Henri Pescarolo

Henri Pescarolo (Paris, France, September 25, 1942) is a retired French racing driver and team principal, considered one of the great figures in endurance racing. He began his career in single-seaters, becoming French Formula 3 champion in 1967 and European Formula 2 runner-up in 1968, which allowed him to enter Formula 1. Between 1969 and 1976 he competed in 64 Grand Prix races, achieving a podium finish at the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix. His greatest prominence came in endurance racing, particularly at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an event where he holds the record for driver participations with 33 editions contested. He achieved four outright victories at Le Mans: three consecutive ones with Matra (1972, 1973, and 1974) and another in 1984 driving a Porsche 956. Throughout his career he accumulated numerous victories in the World Endurance Championship and triumphs in iconic events such as the 24 Hours of Daytona. After gradually retiring from competition as a driver, in 1999 he founded Pescarolo Sport, with which he remained connected at the highest level of international endurance racing, participating regularly at Le Mans and in the Le Mans Series until the mid-2010s. Although his career is primarily associated with circuit racing, Pescarolo also had involvement in rallying. He participated in several editions of the Dakar Rally in the 1980s and 1990s and, at a later stage of his career, competed in rallying in 2006, taking part in the Rallye Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais, an event counting towards the French championship, which underscores his versatility and his interest in different motorsport disciplines even beyond his historical specialty.