Legion of Honor for retired Michelin man Pierre DuPasquier
Pierre DuPasquier, who retired (pun intended) as Michelin's racing chief at the end of the 2005 season, will be awarded the French Legion d'Honneur in December for his immeasurable contribution to French motorsport.
DuPasquier started his career as a fighter pilot in the French Air Force. He joined Michelin's research department in 1962, then took on the role of negotiator and liaison between the tire manufacturer and carmakers using their product. He was named chief of the competition department in 1973 and (aside from a six-year interlude as product development VP for Michelin in the US) he remained in that position, a dominant force in world motorsport until his retirement last year.
Under his leadership, Michelin-equipped teams achieved thousands of victories and took about 180 titles in a wide variety of motorsports on two wheels and four, including almost 30 in rallying, 55 in motorcycle grand prix racing, 11 in Superbikes, 19 in the Cross Country Rally World Cup and seven in Formula One, having led Michelin into F1 in 1977 and again in 1999.
Felicitations, Pierre, on adding this last trophy to your cabinet!
[Source: GrandPrix.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Greg A. 9:11PM (10/11/2006)
He was Michelin's racing chief in 2005? So he's responsible (by default if not directly) for the fiasco at the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix. He's a tete du merde (pardon my French).
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Car Tires 12:28AM (10/12/2006)
This guy has been around for a while now, defiantly deserves the honor for his achievements.
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cars 12:45PM (10/12/2006)
greg a, is not his fault for 2005 US GP. there were some marketing mistakes
http://www.auto-power-girl.com/
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Richard 12:06PM (10/12/2006)
Brilliant Guy!
Great Guy!
One of very few admirable Frenchmen in my lifetime I expect.
There is a great interview of him by Biranit Goren that can likely be found in the archives on Autosport.com
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