Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One, as a race driver for Minardi, and as a factory driver for Peugeot and Audi in LMP1. He won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans for Peugeot. His brother Jordi is also a racing driver, competing in the WTCC for SEAT.
Gené had 36 starts in Formula One, mostly through two seasons with the Minardi team, with which he scored a sixth-place finish at the attrition-filled 1999 European Grand Prix. He later raced for Williams three times as a replacement driver, and finished fifth at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix.
Starting from the 2010 season, Gené commentated on Formula One races for Spanish television on Antena 3. In 2013 he became an expert analyst for Sky Sport F1 HD in Italy. He also remains with Ferrari as their brand ambassador.
Early years Born in Sabadell, Gené finished runner-up in the 1987 Catalan Kart Championship (National Class) at the age of 13; he would win both this and the National Class Spanish Kart Championship in 1988. In 1989, he competed in both the European and World championships. Gené won the Senior Class of the 1990 Spanish Kart Championship, making him the youngest driver to do so. He competed again in the World Championship in 1991, placing 13th.
For 1992, Gené moved into Formula Ford, placing fifth in the Spanish championship with a win and two pole positions. He was runner-up in the 1993 European Championship, with one win and three podiums; also, Gené took second place at the Formula Ford World Cup and Festival. In 1994, Gené was named Rookie of the Year in the British Formula 3 Championship; he placed tenth in 1995. In 1996, Gené won the FISA Superformula championship, and in 1997 he competed in six rounds of the FIA Formula 3000 series, though he failed to score a point. In 1998, he won the Open Fortuna by Nissan Championship with six wins and three poles.
Formula One Gené got his big break in 1999, occupying a race seat with the Minardi team. It was a difficult year; however, after several ninth places and an eighth, he managed to score his first point, and Minardi's first since 1995, with a sixth place at the European Grand Prix, while his team-mate Luca Badoer broke down in tears after his car's gearbox failed and denied the Italian his first points finish in Formula One, as he was running in fourth place with 13 laps to go. Gené continued with Minardi in 2000, but failed to score a single point, with his best finish being eighth at the Australian and Austrian Grands Prix. His team-mate in 2000 was Argentina's Gastón Mazzacane, who also achieved a best finish of eighth, at the European Grand Prix.
Testing Unable to obtain a quality drive for 2001, Gené opted to sign with Williams as test driver. He drove three Grands Prix for the team as temporary substitute. The first of these was the 2003 Italian Grand Prix, where Ralf Schumacher was unable to race because of a concussion. Gené replaced his teammate well, collecting four points for a fifth-place finish, but Schumacher was back in the car for the next race in the USA. Following a back injury to Schumacher at the 2004 USGP, Gené drove in the French and British Grands Prix, but subsequently lost the race seat to Antônio Pizzonia and did not race again in F1.
In November 2004, Gené signed a deal to become a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari alongside former teammate Luca Badoer. His contract was renewed for . A limit on testing in Formula One in 2007 and 2008 had restricted his involvement.
At the end of 2010, Gené along with Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella was replaced by Jules Bianchi as Ferrari test driver ahead of the 2011 season.
Sportscar racing
Gené has also been hired by Peugeot as a factory driver for their 908 HDi FAP Le Mans Series effort, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2007. In 2008, Gené crashed his 908 heavily in practice for the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans, but escaped with a broken toe. A year later, however, there were no such problems, and the Peugeot he shared with David Brabham and Alex Wurz completed 382 laps on its way to victory in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. He completed the last stint for the team and brought the 908 home to a standing ovation from the avid French crowd, who saw one of their cars stop the recent domination of Audi in the prestigious event.
In both 2008 and 2009, Gené also took part in the 1000 km Spa endurance race, winning in 2008 and finishing 12th in 2009.
