Bernard Jourdain

Bernard Jourdain
Nationality Mexican
Born 16 August 1950
Brussels, Belgium

Bernard Jourdain (born August 16, 1950 in Brussels) was a Belgian born Mexican racing driver. Jourdain is the uncle of racer Michel Jourdain, Jr., and a pivotal figure in Michel Jr.’s progression from novice to Champ Car race winner. Now retired from racing, Bernard runs a restaurant in California, as well as other business projects.[1]

Racing career

Open Wheel Racing

Although Bernard had been racing professional since 1969, he did not appear on the international scene until late 1987, when he raced twice in Formula Atlantic. Despite crashing in both these races, Bernard was able to gain a drive with Cimarran Racing for the following season in Formula Super Vee USA Robert Bosch/Valvoline Championship. In his first full season, racing internationally in USA, he scored his only major race victory by winning the St. Petersburg GTE Grand Prix. This helped him to finish third in the overall standing. Also during the ’88 season, Bernard would make his CART debut. He signed with Andale Racing to race their March-Cosworth 86C in the last two races of the year. Broken suspension stopped him in his debut at Laguna Seca, he would returned for the Miami Indy Challenge, where would finish sixth.[2][3][4][5]

He would remain with Andale for the 1989, with the team upgrading the car to a Lola-Cosworth T89/00. It was with Andale that he made the first of his two Indianapolis 500s starts. After finishing nine laps down in ninth place, he was named the Indy 500 Co-Rookie of the Year along with Scott Pruett. He would only once more in the top 10, taking tenth in the Molson Indy Toronto. At the end of the season, he finished 18th in the overall standing, and was awarded the CART Rookie of the Year title.[6][7]

Having started in 1990 season without a driver, Jourdain returned to Andale for the Indianapolis 500. During qualifying, he wrecked his Lola-Buick T89/00, and was forced to try to qualifying the space car, a Lola-Buick T88/00. It was in this car; he ricocheted off three walls and demolished it, seriously injuring himself in the process. He underwent surgery to remove his spleen. He returned to open wheeled racing the following season, securing a drive with A. J. Foyt Enterprises, and became the first non US-born driver to race for 4-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, starting in the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. He would race once more with Foyt, in the Indy 500, but did not finish either of these races due to gearbox gremlins. After the race at Indianapolis, Jourdain would hang his helmet and retire from international motor sport.[8][9]

Sports Car Racing

1988 also was Jourdain make his international race debut in sport cars in the SunBank 24 at Daytona with Kalagian Racing. After finishing fifth, he would continue to race Kalagian’s Porsche 962 in a number of Camel GT Championship, alongside his Formula Super Vee commitments. When in 1989, he step up into CART, he cut back his sport cars racing to just another visit to the SunBank 24 at Daytona, with an outing in the works Spice Engineering team when the FIA World Sports Prototype Championship visited the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.[10]

He returned to the Camel GT Championship in 1990, with the Spice Engineering USA team, finishing on the third step on the podium in the Camel Grand Prix of Heartland Park, prior to his big Indy crash. He would return to racing in time for the 480km of Mexico City with Team Davey in their Porsche 962C.[11]

It was October 2005, when after a break of 14 years away from the track, he dusted down his crash helmet and raced in round of the Campeonato de España de GT. He continued into 2006, with Lozano Motorsport/Estudio 2000 sa, in their Porsche 996 GT3-RSR, alongside Manuel Sáez-Merino, Jr. in a selection of International GT Open race, archiving two tenth places finishes.[12]

Racing record

Career highlights

Season Series Position Team Car
1988 Formula Super Vee USA Robert Bosch/Valvoline Championship [13][14] 3rd Cimarran Racing Ralt-Volkswagen RT5
Camel GT Champioship season [15][16] 25th Kalagian Racing Porsche 962
CART PPG Indy Car World Series [17][18] 26th Andale Racing March-Cosworth 86C
1989 USAC Gold Crown Series [19] 9th Andale Racing Lola-Cosworth T89/00
CART PPG Indy Car World Series [20][21] 18th Andale Racing Lola-Cosworth T89/00
Camel GT Champioship season [22][23] 46th Bernard Jourdain Porsche 962
1990 Camel GT Champioship season [24][25] 26th Spice Engineering USA Spice-Chevrolet SE90P
1991 USAC Gold Crown Series [26] 18th A. J. Foyt Enterprises Lola-Buick T90/00
CART PPG Indy Car World Series [27][28] 42nd A. J. Foyt Enterprises Lola-Chevrolet T90/00
Lola-Buick T90/00

