Philippe Alliot

Philippe Alliot
Philippe Alliot
Born	July 27, 1954 (age 72); Voves, Eure-et-Loir, France
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, commentator
Years active	1984–1988, 1990–1994 (Formula One)
Known for	Formula One driver, World Sportscar Championship competitor

Philippe René Gabriel Alliot (born 27 July 1954) is a retired French racing driver and commentator who participated in Formula One during the periods from 1984 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1994.

Hailing from Voves, Alliot abandoned his university studies to focus on a career in motorsport. Over nine seasons, he took part in 116 Formula One Grands Prix, driving for teams such as RAM, Ligier, Larrousse, and McLaren. Beyond Formula One, he competed intermittently in the World Sportscar Championship, where he achieved three victories in 21 entries and secured third place overall in both the 1991 and 1992 seasons with the Peugeot squad. Furthermore, Alliot contested ten editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, earning third-place finishes in the years , , and .

Early life and career

Born on 27 July 1954 in Voves, located in Eure-et-Loir, France, Philippe René Gabriel Alliot initially pursued studies in political science. However, he soon left academia to dedicate himself to racing, enrolling at the Motul Racing School situated at the Circuit de Nogaro.

Prior to ascending to Formula One, Alliot raced in Formula Renault during 1976 and 1977, ultimately capturing the championship title in 1978 while representing the BP Racing outfit. He also claimed the French Formula Renault crown before advancing to French Formula Three, where he placed third in his maiden event. By 1980, he had progressed to compete in the European Formula 3 Championship and transitioned into Formula Two by 1983. That same year, he gained recognition by finishing third at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours alongside teammates Michael Andretti and Mario Andretti driving a Kremer-prepared Porsche.

Formula One

Alliot made his Formula One debut with the Skoal Bandit-sponsored RAM team in 1984 but experienced limited achievements. Following an injury to Jacques Laffite at the 1986 British Grand Prix, Alliot stepped in as his replacement at Ligier, where his performances improved noticeably. He competed for Larrousse during the 1987 season before rejoining Ligier in 1990; however, during this period he became known for a high rate of collisions. Notably, he holds the record for the greatest number of race starts without ever finishing on the lead lap.

Sportscars

In the early part of the 1990s, Alliot shifted his attention towards sports car racing and achieved significant success with the Peugeot team under the management of Jean Todt. Among his top accomplishments were two third-place results at the 24 Hours of Le Mans events held in 1992 and 1993.

Return to Formula One

Alliot made a comeback to Formula One with Larrousse in , where he attained his best career finish by placing fifth at the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix. The following year, after initially being without a race seat, he joined McLaren as a test and reserve driver due to pressure exerted by engine supplier Peugeot, despite opposition from team principal Ron Dennis. This arrangement led to him starting at the 1994 Hungarian Grand Prix, filling in for suspended driver Mika Häkkinen. There, he qualified 14th but retired from the race. Subsequently, he replaced Olivier Beretta at Larrousse for the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix, beginning from 19th on the grid before retiring because of engine failure. This event marked his final appearance in Formula One. Upon leaving F1, Alliot held the record for most race starts without achieving a podium finish, pole position, or fastest lap.

Later years

Following his departure from Formula One in 1995, he briefly ventured into politics, contributed as a television commentator, and took part in ice racing as well as the Paris–Dakar Rally. Subsequently, he concentrated on overseeing his own GT racing team.

Overview of career

Season	Series	Team	Races	Victories	Pole positions	Fastest laps	Podium finishes	Points	Standing
1976	Formule Renault Nationale	Écurie Armagnac Bigorre	13	0	0	0	0	21	11th
1977	Formule Renault Nationale	Écurie Armagnac Bigorre	8	1	1	4	3	33	9th
1978	Formule Renault Nationale	BP Racing Team	14	5	3	4	9	144	1st
1979	French Formula Three		?	?	?	?	?	18	3rd
1979	European Formula Three	Kores Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC

^† As Alliot participated as a guest driver, he was not eligible to earn championship points.

Full European Formula Three results

(key) (Races in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team Entrant	Car Chassis	Engine Manufacturer	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Pos.	Points Scored
1980	Automobiles Martini	Martini MK31	Toyota	Nürburgring 2	Österreichring 3	Zolder 2	Magny Cours 2	Zandvoort 19	La Châtre DNQ	Mugello Circuit 8	Monza 4	Misano World Circuit 4	Ring Knutstorp 6	Silverstone Circuit Ret	Jarama 3	Kassel-Calden 11	Zolder 2		5th	39
1981	Automobiles Martini	Martini MK34	Alfa Romeo in motorsport	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Vallelunga 5	style="background:#DFDFDF;" \| Nürburgring 2	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Donington Park 5	style="background:#FFDF9F;" \| Österreichring 3	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Zolder 4	style="background:#FFFFBF;" \| Magny Cours 1	style="background:#FFFFBF;" \| La Châtre 1	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Zandvoort 5	style="background:#CFCFFF;" \| Silverstone Circuit 9	style="background:#EFCFFF;" \| Croix-en-Ternois Template:Small Ret	style="background:#CFCFFF;" \| Misano World Circuit Template:Small 10	style="background:#EFCFFF;" \| Ring Knutstorp Template:Small Ret	style="background:#FFDF9F;" \| Jarama Template:Small 3	style="background:#EFCFFF;" \| Imola Template:Small Ret	Mugello Circuit		3rd	41
1982 FIA European Formula 3 Championship	nowrap \| Martini (cars)	nowrap \| Martini MK37	nowrap \| Alfa Romeo in motorsport	style="background:#FFCFCF;" \| Mugello Circuit Template:Small DNQ	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Nürburgring Template:Small 6	Donington Park	style="background:#CFCFFF;" \| Zolder Template:Small 8	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Magny Cours Template:Small 4	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Österreichring Template:Small 4	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Zandvoort Template:Small 5	style="background:#FFFFFF;" \| Silverstone Circuit Template:Small DNS	Monza	Pergusa	style="background:#FFFFBF;" \| La Châtre Template:Small 1	style="background:#EFCFFF;" \| Ring Knutstorp Template:Small Ret	style="background:#DFFFDF;" \| Nogaro Template:Small 4	style="background:#FFDF9F;" \| Jarama Template:Small 3	Kassel-Calden	6th	25

