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Marc Gené i Guerrero (born March 29, 1974 in Sabadell, Spain) is a motor racing driver, from Catalonia, Spain, best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One and a factory driver for Peugeot's Le Mans team. 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.
As part of a deal signed between Scuderia Ferrari and SKY Italia, Marc Gené comments the F1 races on SKY Sport, along with the journalist Carlo Vanzini.
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Early years
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. Gene 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 Three Championship[1]; he placed 10th in 1995. In 1996 Gené won the FISA Superformula championship, and in 1997 he competed in five 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. He continued with Minardi in 2000, but failed to score a single point.
Testing
Unable to obtain a quality drive for 2001, Gené opted to sign with Williams as test driver. He has, however, driven some Grands Prix for Williams. 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 2004 French and British Grands Prix, but subsequently lost the race seat to Antônio Pizzonia and hasn't raced since.
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 has restricted his involvement. For 2010, he is linked with a race seat at Formula One newcomers Campos Grand Prix for 2010.[4]
Other racing
Gené has also been hired by Peugeot as a factory driver for their 908 Le Mans Series effort, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Continuing for 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 for Marc, 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 1000km Spa endurance race, winning in 2008 and finishing 12th in 2009.
Career Statistics (as of 2004 British Grand Prix)
- Grands Prix started: 36
- Points: 5
- Best Championship position: 17th (2003)
- Most points in one season: 4 (2003)
- Best race classification: 5th (2003 Italian Grand Prix)
- Best grid position: 5th (2003 Italian Grand Prix)
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 |
18th | 1 | ||
| 2000 | Telefonica 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 |
19th | 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 |
References
- ^ a b c http://www.risicompetizione.com/go/gene.cfm
- ^ http://manor-motorsport.com/#/1991-1995/4514638440
- ^ "Gene stays at Ferrari - but to do what?". Grandprix.com. 2006-11-10. http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns17750.html. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
- ^ "De la Rosa for Campos?". grandprix.com. 2009-07-06. http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21612.html. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ "Gene hospitalised after Le Mans crash". autosport.com. 2008-06-01. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67928. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marc Gené |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None |
Open Fortuna by Nissan Champion 1998 |
Succeeded by Fernando Alonso |
| Preceded by Allan McNish Rinaldo Capello Tom Kristensen |
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2009 with: David Brabham Alexander Wurz |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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