Marc Gené
Gené in 2011
BornMarc Gené i Guerrero
(1974-03-29) 29 March 1974
Sabadell, Spain
Formula One World Championship career
NationalitySpain Spanish
Active years1999–2000, 2003–2004
TeamsMinardi, Williams
Entries36
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points5
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1999 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry2004 British Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2007–2014
TeamsTeam Peugeot Total, Audi Sport Team Joest
Best finish1st (2009)
Class wins1 (2009)

Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory driver for Peugeot's Le Mans team, with which he won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. His brother Jordi is also a racing driver, competing in the WTCC for SEAT. He had 36 starts in Formula One, mostly through two seasons with the Minardi team, with which he scored a sixth-place finish at the attrition-filled 1999 European Grand Prix.

Starting from the 2010 season, Gené commented on Formula One races for Spanish television on Antena 3. In 2013 he became an expert analyst for Sky Sport F1 HD in Italy. He also remains with Ferrari as their brand ambassador.

Early years

Born in Sabadell, Gené finished runner-up in the 1987 Catalan Kart Championship (National Class) at the age of 13;[1] he would win both this and the National Class Spanish Kart Championship in 1988. In 1989 he competed in both the European and World championships. Gené won the Senior Class of the 1990 Spanish Kart Championship, making him the youngest driver to do so. He competed again in the World Championship in 1991, placing 13th.

For 1992 Gené moved into Formula Ford, placing fifth in the Spanish championship with a win and two pole positions. He was runner-up in the 1993 European Championship, with one win and three podiums; also, Gené took second place at the Formula Ford World Cup and Festival.[2] In 1994, Gené was named Rookie of the Year in the British Formula 3 Championship;[1] he placed 10th in 1995. In 1996 Gené won the FISA Superformula championship, and in 1997 he competed in six rounds of the FIA Formula 3000 series, though he failed to score a point. In 1998 he won the Open Fortuna by Nissan Championship with six wins and three poles.[1]


Formula One

Gené got his big break in 1999, occupying a race seat with the Minardi team. It was a difficult year; however, after several ninth places and an eighth, he managed to score his first point, and Minardi's first since 1995, with a sixth place at the European Grand Prix, while his team-mate Luca Badoer broke down in tears after his car's gearbox failed and denied the Italian his first points finish in Formula One, as he was running in fourth place with 13 laps to go. Gené continued with Minardi in 2000, but failed to score a single point, with his best finish being eighth at the Australian and Austrian Grands Prix. His team-mate in 2000 was Argentina's Gastón Mazzacane, who also achieved a best finish of eighth, at the European Grand Prix.

Gené during practice for the 2004 British Grand Prix.

Testing

Unable to obtain a quality drive for 2001, Gené opted to sign with Williams as test driver. He drove three Grands Prix for the team as temporary substitute. The first of these was the 2003 Italian Grand Prix, where Ralf Schumacher was unable to race because of a concussion. Gené replaced his teammate well, collecting four points for a fifth-place finish, but Schumacher was back in the car for the next race in the USA. Following a back injury to Schumacher at the 2004 USGP, Gené drove in the French and British Grands Prix, but subsequently lost the race seat to Antônio Pizzonia and did not race again in F1.

Gené testing for Ferrari in 2007.

In November 2004, Gené signed a deal to become a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari alongside former teammate Luca Badoer. His contract was renewed for 2007.[3] A limit on testing in Formula One in 2007 and 2008 had restricted his involvement.

At the end of 2010, Gené along with Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella was replaced by Jules Bianchi as Ferrari test driver ahead of the 2011 season.[4]

Sportscar racing

Gené won the 2010 12 Hours of Sebring with team-mates Alexander Wurz and Anthony Davidson.

Gené has also been hired by Peugeot as a factory driver for their 908 HDi FAP Le Mans Series effort, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2007. In 2008, Gené crashed his 908 heavily in practice for the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans, but escaped with a broken toe.[5] A year later, however, there were no such problems, and the Peugeot he shared with David Brabham and Alex Wurz completed 382 laps on its way to victory in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. He completed the last stint for the team and brought the 908 home to a standing ovation from the avid French crowd, who saw one of their cars stop the recent domination of Audi in the prestigious event.