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Vehicle	Category	Laps Completed	Pos.	Class Pos.
1981	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall BMW Italie-France	Template:Country data VEN Template:Namespace detect showall Johnny Cecotto Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Bernard Darniche	BMW M1 Gr. 5	Gr. 5 SP +2.0	278	16th	3rd
1983	Germany Porsche Kremer Racing	United States Mario Andretti United States Michael Andretti	Porsche 956	C	364	3rd	3rd
1986	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall John Fitzpatrick Racing	Template:Country data ESP Template:Namespace detect showall Paco Romero Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Michel Trollé	Porsche 962C	C1	312	10th	8th
1990	Germany Porsche Kremer Racing	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Patrick Gonin Template:Country data BEL Template:Namespace detect showall Bernard de Dryver	Porsche 962CK6	C1	319	16th	16th
1991	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Peugeot Sport	Template:Country data ITA Template:Namespace detect showall Mauro Baldi Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Peugeot 905	C1	22	DNF	DNF
1992	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Peugeot Sport	Template:Country data ITA Template:Namespace detect showall Mauro Baldi Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Peugeot 905 Evo 1B	C1	345	3rd	3rd
1993	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Peugeot Sport	Template:Country data ITA Template:Namespace detect showall Mauro Baldi Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Peugeot 905 Evo 1B	C1	367	3rd	3rd
1995	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall GTC Gulf Racing	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Pierre-Henri Raphanel Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Lindsay Owen-Jones	McLaren F1 GTR	GT1	77	DNF	DNF
1996	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Courage Compétition	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Didier Cottaz Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Jérôme Policand	Courage C36-Porsche	LMP1	215	DNF	DNF
2003	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Courage Compétition	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall David Hallyday Template:Country data SWE Template:Namespace detect showall Carl Rosenblad	Courage C65-JPX	LMP675	41	DNF	DNF

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Events highlighted in bold denote pole position; those in italics represent fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	Power Unit	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos.	Points
Template:F2	BMW France	Martini 001	BMW	SIL Retired	THR 5th	HOC 8th	NÜR Did not start	VAL	PAU Retired	JAR Retired	DON Retired	MIS Retired	PER 12th	ZOL 5th	MUG Retired	12th	4

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Pole positions shown in bold; fastest laps marked in italics)

Year	Team	Car Model	Engine Supplier	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos.	Points Scored
1985	BS Automotive	March 85B	Ford Cosworth	SIL	THR	EST	NÜR	VAL	PAU	SPA	DIJ 6th	PER	ÖST	ZAN	DON	19th	1

1986	Oreca	March 86B	Ford Cosworth	Silverstone Circuit Retired	ACI Vallelunga Circuit 8th	Pau Grand Prix Retired	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Winner	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 13th	Mugello Circuit Retired	Autodromo di Pergusa	Österreichring	Birmingham Superprix	Bugatti Circuit	Circuito Permanente del Jarama	9th	9

Full Formula One World Championship Results

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Full French Supertouring Championship Results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1984	Skoal Bandit Formula 1 Team	RAM 02	Hart Straight-4	BRA	RSA	BEL	SMR	FRA	MON	CAN	DET	DAL	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	POR	NC	0
1985	Skoal Bandit Formula 1 Team	RAM 03	Hart Straight-4	BRA	POR	SMR	MON ... (remaining results omitted for brevity) ...

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	DC	Pts
1995	Peugeot Esso	Peugeot 405	NOG 1 6	NOG 2 Ret	DIJ 1 5	DIJ 2 6	PAU 1 5	PAU 2 10	CHA 1 7	CHA 2 5	VDV 1 6	VDV 2 5	CET 1 3	max-width:50px;background-color:#DFFFDF; text-align:center; vertical-align:middle; font-size:small; padding:0px; margin:0px; border:none; display:inline-block; line-height:normal;	max-width:50px;background-color:#DFFFDF; text-align:center; vertical-align:middle; font-size:small; padding:0px; margin:0px; border:none; display:inline-block; line-height:normal;	max-width:50px;background-color:#FFDF9F; text-align:center; vertical-align:middle; font-size:small; padding:0px; margin:0px; border:none; display:inline-block; line-height:normal;	max-width:50px;background-color:#DFFFDF; text-align:center; vertical-align:middle; font-size:small; padding:0px; margin:0px; border:none; display:inline-block; line-height:normal;	max-width:50px;background-color:#EFCFFF; text-align:center; vertical-align:middle; font-size:small; padding:0px; margin:0px;	max-width:50px;background-color:#FFDF9F;	max-width:50px;background-color:#EFCFFF;	max-width:50px;background-color:#DFFFDF;	max-width:50px;background-color:#DFFFDF;	6th	53