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1988 United States Kalagian Racing United States Jim Rothbarth
Mexico Michel Jourdain Sr.
United States Rob Stevens
Porsche 962 GTP 680 5th 5th
1989 Mexico Bernard Jourdain Mexico Oscar Manautou
Canada Allen Berg
Mexico Andres Contreras
Porsche 962 GTP 485 18th
(DNF)
7th
(DNF)
1990 United Kingdom Panasonic/Carlos & Charlies United States Jeff Kline
Japan Hiro Matsushita
Spice-Chevrolet SE90P GTP 90 47th
(DNF)
13th
(DNF)

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1988 United States John Kalagian Racing United States Jim Rothbarth Porsche 962 GTP 90 62nd
(DNF)
13th
(DNF)
1990 United Kingdom Spice Engineering GB United States Tom Kendall
United States Albert Naon, Jr.
Spice-Chevrolet SE90P GTP 222 18th
(DNF)
8th
(DNF)

American Open Wheel racing results

(key)

CART

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points
1988 Andale Racing United States
PHX
United States
LBH
United States
INDY
United States
MIL
United States
POR
United States
CLE
Canada
TOR
United States
MEA
United States
MIS
United States
POC
United States
MDO
United States
ROA
United States
NAZ
United States
LS
Ret
United States
MIA
6
26th 8
1989 Andale Racing United States
PHX
Ret
United States
LBH
13
United States
INDY
9
United States
MIL
12
United States
DET
Ret
United States
POR
Ret
United States
CLE
Ret
United States
MEA
Ret
Canada
TOR
10
United States
MIS
Ret
United States
POC
11
United States
MDO
Ret
United States
ROA
United States
NAZ
Ret
United States
LS
Ret
18th 10
1990 Andale Racing United States
PHX
United States
LBH
United States
INDY
Inj
United States
MIL
United States
DET
United States
POR
United States
CLE
United States
MEA
Canada
TOR
United States
MIS
United States
DEN
Canada
VAN
United States
MDO
United States
ROA
United States
NAZ
United States
LS
NC -
1991 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Australia
SRF
United States
LBH
Ret
United States
PHX
United States
INDY
Ret
United States
MIL
United States
DET
United States
POR
United States
CLE
United States
MEA
Canada
TOR
United States
MIS
United States
DEN
Canada
VAN
United States
MDO
United States
ROA
United States
NAZ
United States
LS
42nd 0

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1989 Lola T89/00 Ford Cosworth DFX 20 9 Andale Racing
1990 Lola T89/00 Buick Injured Andale Racing
1991 Lola T91/00 Buick 21 18 A.J. Foyt Enterprises

References

  1. http://www.oldracingcars.com/drivers/Bernard_Jourdain
  2. http://www.ypress.org/news/a_few_laps_with___bernard_jourdain
  3. http://www.champcarstats.com/atlantic/drivers/JourdainBernard.html
  4. http://www.teamdan.com/archive/www2/superv/88vrob.html
  5. http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/JourdainBernard.html
  6. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7e8RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MeoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2506,11020427&dq=bernard-jourdain
  7. http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/JourdainBernard.html
  8. http://www.articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-05-21/sports/9002130830_1_lola-buick-indy-500s-dick-simon
  9. http://www.ulitmateracinghistory.com/racelist2.php?uniqid=16822
  10. http://www.racingsportscars.com/drivers/results/Bernard-Jourdain-MEX.html
  11. http://www.racingsportscars.com/drivers/results/Bernard-Jourdain-MEX.html
  12. http://www.racingsportscars.com/drivers/results/Bernard-Jourdain-MEX.html
  13. https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/formula-super-vee-usa-robert-bosch-valvoline-championship/1988/
  14. http://www.teamdan.com/archive/www2/superv/88vrob.html
  15. https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/imsa-camel-gtp-championship/1988/
  16. http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/imsa/tableimsa.html#1988GTP
  17. https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/champ-car-world-series/1988/
  18. http://www.racing-reference.info/yeardet/1988/R
  19. http://racing-reference.info/yeardet/1989/UO
  20. https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/champ-car-world-series/1989/
  21. http://www.racing-reference.info/yeardet/1989/R
  22. https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/imsa-camel-gtp-championship/1989/
  23. http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/imsa/tableimsa.html#1989GTP
  24. https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/imsa-camel-gtp-championship/1990/
  25. http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/imsa/tableimsa.html#1990GTP
  26. http://racing-reference.info/yeardet/1991/UO
  27. https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/champ-car-world-series/1991/
  28. http://www.racing-reference.info/yeardet/1991/R
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Bill Vukovich III
Indianapolis 500
Rookie of the Year

1989
shared with Scott Pruett
Succeeded by
Eddie Cheever
Preceded by
John Jones
CART
Rookie of the Year

1989
Succeeded by
Eddie Cheever