MZA 2 1 | MAG 1 3 | MAG 2 1 | CAT 1 5 | CAT 2 4 | VAL2 1 7 | VAL2 2 5 | CUR 1 6 | CUR 2 2 | INT 1 1 | INT 2 3 | 2nd | 204 |
| 2003 | Gabord Competición | JAR1 1 1 | JAR1 2 1 | ZOL 1 Ret | ZOL 2 1 | MAG 1 1 | MAG 2 1 | MZA 1 1 | MZA 2 13 | LAU 1 1 | LAU 2 2 | A1R 1 7 | A1R 2 1 | CAT 1 1 | CAT 2 5 | VAL 1 3 | VAL 1 DNS | JAR2 1 Ret | JAR2 2 Ret | 1st | 241 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Mild Seven Renault F1 Team | RenaultR23 | RenaultV10 | AUS | MAL | BRA | SMR | ESP | AUT | MON | CAN | EUR | FRA TD | GBR | GER | HUN | ITA | USA | JPN | – | – | |||
| 2005 | Jordan Grand Prix | JordanEJ15 | ToyotaV10 | AUS | MAL | BHR | SMR | ESP | MON | EUR TD | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | BRA | JPN | CHN | – | – |
| 2006 | Super Aguri F1 Team | Super AguriSA05 | HondaV8 | BHR | MAL | AUS | SMR | EUR Ret | ESP Ret | MON 16 | GBR 18 | CAN Ret | USA Ret | FRA 16 | 27th | 0 | ||||||||
| Super AguriSA06 | GER | HUN | TUR TD | ITA TD | CHN TD | JPN TD | BRA TD | |||||||||||||||||
(key)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | France | NED SPR | NED FEA | CZE SPR | CZE FEA | MYS SPR | MYS FEA | CHN SPR | CHN FEA | NZL SPR | NZL FEA | AUS SPR | AUS FEA | RSA SPR | RSA FEA | MEX SPR | MEX FEA | CHN SPR 12 | CHN FEA 8 | GBR SPR 10 | GBR FEA 5 | 4th | 118 | [22] |
Source:[20] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(key)
| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Forsythe/Pettit Racing | Panoz | 7 | Cosworth | HMS | STP | MOT1 | LBH1 2 | KAN | INDY | MIL | TXS | IOW | RIR | WGL | NSH | MDO | EDM | KTY | SNM | DET | CHI | SRF2 | 40th | 0 | [23] |
| 2009 | Andretti Green Racing | Dallara | 25 | Honda | STP | LBH | KAN | INDY | MIL | TXS | IOW | RIR | WGL | TOR | EDM | KTY | MDO | SNM 20 | CHI | MOT | HMS | 38th | 12 | [24] | ||
| 2014 | Andretti Autosport | Dallara DW12 | 26 | STP | LBH | ALA | IMS 22 | INDY | DET | DET | TXS | HOU | HOU | POC | IOW | TOR | TOR | MDO | MIL | SNM | FON | 36th | 8 | [25] | ||
(key) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Operator | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Position | Points | Ref | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Girondins de Bordeaux | Barazi-Epsilon | SIL | ASS | MAG | JAR | NÜR | ZOL | BRH | ADR | POR | ORD | BEI † | NAV | 11th | 372 | [26] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| D | 8 | X | 14 | 3 | X | 10 | 14 | X | 17 | 1 | X | 15 | 2 | X | 5 | 14 | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Andretti Autosport | SparkSRT01-e | SRT01-e | BEI 2 | PUT DSQ | PDE | BUE | MIA | LBH | MCO | BER | MSC | LDN | LDN | 16th | 18 |
| Owner |
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|---|---|
| NTT IndyCar drivers | |
| Formula E drivers | |
| Indy NXT drivers | |
| IMSA Sportscar Championship drivers | |
| Extreme E drivers |
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| Supercars drivers | |
| Notable former drivers | |
| Indianapolis 500 wins | |
| National Championships | |
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| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Formula Campus Champion 1994 | Succeeded by Renaud Malinconi |
| Preceded by | Open Telefónica by Nissan Champion 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Superfund World Series Champion 2003 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
