Franck Montagny (born 5 January 1978) is a French former racing driver. He briefly raced for the Super Aguri Formula One team in 2006 .
49-726: Born in Feurs , Loire , Montagny started racing karts there in 1988, winning the cadet class in the French Karting Championship in 1992, and the National 1 class the following year. He made his debut in cars in 1994, aged 16, promptly winning the French Renault Campus championship. The next two years were spent in Formula Renault , with finishes in fourth (the highest-finishing rookie that year) and sixth (despite missing half
98-601: A botched pit stop, Sato may have finished as high as fourth. Teammate Davidson also looked set to finish in the points until he hit a gopher which ran across the track, forcing him to pit and leaving him out of the points. After the European Grand Prix , Sakon Yamamoto was signed up by the Spyker F1 team for the remainder of the season, filling in the seat left vacant by Christijan Albers . Super Aguri kept their 2007 drivers Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson , following
147-657: A great start, enabling him to gain 3 positions, he retired on lap 10 with a mechanical failure. It was third time lucky for him at the Monaco Grand Prix , when he finished the 78-lap race in 16th place, three laps behind the leader. During the break between the British Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix , Montagny was able to participate in the Le Mans 24 Hours , finishing second for Pescarolo Sport behind only
196-578: A new in-house chassis later on in the 2006 season, possibly for the European races, but this never came into fruition. Instead, the team updated their older chassis to become the SA06 – a change which was visible from the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, onwards. Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide were the initial race drivers for the team in the 2006 season, with Franck Montagny as the third driver. Ide's selection
245-529: A possible 16, and beat Tomas Scheckter to the championship. He changed teams for 2002 to Racing Engineering, but was beaten into second place in the championship by Ricardo Zonta . He supplemented this with a sixth-place finish for Oreca at the Le Mans 24 hours . Montagny returned to the World Series by Nissan in 2003 with Gabord Competicion, and secured his second championship title with nine victories, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen . This performance earned him
294-761: A test at the Circuit de Catalunya in November. He was still interested in gaining a drive in F1, and had been linked with the Renault F1 team for the 2010 season, but Renault signed Vitaly Petrov . Montagny competed in the final Champ Car World Series race, held at the Long Beach circuit on April 20, 2008. He finished second in his first appearance in a race in the United States, five seconds behind Australian Will Power . In June, he drove
343-641: A test with the Renault Formula One team , in which he impressed sufficiently to earn a contract as a test driver in 2003, moving up to become third driver during the 2004 & 2005 seasons. He did an impressive one-off for Jordan as third driver on the Friday of the 2005 European Grand Prix , clocking a quicker time than Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro , the official Jordan drivers. In mid-2004, as part of his Renault F1 testing duties, Montagny became
392-525: A third chassis was prepared during the summer break enabling him to reprise this role at the Turkish Grand Prix . Montagny tested for Toyota F1 in September 2006 at Silverstone . A month later, Toyota confirmed that he would join the team as test driver for the 2007 season , as Olivier Panis and Ricardo Zonta were leaving the team. After spending 2007 as a test driver, Montagny left the team after
441-504: The 2002 Arrows A23, bought from ex- Minardi principal Paul Stoddart who purchased them when the Arrows team went into receivership. As such, the team's car, infrastructure and even operating base had its origins with TWR Arrows . Underlining the links to the former team, the technical side was overseen by former Arrows engineer Mark Preston, who brought many of the old Arrows mechanics back with him. The team had announced plans to produce
490-669: The Forez County is forfeited to the Constable of Bourbon along with his other possessions in 1523. It finally enters the royal domain in 1531. In 1542, the city is attached to the generality of Lyon, created by Henry II . The French Revolution was very active in the town and the horrors of the guillotine marked its inhabitants. During the Revolution, the Revolutionary Court headed by Claude Javogues made many victims. The 80 victims of
539-640: The French Grand Prix , and on 8 June 2006 Sakon Yamamoto became Super Aguri's third driver. Montagny and Yamamoto swapped roles for the German Grand Prix , with Yamamoto taking over Super Aguri's second car. When the updated car (the SA06) was first raced in the German Grand Prix, it managed to impress, with decent qualifying positions (managing to outperform the Midland F1 Team), although failing to finish
