Gérard Larrousse

Gérard Larrousse
Born	(1940-05-23) May 23, 1940 Lyon, France
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, Team manager
Years active	1960s–1994
Known for	Winning 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 and 1974; Managing Renault F1 team and Larrousse F1 team

Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse (born 23 May 1940) is a retired French driver known for his achievements in sports car racing, rallying, and Formula One. He notably secured victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 1973 and 1974, piloting the Matra-Simca MS670. Following his retirement from active competition, Larrousse moved into Formula One team leadership, initially heading Renault's F1 squad before establishing and managing his own Larrousse F1 team from 1987 through 1994.

Racing career

Originating from Lyon, Larrousse's motorsport journey began with rally driving, where he claimed the French Rally Championship title behind the wheel of an Alpine A110. Internationally, he demonstrated strong performances in a Porsche 911, winning the 1969 Tour de Corse and achieving runner-up finishes at the Monte Carlo Rally in 1969, 1970, and 1972. On gravel surfaces, he earned sixth place at the 1970 RAC Rally.

In 1971, Larrousse partnered with Vic Elford to win the 12 Hours of Sebring driving a Porsche 917K and also triumphed at the 1000km Nürburgring in a Porsche 908/03. He captured consecutive Le Mans titles in 1973 and 1974 alongside Henri Pescarolo for Matra-Simca. During the 1974 season, Larrousse participated in two Formula One Grand Prix events with Scuderia Finotto in Brabham BT42 cars but did not accumulate championship points.

Team management

After concluding his driving career, Larrousse took charge of Elf Switzerland’s European Formula Two program before assuming leadership of Renault’s factory Formula One team during its final fully backed seasons in 1984 and 1985.

Between 1987 and 1994, he was co-owner and principal manager of the Larrousse Formula One outfit. The team’s highest achievement came in 1990 when it finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship. Financial constraints eventually compelled the squad to depend on pay-drivers by the mid-1990s. Though there were intentions to compete in the 1995 season, insufficient funding ultimately forced the team to exit Formula One.

Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	WDC	Pts.
Template:F1	Scuderia Finotto	Brabham BT42	Ford V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL Ret	MON	SWE	NED	FRA DNQ	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	NC	0

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
Template:24hLM	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Ecurie Savin-Calberson	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Patrick Depailler	Alpine A210	P 1.15	204	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Société des Automobiles Alpine	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Henri Grandsire	Alpine A220	P 3.0	204	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 908 Coupé	P 3.0	372	2nd	1st
Template:24hLM	Martini Racing Team	Willi Kauhsen	Porsche 917L	S 5.0	338	2nd	2nd

Complete IMC Results

Year	Team	Vehicle	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1970	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 911 S	MON 2nd	SWE	ITA	KEN	AUT	GRE	GBR 6th
1971	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 914/6	MON Retired	SWE	ITA	KEN	MAR	AUT	GRE	GBR
1972	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 911 S	MON 2nd	SWE	KEN	MAR	GRE	AUT	ITA	USA	GBR