René Arnoux (born July 4, 1948 in Grenoble, France) was a French Formula One driver who participated during seasons 1978 to 1989.
Arnoux was clearly the number two driver to rising star teammate Alain Prost in 1982, but managed to take several victories, as well as luckily walk away from a high speed crash after brake failure at the end of the long straight in the Dutch Grand Prix.
In 1983 he joined then-struggling Ferrari, and in that same year he won the Canadian, German, and Dutch grands prix.
Arnoux started life as a garage mechanic in the French skiing resort where he was born, but his enthusiasm for motor racing and high performance cars eventually led him to a position with Conrero, the Alfa Romeo tuning specialist based in Turin.
Arnoux was initially eclipsed by Patrick Tambay in the Maranello ranks, but he eventually won the 1983 Canadian, German and Dutch races in confident style, the latter race from tenth place on the grid.
Rene retained his seat with Ferrari alongside the incoming Michele Alboreto although some observers felt that he, rather than Tambay, deserved to be dropped from the line-up.
Riccardo Patrese(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
Arnoux had been down to a low ’seven’ on his first set of qualifiers, but the Ferrari coasted to a halt with a dead engine as he warmed up for his second run.
Arnoux was their man with a shot at the title, the man who would be staying with them next year, yet it was abundantly clear that more important to them by far was that Tambay should win this, his final race with the team.
I spin and it is finished...’ At the end of lag eight Arnoux’s Ferrari came slowly into the pits, and now we knew for sure that the title fight was down to two.
At the familiar Ricard track, Arnoux went one up in qualifying but in the race could not repeat his Zolder result.
Arnoux did however win 7 GPs and finished 3rd in the 1983 championship before falling from grace at Ferrari after just one race in the 1985 season, being replaced by Stefan Johansson after a dismal 1984.
Nowadays Arnoux is co-owner of the DAMS F3000 and sportscar operation.
Prost and team manager Jean Sage were most displeased with Arnoux, but Rene was seemingly unperturbed by the evil eye he received from many members of the team.
Both of the Renault Equipe were in trouble before the start: Arnoux was fourth on the warm-up lap with some undefined gremlins and Prost was forced to switch to the spare because of an oil leak.
Given the nature of the course, that Prost and Arnoux were on the front row was a surprise and not a very pleasant one since it meant the turbo cars were getting better on all the circuits.
Founded in 1893 by Raphaël Chauvin and René Arnoux, Chauvin Arnoux has had a considerable influence on the development of measurement technology.
With André Arnoux, the founder's son, at the head of the company, industrial development takes a leap forward in Paris.
Chauvin Arnoux is the first measurement instrument manufacturer in France to be equipped with an anechoic chamber for the measurement of the electromagnetic compatibility of its products.
Which makes you wonder what Arnoux in particular could have achieved if he had been outright number one in the team.
And, with tongue in cheek, had Ferrari known of Schumacher's fate at the start of the year and had Irvine as number one all year, Michael would have been forced to give his Monaco win to Eddie, and the Ulsterman would have been Ferrari's long awaited World Champion.
ReneArnoux took victory in the Canadian GP of 1983.
Ferrari had already signed ReneArnoux as a driver for 1983 but with Didier Pironi out of action it was decided to ask Mario Andretti to race alongside Patrick Tambay at Monza.
At the end of the first lap Arnoux was a fraction ahead of Tambay, Patrese and Andretti, while Piquet dropped down the order with a clutch problem.
Arnoux won from Tambay and Andretti, John Watson (McLaren) was fourth with Michele Alboreto (Tyrrell) fifth and Eddie Cheever (Talbot Ligier) sixth.
www.grandprix.com /gpe/rr372.html (464 words)
[No title](Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
Although he attained two pole positions in 1980, Jabouille's only win of the season came at Osterreichring, the race later famous as the debut of Lotus driver Nigel Mansell.
In high altitude the Renaults had a natural advantage, and Jabouille qualified second behind his teammate, ReneArnoux.
By the third lap it was clear that the Renaults' power superiority remained.
Your first F1 race in 1978 was at Kyalami -- the same venue for the inaugural Altech Grand Prix Masters South Africa event on 10th November.
I gather they have already sold a lot of tickets for the inaugural race on 10th November and so I'm looking forward to putting on an excellent show alongside the greatest names in grand prix racing.
ReneArnoux Date of birth: 4th July 1948 Place of birth: Pontcharra, France GP Starts: 149 GP Wins: 7 Poles Positions: 18 Points Scored: 181
Location: GrandPrix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Drivers > ReneArnoux
Arnoux was always something of an outsider in French motor racing circles.
Yet although he did not have the connections, he certainly had the talent and rose to be a member of the factory Renault turbo team from 1979 to 82, although he too took something of a leaf out of Pironi's book by winning the '82 French GP ahead of Alain Prost and against team orders.
Ground-effects cars with normally-aspirated 3 litre engines were the industry standard for 1979 but the turbocharged 1.5 liter Renaults had yet to realise their potential.
Jean-Pierre Jabouille set pole position and his Renault teammate, ReneArnoux, joined him on the front row.
As the laps rolled on, the gap between Arnoux and Villeneuve became smaller until the last two laps they were banging wheels and putting wheels off the circuit to gain or hold position.
Like the one driven by Jacky Ickx, Clay Regazzoni, Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jo Siffert, Ignazio Giunti, Jacky Stewart, Francois Cevert, ReneArnoux, jean-Pierre Jabouille, Patrick Depailler, Ronnie Perterson, Jody Scheckter, Eddie Keizan, Joackim Bonnier, Patrese, Mansell etc..etc..
1980 Renault RE-20 Turbo Winner, Grand Prix of Brazil driven by ReneArnoux