Andros Trophy
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The Andros Trophy (Trophée Andros) is the French national Ice Racing championship.
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[edit] History
The idea of an Ice Racing series first became an idea when professional racer Max Mamers and the owner of Andros, Frédéric Gervoson met as rugby fans in 1985. They spent the winter racing with friends on ice circuits.
On 27 January 1990, the idea of a series came to life at Serre Chevalier with the first round of four.
The series quickly grew, with a round at Paris (Pelouse de Reuilly) in 1991 creating a five round series; and a seven round championship in 1992.
In 2003, the trophy gained an international aspect with a race at Sherbrooke in Canada, a race that was held for three seasons. For the 2005/06 season, the trophy remained mainly national, the exception being one round held in Andorra
[edit] The Current Series
The series now runs with a number of different races and classes
[edit] Elite Class
This is the original, and highest class, featuring the best names.
[edit] Promotion Class
Starting in 1994, this class is for the smaller teams, encouraging them to take part in the Trophée Andros. To partake in this class, there are three conditions: the drivers can't have finished in the top 20 over the general classification; must never have paticipated in the Elite Class; and cannot be a professional driver.
[edit] Pilot Bike
The motorbike races for the Andros Trophy first appeared at the [1996] championship final at Superbesse, after an idea of Mamers and Claude Michy. It became a series in its own right in the 1997/8 season with a race at every round from that point.
[edit] Trophée Andros Féminin - Sprint Cars
Created in 2002, this series combines two categories. The 600cc 6-speed buggy-styled car is shared between a female driver and an experienced driver, who also is the instructor for the female driver. They compete in 2 different races at each weekend they attend, which was seven weekends in the 2005/06 season.
[edit] Famous Names
By far the most successful driver in the series is Yvan Muller, who has won the championship 10 times with 46 race victories. In terms of championships, Danny Snobeck is next most successful with two championships. However, his eight race wins are much lower than the 16 of Marcel Tarres.
Currently, the series attracts names who were famous in other series before moving to Ice Racing - including Formula 1 drivers Alain Prost and Olivier Panis.
[edit] The "Superfinal"
On 14 February 1999, the series held a "Superfinal" at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris. Using 700 tonnes of Ice, an oval track was established around the edge of the stadium, allowing for racing in front of around 60 000 people, with no championship points at stake.
The Superfinal was held at the Stade de France for three years, before moving to an oval track at Noeux Les Mines in 2002. No superfinal was held in 2003, but returned to the Stade de France in 2004.
In 2005 the races were held at St Die, and once again at the Stade de France in 2006