Career Statistics (as of 2004 British Grand Prix) Grands Prix started: 36 Points: 5 Best Championship position: 17th (2003) Most points in one season: 4 (2003) Best race classification: 5th (2003 Italian Grand Prix) Best grid position: 5th (2003 Italian Grand Prix)
Racing record Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 1992 Spanish Formula Ford Championship ? ? 1 2 ? ? ? 6th 1993 European Formula Ford Championship ? ? 1 0 0 3 ? 2nd 1994 British Formula Three Championship Alan Docking Racing 17 0 0 0 0 19 15th 1995 British Formula Three Championship West Surrey Racing 18 0 0 1 1 59 11th 1996 II Fisa Golden Cup Superformula ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1st 1997 International Formula 3000 Championship Pacific Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 25th Nordic Racing 4 0 0 0 0 1998 Euro Open by Nissan Campos Motorsport 14 6 3 4 9 178 1st 1999 Formula One Fondmetal Minardi Team 16 0 0 0 0 1 18th 2000 Formula One Telefónica Minardi Fondmetal 17 0 0 0 0 0 19th 2001 Formula One BMW WilliamsF1 Team Test Driver 2002 Formula One BMW WilliamsF1 Team Test Driver 2003 Formula One BMW WilliamsF1 Team 1 0 0 0 0 4 17th 2004 Formula One BMW WilliamsF1 Team 2 0 0 0 0 0 23rd 2005 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Test Driver 2006 American Le Mans Series Risi Competizione 2 0 0 0 0 18 22nd Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Test Driver 2007 Le Mans Series - LMP1 Team Peugeot Total 6 3 0 0 4 33 4th 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Test Driver 2008 Le Mans Series - LMP1 Team Peugeot Total 5 2 0 0 3 32 3rd 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Test Driver 2009 Le Mans Series - LMP1 Team Peugeot Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Test Driver 2010 Le Mans Series - LMP1 Team Peugeot Total 1 0 0 0 0 15 22nd 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A 2011 Le Mans Series - LMP1 Team Peugeot Total 1 1 0 0 0 0 NC 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 4th 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP1 Audi Sport Team Joest 2 1 0 0 0 49 11th 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP1 Audi Sport Team Joest 2 0 0 0 2 45 9th 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 3rd 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP1 Audi Sport Team Joest 1 0 0 0 1 36 12th 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd
Complete British Formula Three Championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points 1994 Alan Docking Racing Dallara F394 Mugen-Honda ASIL DON BRH BRH SIL SIL BRH THR OUL DON SIL SNE PEM PEM SIL SIL THR SIL 15th 19 1995 West Surrey Racing Dallara F395 Mugen-Honda A SIL SIL THR THR DON SIL SIL DON DON OUL BRH BRH SNE PEM PEM SIL SIL THR 11th 59
Complete International Formula 3000 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points 1997 Pacific Racing SIL PAU HEL 25th 0 Nordic Racing NÜR PER HOC A1R SPA MUG JER
Complete Euro Open by Nissan results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DC Points 1998 Campos Racing ALB1 ALB2 CAT1 CAT2 JER1 JER2 DON1 DON2 CAT1 CAT2 ALB1 ALB2 VAL1 VAL2 1st 178
Complete Formula One results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 WDC Points Fondmetal Minardi Ford Minardi M01 Ford V10 AUS BRA SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA EUR MAL JPN 17th 1 Telefónica Minardi Fondmetal Minardi M02 Fondmetal V10 AUS BRA SMR GBR ESP EUR MON CAN FRA AUT GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN MAL 19th 0 BMW WilliamsF1 Team Williams FW25 BMW V10 AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR FRA GBR GER HUN ITA USA JPN 17th 4 BMW WilliamsF1 Team Williams FW26 BMW V10 AUS MAL BHR SMR ESP MON EUR CAN USA FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA CHN JPN BRA 23rd 0
Complete World Series by Nissan results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points 2003 Campos Motorsport JAR1 JAR2 ZOL1 ZOL2 MAG1 MAG2 MNZ1 MNZ2 LAU1 LAU2A1R1A1R2CAT1CAT2VAL1VAL2JAR1JAR2 12th 54
24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Team Peugeot Total Nicolas Minassian Jacques Villeneuve Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 338 DNF DNF Team Peugeot Total Nicolas Minassian Jacques Villeneuve Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 381 2nd 2nd Team Peugeot Total David Brabham Alexander Wurz Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 382 1st 1st Team Peugeot Total Anthony Davidson Alexander Wurz Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 360 DNF DNF Peugeot Sport Total Anthony Davidson Alexander Wurz Peugeot 908 LMP1 351 4th 4th Audi Sport Team Joest Romain Dumas Loïc Duval Audi R18 ultra LMP1 366 5th 5th Audi Sport Team Joest Oliver Jarvis Lucas di Grassi Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 347 3rd 3rd Audi Sport Team Joest Tom Kristensen Lucas di Grassi Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1-H 376 2nd 2nd
Complete Le Mans Series results
Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2007 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Peugeot 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel) MON VAL NÜR SPA SIL MIL 4th 33 2008 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Peugeot 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel) CAT MON SPA NÜR SIL 3rd 32 2010 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Peugeot 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel) CAS SPA ALG HUN SIL 22nd 15 2011 Peugeot Sport Total LMP1 Peugeot 908 Peugeot HDI 3.7 L Turbo V8(Diesel) CAS SPA IMO SIL EST NC 0
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2012 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6 (Hybrid Diesel) SEB SPA LMS SIL SÃO BHR FUJ SHA 11th 49 2013 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6 (Hybrid Diesel) SIL SPA LMS SÃO CTA FUJ SHA BHR 9th 45 2014 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 4.0 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid Diesel) SIL SPA LMS COA FUJ SHA BHR SÃO 12th 36
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