2005/06: Paul Belmondo Racing (PBR)

Email to a friend | Bookmark this page | Print this page

PBR was formed at the start of the 1999 season and was jointly owned by former Formula One racing driver Paul Belmondo and Industrialist/racer Claude-Yves Gosselin.

PAUL BELMONDO RACING

PBR earned the reputation of being one of the most professional sports car racing teams in the business. Since its formation, it contested four seasons in the FIA GT Championship, taking three overall race victories, finishing on the podium no less than 20 times and completing the 2000 season as championship runners-up. PBR also successfully contested the ultra-competitive BelCar Championship, taking first and second in the championship in 2003, while in 2004 it contested the LMS series for the first time, proving competitive and gaining valuable experience in the series.

 

In 2004 the team took a big step from only running GT-specification machines - having successfully campaigned Porsches, Ferraris and Chrysler Vipers - to also running Sports Prototype-specification cars.

The PBR cars look broadly similar to the Audi R8 that Gulf sponsored in 2001 but contested in the lightweight LMP2 category which had been the most keenly contested of all of the sports prototype categories in recent times - especially at Le Mans Itself, where no less than 15 cars were entered.

The Courage C65 is a different prospect altogether, with its powerful 500bhp, three-litre, V8 Mecachrome-Ford engine, sequential six-speed gearbox and F1-derived composite chassis technology. At Le Mans, the cars  geared to reach speeds close to 200mph (320kmh) and with the official support from tyre giant Pirelli.

 

Paul Belmondo Racing nominated six drivers for the 2006 season, providing the team with what it hoped would be an unbeatable mixture of youth and experience.
 
Frenchmen Claude-Yves Gosselin, Pierre Ragues, and Saudi Arabia's Karim Ojjeh were the line up in the number 36 machine, while Paul Belmondo, Yann Clairay and Didier André completed an all-French line-up in the number 37 sister machine.

The Team Leaders - Belmondo and Gosselin - brought a wealth of experience with them. Paul Belmondo raced in most single-seater categories, up to and including Formula One, and he has participated in eight Le Mans 24 Hours. Gosselin meanwhile, had six years of FIA GT racing experience as well as three Spa 24 Hours and single-seater experiences up to Formula 3000 level.

Didier André is once again shared the number 37 car with Paul Belmondo. André joined the team after racing in the US-based Indycar series and proved to be competitive in everything he had driven.

In the number 36 machine, Karim Ojjeh again lined up alongside Claude-Yves Gosselin. The Swiss-based Saudi Arabian driver, a former Formula Palmer Audi and GT racer, were expected to be one of the most consistent performers and also a superb ambassador for the team.

Two rapid young French drivers complete this year's line up. Yann Clairay made one appearance for the team last year and impressed straight away. He was joined  by Pierre Ragues. Both men had very similar racing CVs having progressed through Formula Renault Campus in France before graduating to the Formula Renault Euro Series in 2005.

 

Paul Belmondo Racing has its own, purpose-built facility in Caen, France and the team boasted not only a first-rate preparation workshop but also the support necessary to ensure that its commercial partners could maximise their involvement. Along with the immaculate transporters which advertise their partners' brands wherever the team goes, the PBR travelling "roadshow" boasted a bespoke F1-style mobile hospitality unit which catered for up to 200 guests with its own chefs, catering staff, offices and media facilities. PBR acquired the reputation of being one of the places to be in the sports car paddock.

PBR became one of the most commercially-aware racing teams in the sport and became successful at creating business opportunities for its sponsorship partners.