In both 2008 and 2009 he also took part in the 1000 km Spa endurance race, winning in 2008 and finishing 12th in 2009.

Career Statistics (as of 2004 British Grand Prix)

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1997 Pacific Racing SIL
13		 PAU
DNQ		 HEL 25th 0
Nordic Racing NÜR
DNQ		 PER
Ret		 HOC
8		 A1R SPA MUG JER
Ret
Sources:[6][7]

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 WDC Points
1999 Fondmetal Minardi Ford Minardi M01 Ford V10 AUS
Ret		 BRA
9		 SMR
9		 MON
Ret		 ESP
Ret		 CAN
8		 FRA
Ret		 GBR
15		 AUT
11		 GER
9		 HUN
17		 BEL
16		 ITA
Ret		 EUR
6		 MAL
9		 JPN
Ret		 17th 1
2000 Telefónica Minardi Fondmetal Minardi M02 Fondmetal V10 AUS
8		 BRA
Ret		 SMR
Ret		 GBR
14		 ESP
14		 EUR
Ret		 MON
Ret		 CAN
16†		 FRA
15		 AUT
8		 GER
Ret		 HUN
15		 BEL
14		 ITA
9		 USA
12		 JPN
Ret		 MAL
Ret		 NC 0
2003 BMW WilliamsF1 Team Williams FW25 BMW V10 AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR FRA GBR GER HUN ITA
5		 USA JPN 17th 4
2004 BMW WilliamsF1 Team Williams FW26 BMW V10 AUS MAL BHR SMR ESP MON EUR CAN USA FRA
10		 GBR
12		 GER HUN BEL ITA CHN JPN BRA 23rd 0
Sources:[6][8]

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2007 France Team Peugeot Total France Nicolas Minassian
Canada Jacques Villeneuve		 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 338 DNF DNF
2008 France Team Peugeot Total France Nicolas Minassian
Canada Jacques Villeneuve		 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 381 2nd 2nd
2009 France Team Peugeot Total Australia David Brabham
Austria Alexander Wurz		 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 382 1st 1st
2010 France Team Peugeot Total United Kingdom Anthony Davidson
Austria Alexander Wurz		 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 360 DNF DNF
2011 France Peugeot Sport Total United Kingdom Anthony Davidson
Austria Alexander Wurz		 Peugeot 908 LMP1 351 4th 4th
2012 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest France Romain Dumas
France Loïc Duval		 Audi R18 ultra LMP1 366 5th 5th
2013 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
Brazil Lucas di Grassi		 Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 347 3rd 3rd
2014 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Denmark Tom Kristensen
Brazil Lucas di Grassi		 Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1-H 376 2nd 2nd
Sources:[6][9]

Complete Le Mans Series results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2007 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Peugeot 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel) MON
1		 VAL
Ret		 NÜR
2		 SPA
Ret		 SIL
1		 MIL
1		 4th 33
2008 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Peugeot 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel) CAT
1		 MON
5		 SPA
1		 NÜR
2		 SIL
Ret		 3rd 32
2010 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Peugeot 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel) CAS SPA
4		 ALG HUN SIL 22nd 15
2011 Peugeot Sport Total LMP1 Peugeot 908 Peugeot HDI 3.7 L Turbo V8
(Diesel)		 CAS SPA
1		 IMO SIL EST NC 0
Source:[6]

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2012 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6
(Hybrid Diesel)		 SEB SPA
1		 LMS
4		 SIL SÃO BHR FUJ SHA 11th 49
2013 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6
(Hybrid Diesel)		 SIL SPA
3		 LMS
3		 SÃO CTA FUJ SHA BHR 9th 45
2014 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 4.0 L Turbo V6
(Hybrid Diesel)		 SIL SPA LMS
2		 COA FUJ SHA BHR SÃO 12th 36
Source:[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "Marc Gene Profile". thescuderia.net. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Gene stays at Ferrari – but to do what?". Grandprix.com. 10 November 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2006.
  4. ↑ English, Steven (11 November 2010). "Ferrari confirms Bianchi as 2011 tester". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  5. ↑ "Gene hospitalised after Le Mans crash". autosport.com. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Marc Gene Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Marc Gene". Motor Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Marc Gene – Grands Prix started". StatsF1. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Marc Gené". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marc Gené.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.