Winfield Racing School
Former name | École de Pilotage Jim Russell |
---|---|
Established | 1963 |
Founders | Bill Knight, Jim Russell |
Parent institution | Winfield Group S.A. |
Location | , France 43°15′07″N 5°47′54″E / 43.2520°N 5.7983°E |
Website | https://winfieldracingschool.com/ |
The Winfield Racing School (formal name:École de Pilotage Winfield[a]) is a French school for racing drivers at Paul Ricard in France.
History
Winfield Racing School was established as École de Pilotage Jim Russell by Bill Knight,
At the time, Magny-Cours circuit (also called the Jean Behra circuit)[3] was just built in 1960 by the local owner/farmer, Jean Bernigaud,[4] whom Gérard 'Jabby' Crombac[b] knew about, and the school became the main user of the otherwise under-utilized local racing course. There were many aspiring young drivers in France, where an open-wheel racing school did not exist,[c] and the school enjoyed initial success attracting many talented students including Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, François Cevert, Patrick Depailler, Jacques Laffite and Patrick Tambay.
Bill Knight's son Mike, aged 19, finished 2nd after
Mike Knight and his brother Richard took over the ownership of the school in 1966 when Bill Knight went back to the UK. Mike managed the school with Tico Martini until 1973 when Mike moved back to the UK and Richard came over to run the business for the next 10 years until 1983 when Mike returned after running the DYMAG racing wheels venture.[1]
Over the course of 35 years, 30 of the school graduates became a Formula One driver, including Damon Hill.[1] (At least 24 according to the Notable Students section below.)
Volant Elf scholarship (Volant Elf-Winfield)
From 1974, Elf took over the scholarship and it became
With the realization that there are some exceptional talents among the non-winners, Trophée Winfield was also created to offer second chances for recognition, as well as for the winners of shorter-term programs at the school.[1]
Rebirth
In March 2015, Frédéric Garcia and Anne-Charlotte Rémy invested and bought the Winfield Racing School brand. Adding Historic Racing, brought in by Laurent Fort (Winfield Héritage) to the line of activities, the school offers a Formula 1 driving experience day to wealthy enthusiasts in addition to the traditional schooling for young racing drivers, occupying the modern facilities at Paul Ricard circuit previously used by Renault F1 and Toyota F1 teams.[7]
Notable students
- In parentheses in the following list, YEAR is the year attended.
- Volant Shell(up to 1973) or Volant Elf(from 1974) are the top graduate for the year by winning the Volant qualifier race.
- Volant (from 2015) are the top graduate for the year selected by a jury.[h]
- 'finalist' are the winners of shoot-out sessions who proceeded to the final Volant qualifier.
- Trophée Winfield is awarded to an exceptional driver in the loser pool, or for winners in short-term programs.[1]
- Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (1963 Volant Shell)[1]
- Johnny Servoz-Gavin (1963)[8]
- Roby Weber (1964 Volant Shell)[8]
- Claude Vigreux (1965 Volant Shell)[8]
- Jean-Pierre Jarier (1965)[9]
- François Cevert (1966 Volant Shell)[1]
- Patrick Depailler (1966)[10]
- François Mazet (1967 Volant Shell)[11]
- Jean-Luc Salomon (1968 Volant Shell)[12][i]
- Jacques Laffite (1968 Trophée Winfield)
- José Dolhem (1969 Volant Shell)[13]
- Graham Stoker[1]
- Guy Dhotel (1970 Volant Shell)[8]
- Patrick Tambay (1971 Volant Shell)[14]
- Gérard Camili (1971 Volant Shell finalist)[2]
- Didier Pironi (1972 Volant Shell)[14]
- René Arnoux (1973 Volant Shell)[1]
- Bruno Saby (1973 Volant Shell finalist)
- Serge Meynard (1974 Volant Elf)[1]
- Patrick Gaillard (1974 Volant Elf finalist)[15]
- Alain Prost (1975 Volant Elf)[14]
- Jean-Louis Schlesser[2]
- Gérard Choukroun (1976 Volant Elf)[16]
- Alain Ferté (1977 Volant Elf)[17]
- Pascal Fabre (1978 Volant Elf)[16]
- François Chauche (1978 Volant Elf finalist)[16]
- Philippe Renault (1979 Volant Elf)[16]
- Christian Danner[2]
- Philippe Paoli (1980 Volant Elf)[16]
