Olivier Grouillard: Formula One, CART and the Sports Car Years

Olivier Grouillard was a French driver who raced in Formula One from 1989 to 1992, spent a season in CART and then built most of his career in sports cars. He scored a single world championship point, at the French Grand Prix, before moving to American open-wheel racing. He raced sports cars until he retired at the end of 2001.

Who was Olivier Grouillard?

Olivier Grouillard was born on 2 September 1958 in Fenouillet, Haute-Garonne. His Formula One years ran from 1989 to 1992, he raced in CART during 1993, and he moved into sports cars from 1994 until he stopped after 2001. He became best known for his endurance racing results.

He started racing karts as a teenager, and his junior single-seater results carried him up to Formula One. Later his career moved from open-wheel machinery to prototype and GT sports cars.

A French driver whose Formula One career produced one world championship point and whose real strength was endurance racing.

How did Grouillard start in motorsport?

He began karting at the age of 14 and entered the Volant Elf series in 1981. He moved to Formula Renault in 1982 and won the title, which opened the way into single-seater racing at a higher level.

In 1983 he joined the ORECA team in French Formula 3, driving a Martini Mk39 with Alfa Romeo power. He finished fourth with 33 points. The following year he drove a Martini Mk42 to the French F3 title, scoring 108 points across the season.

What did Grouillard do in Formula 3000 and touring cars?

Grouillard raced in Formula 3000 from 1985 to 1988, taking wins and regular points in the later seasons. BMW also gave him works and semi-works M3 touring cars, which he raced in 1987 world touring car events and in 1988 European touring car events.

The 1985 season was the inaugural year of the F3000 category. Grouillard spent most of it in qualifying, where he was often in the midfield, but his races were good and reliable. In 1986 he moved to Formula Team Ltd in a Lola T86/50 Cosworth. At Mugello he finished fourth after an early lead, and at the Osterreichring he took sixth. The team was short of money, and he finished the year on four points.

ORECA took him back for 1987, when he drove a March 87B with Cosworth power, but his results fell away despite strong qualifying. In 1988 he joined GBDA Motorsport in a Lola T88/50 Cosworth. He was again quick in qualifying and scored points regularly, with wins along the way. That year also brought a bad weekend at the Birmingham Superprix. He suffered bruised ankles in a crash, then an engine failure sent him scrambling to the pits for a replacement, and he did not start the race.

How did Grouillard perform in his first Formula One season?

In 1989 Grouillard drove for Ligier, replacing Stefan Johansson alongside Rene Arnoux. He qualified 22nd for the Brazilian opener and finished ninth. His best result came at his home race, the French Grand Prix, where he started 17th and drove to sixth place, which gave him his only World Championship point.

Other weekends were harder. At Imola he was disqualified after his car was touched by mechanics during the red flag period, which followed Gerhard Berger's accident at Tamburello. He was outside the top ten in qualifying at Monaco and Mexico, where he finished eighth. He failed to qualify at Phoenix and Montreal, and for the last six races he rarely qualified higher than 20th. At Adelaide he spun repeatedly in practice, in the wet warm-up and in the race itself.

Why did Grouillard get a reputation as a blocker?

Grouillard was known for rarely using his mirrors, which meant he often held up faster cars in qualifying and races. The habit was seen as a trait he had picked up from Arnoux, whose reputation as a blocker was already established by the end of his own Formula One career.

The clearest example came at Spa in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. He stayed on the racing line while Nelson Piquet was on his last flying lap. Piquet spun on the dirty line, shook his fist as he passed, and lost his chances in qualifying and the race. It was the first of several incidents that were blamed on Grouillard's mirror use.

What happened in his Osella and Fondmetal seasons?

In 1990 Grouillard joined Osella, taking the seat vacated by Nicola Larini, who moved to Ligier. Osella had no team-mate for him because of its financial problems, so he had to pre-qualify for every race. He qualified eighth at Phoenix, which surprised many observers, but retired after collisions with Riccardo Patrese and Gregor Foitek.

He also blocked Nigel Mansell in qualifying at Imola, ruining a Ferrari run, and he finished 13th at the season-ending Australian Grand Prix, where he again held up Mansell and drew a fist-shake from the Briton. Wheel bearing problems troubled the car through the year.

