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.
Although Jourdain had been racing professionally 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, he gained 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, Jourdain made 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 returned for the Miami Indy Challenge, where finished sixth.
He remained 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.
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 four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, starting in the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. He raced 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 retired from international motor sport.
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