- Olivier Grouillard (1981 Volant Elf)[18]
- Paul Belmondo (1982 Volant Elf)[19]
- Éric Bernard (1983 Volant Elf)[14]
- Jean Alesi (1983 Volant Elf finalist)[14]
- Jeffrey E Schwartz (1983 Volant Elf finalist)[20]
- Jeremy Dale (1983)
- Damon Hill (1983)[2]
- Bertrand Gachot (1983)[1]
- Érik Comas (1984 Volant Elf)[16]
- Alain Menu (1984 Volant Elf finalist)[16]
- Ron Emmick (1985 Volant Elf)[16]
- Ludovic Faure (1986 Volant Elf)[16]
- Olivier Panis (1987 Volant Elf)[14]
- Yvan Muller (1987 Volant Elf finalist)[2]
- Guillaume Gomez (1988 Volant Elf)[16]
- Stéphane Ortelli (1989 Volant Elf)[21]
- Richie Hearn (1990 Volant Elf)[16]
- Mark Hotchkis (1990)[22]: This source claims "top of class"
- Jason Engle (1991 Volant Elf)[16]
- Steeve Hiesse (1992 Volant Elf)[16]
- Narain Karthikeyan (1992 Volant Elf finalist)
- Michel Disdier (1992)[8]
- Sébastien Boulet (1993 Volant Elf)[j][16]
- Sébastien Alberto (1993 Volant Elf)[j][16]
- Marcel Fässler[2] (1993 Volant Elf finalist)[23]
- Renaud Malinconi (1994)[16]
- Jeff Shafer (1995)[1]
- Masaki Kano (1995)
- Shinya Nakazawa (1996 Volant Elf finalist)
- Harold Primat
- Julien Beltoise (Volant finalist)[24]
- Caio Collet (2018 Volant)[7]
- Théo Pourchaire (2018 Trophée Winfield)[7]
- Jules Mettetal (2019 Volant)[7]
- Above entries in bold became a Formula One driver.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Solomon, Eli (21 February 2022). "Mike Knight - Lunch with Champions". Rewind Media Archives.
- ^ a b c d e f g fr:Winfield Racing School (in French).
- ^ Ouaknine, Joest Jonathan (3 May 2009). "J'Y ÉTAIS: CLASSIC DAYS 2009 À MAGNY-COURS" (in French). Le Blog Auto.
- ^ Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours#History
- ^ "JAF Trophy first day" (in Japanese).
- ISBN 978-1-90582-598-1.
- ^ a b c d e Taillade, Jean-Luc (2019). "Visite à l'Ecole de Pilotage Winfield" (in French).
- ^ a b c d e fr:Volant Shell (in French).
- ^ Hughes, Mark (February 2003). "Flat out to deceive". Motor Sport Magazine.
- ^ "Patrick Depailler". OldRacingCars.com. 2 November 2015.
- ^ fr:François Mazet (in French).
- ^ a b Perrot, Olivier (28 June 2020). "Jean-Luc Salomon, l'étoile filante" (in French).
- ^ "Didier Pironi, le petit prince de la vitesse" (in French).
- ^ ISBN 978-2-35956-102-9.
- ^ Ribeiro, Guilherme. "Patrick Gaillard". The "forgotten" drivers of F1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Volant Elf". Wikimonde.
- ^ "ALAIN FERTÉ SERA AU RENDEZ-VOUS !" (in French). Classic-Days.fr. 2020.
- ^ Pax, Ilario (8 November 2020). "Olivier Grouillard: Un pilote de course éclectique devenu chef d'entreprise à succès" (in French).
- ^ fr:Paul Belmondo (pilote) (in French).
- ^ Mulhern, T. (1983). "In the Fast Lane: Schwartz looks for Racing Formula in France". The Cardunal Free Press Morning Herald. Vol. Wednesday September 21. pp. A17.
- ^ "Stéphane Ortelli". Baudour, Belgium: W Racing Team s.a.
- ^ "Mark Hotchkis Fact Sheet". 9 August 2002.
- ^ Winfield Racing School. "BIRTHDAY TIME". facebook.com.
- ^ Reisser, Sylvain (9 May 2021). "Automobile: Julien Beltoise, un héritier lancé" (in French). Le Figaro.
Explanatory notes
- ^ a b c "Winfield" name has nothing to do with the Australian cigarette brand Winfield. It is the maiden name of Bill Knight's mother.
- ^ not a French, but a Swiss
- ^ Sports car racing schools did.
- ^ [Picture[1] on rewind-media.com
- Suzuka Circuit), to send a contingent of contemporary racers.
- ^ Mike Knight's Brabham BT9 is shown in the center on [this picture[2] on rewind-media.com, among another Brabham BT9 and a Lotus 18, just before being shipped to Japan.
- ^ Martini racing cars were initially offered through this racing school, with the type prefix "MK" (Martini-Knight) and "MW" (Martini-Winfield).
- ^ Qualification became subjective for other capabilities, like presentation/communication skills, in addition to being fast in races.[7]
- ^ He had secured a Formula 1 seat of Lotus 72 with Team Lotus before his death in 1970.[12]
- ^ a b 1993 had two recipients.
External links
- Winfield Racing School: "Winfield Racing School".
- Winfield Group SA: "Winfield - Driving the legend".