In 1991 the team was bought out and renamed Fondmetal, and it raced the previous year's car at first. Grouillard failed to pre-qualify at Phoenix and Interlagos. He qualified tenth at Mexico, his best of the year, but mechanical trouble meant starting from the pit lane, and an engine failure ended his race after 14 laps. He finished a lap down in tenth at Spa and retired at Monza with an engine failure seven laps from the end.

At Portugal the team gave him a spare gearbox after the first one failed, and a dispute over the new unit led to his dismissal by team boss Gabriele Rumi a few days later. He joined AGS for the Catalunya race in place of Gabriele Tarquini. He was the slowest of the pre-qualifiers, behind new team-mate Fabrizio Barbazza, and AGS folded before the team could reach Japan and Australia.

Did Grouillard finish his Formula One career at Tyrrell?

Yes. Ken Tyrrell signed him for 1992 to drive an Ilmor-powered Tyrrell 020B alongside Andrea de Cesaris. He finished at San Marino, Canada, France and Britain, but collisions and spins in other rounds left him with a poor reputation among rivals, and he quit the sport's top level once the year was over.

He often qualified in the midfield and learned from de Cesaris's experience. The car suffered its share of mechanical problems. Spain brought a wall impact, Hungary brought contact with Karl Wendlinger's March, Spa saw a first-lap spin and Adelaide ended with Pierluigi Martini's Dallara touching his car. Grouillard and other French drivers also campaigned to save the French motorcycle Grand Prix after new anti-tobacco laws put it at risk.

Did Grouillard race in CART?

He did in 1993, when he drove a Lola T92/00 for the Indy Regency Team in the CART PPG World Series. He did not qualify for the Indianapolis 500, but he finished eight of the 11 events he entered and ended the season 28th overall with four points.

His car was reliable for much of the year. The only mechanical retirement came at Michigan, and he collided with Arie Luyendyk at Vancouver. Unable to make a lasting mark in CART, he returned to Europe for 1994.

What did Grouillard achieve in sports cars?

His best results came in endurance racing from 1994 to 2001. His programme included BPR Global GT rounds, FIA GT races, Japanese GT, the American Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His most notable finishes were a second at Brands Hatch, a victory at Silverstone and a fourth place at Le Mans in 2000.

In 1994 he drove for the Agusta Racing Team in a Venturi 600LM, taking second at Montlhery with Christophe Bouchut and fifth at Vallelunga. At Le Mans he shared a Jacadi Racing Venturi with Michel Ferte and Michel Neugarten, but engine problems ended their race. He had also qualified fifth at Le Mans in 1990 with Martin Donnelly and Kenny Acheson, although gearbox problems stopped the trio starting.

In 1995 he drove a McLaren F1 GTR for the Giroix Racing Team Jacadi with Fabien Giroix. Jarama brought fifth and the Nurburgring second, and Jean-Denis Deletraz joined the pair at Le Mans, where they also finished fifth. Later that year he joined Mach One Racing alongside Andy Wallace. The new partnership won all three rounds it entered, and Grouillard scored 91 points for 14th overall.

The following season Mach One gained Harrods as a sponsor and took a victory at Silverstone, followed by a sixth at Le Mans with Derek Bell, a fourth at Anderstorp, a third at Suzuka and a second at Brands Hatch. He finished eighth in the championship with 106 points. He also entered the Daytona race with Derek Hill and Gildo Pastor Pallanca, but a transmission problem ended the effort early.

In 1997 he joined Dave Price Racing in a Panoz GTP Ford in the FIA GT Championship alongside David Brabham and Perry McCarthy. He also finished second at Suzuka in the Japanese GT series in a Toyota Supra with Masami Kageyama. At Le Mans that year he drove a Courage C36 Porsche for Mario and Michael Andretti, and his race ended after fifteen and a half hours.

He returned to Le Mans in 1998, teaming with Henri Pescarolo and Franck Montagny in a Courage C36 Porsche entered by La Filiere, and finished 16th. In 2000 he raced a Courage C52 Peugeot in the American Le Mans Series with Sebastien Bourdais, taking sixth at Silverstone and then fourth at Le Mans.

How do Grouillard's main results compare?