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SIMON PAGENAUD – FRANCE
Born: May 18, 1984 |
Career Highlights:
• 2011 Runner-up Le Mans 24-hour
• 2010 ALMS Champion with Highcroft Racing
• 2009 ALMS Championship Runner up
• 2007 Most Improved Driver award in the Champ Car World Series
Interesting Facts:
• Raced on the streets of the Gold Coast in 2007 as part of the Champ Car World Series with the Team Australia outfit
• Won the Champ Car Atlantic Championship for Team Australia/Walker Racing in 2006
• Won the 2010 American Le Mans Series title alongside Australia’s David Brabham
After a successful junior karting career, Pagenaud won the prestigious ACO Elf Driving Selection in 2001 and finished second in the French Formula Renault Campus. He was rookie of the year in French Formula Renault the following season. He battled with F1 star Lewis Hamilton in the Formula Renault Masters in 2003 on his way to finishing third, and finished sixth overall in the French championship.
He scored five wins in 2004 contesting both the French and European championships – finishing second in the Euro standings. His final European season was in World Series by Renault in 2005 where he scored five top-five results.
Pagenaud came to America in 2006 to contest the Champ Car Atlantic Championship with Team Australia/Walker Racing. He quickly became a force to be reckoned with, showing remarkable consistency. The Frenchman scored one win, one pole position, eight front row starts and collected nine top-five finishes on his way to taking the championship and rookie of the year prizes.
That result propelled him into the Champ Car World Series in 2007 with the same team. Pagenaud led four races on his way to eighth in the championship and was voted by his peers as the most improved driver in the series, for a season that included a race on the streets of the Gold Coast.
Pagenaud marked himself as an ALMS star of the future when he was selected to join Gil de Ferran’s new Acura team in 2008. The Frenchman showed impressive speed in his debut race at Salt Lake City and finished the season with one pole, four front row starts and three podium finishes in the LMP2 class. He also contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time, sharing an Oreca LMP1 car with ex-Formula One driver Olivier Panis and Marcel Fassler that same year and then has been back regularly as a member of the factory Peugeot team.
Simon Pagenaud was a thorn in the side of Highcroft Racing in 2009 as the team fought hard for the ALMS crown. Pagenaud took five race wins, seven pole positions, seven fastest laps – but lost the championship title to Highcroft Racing before joining the team for 2010 alongside David Brabham and the pair charged on to another championship victory on the back of four wins in the most competitive season in American Le Mans Series history. His last lap pass for the win at Long Beach on Adrian Fernandez was a season highlight. Pagenaud has been just as impressive back in Europe as a member of the factory Peugeot team taking multiple LMS wins