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#1732872534581588-747: The Girondins de Bordeaux entry in the Superleague Formula for the 2010 season . In May 2014, Andretti Autosport announced that Montagny would race for them in the inaugural season of the FIA Formula E Championship in 2014–15. He raced for the team in Beijing and Putrajaya , scoring a podium in Beijing and scoring 18 points overall in the two races. However, he was replaced in Punta del Este by Jean-Éric Vergne . It
637-501: The IndyCar Series after one race. ‡ Not Eligible for points ( key ) ( key ) ( key ) ( key ) ( key ) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Feurs Feurs ( French pronunciation: [fœʁ] ; Arpitan : Fuèrs ) is a commune in the department of Loire , Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes , France . The city
686-497: The Istanbul Park for the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix , Super Aguri's trucks and motorhomes were denied entry to the circuit, because Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry reportedly told the race organizers that Super Aguri would not be taking part. On 6 May 2008, team founder and principal Aguri Suzuki announced that they were to withdraw from the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship with immediate effect due to financial problems, citing
735-864: The Loire in the commune. Feurs is located in the Forez plain, between the Monts du Lyonnais to the East and the Forez mountains to the West. Over 300 small and medium enterprises are settled in Feurs and account for about 3200 jobs, distributed as follows: tertiary sector (1675), metal industry (1280), construction (267). The city offers an Olympic-size swimming pool and horse racetracks, as well as playing fields for soccer, rugby and basketball. Inhabitant from Feurs can also easily access hiking trails towards
784-501: The Midland team was blocking on the grounds of potentially reduced TV revenue, but it was eventually granted the necessary unanimous agreement and the team's entry was confirmed by the FIA on 26 January 2006. In 2006 , the cars were powered by customer Honda engines (RA806E 2.4 V8) by a pay lease from its own works team, and used Bridgestone tyres. The chassis, SA05 , was an updated version of
833-704: The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP at the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished in the third place with Ricardo Zonta and Christian Klien . Montagny made his debut in the American Le Mans Series with Andretti Green Racing at the 2008 Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park in July 2008, driving an Acura ARX-01 B. He made his IndyCar Series debut in 2009 at the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway with Andretti Green Racing . Montagny has signed up to drive
882-474: The "Monts du Forez" or "Monts du Lyonnais". Feurs and the town of Olching in Bavaria , Germany , have been twin towns since August 1963, when a delegation of 24 Foréziens, led by the mayor Félix Nigay , visited their German counterparts for the first time. Super Aguri Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from 2006 to 2008 . The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki ,
931-511: The 2007 season. However, the Dutchman left for Spyker F1 before the season began. Sakon Yamamoto, who was a second driver in late 2006, went back to being a test driver in 2007. The team suffered a major setback when their car for 2007 failed the FIA crash test, with the rear of the car being destroyed more than is allowed. On 2 March, Super Aguri pushed back the launch of its new car by two days, with
980-461: The FIA's official press release of the entry list for 2006 confirmed that it had not approved Super Aguri's entry: this was reported to be due to the team's failure to produce the required $ 48 million entry bond on time. The team re-applied for entry in 2006, and continued to prepare cars for the upcoming season. Having missed the initial registration, the team needed to convince the existing ten teams to unanimously agree to its entry. It appeared that
1029-453: The Red Bull teams) stated that they were in compliance with the sport's regulations, though the matter was still of great contention. Super Aguri announced on 15 November 2006 that Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson (previously Honda third and test driver) would be driving for the team in 2007. Super Aguri also confirmed, on 15 December, that Giedo van der Garde would be their third driver in
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#17328725345811078-597: The Revolutionary Court were almost all executed at the site of the Chapel of the Martyrs. The chapel of the martyrs was erected later by Mayor Pierre-Marie Assier in 1826. It was for a short time capital of the Loire department in 1793-1795. The town was on one of the first railways: line 3 of France Andrezieux - Roanne opened 1 August 1832 between Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules and Balbigny. This is in Feurs that from this section that are installed
1127-512: The SA07 unveiled less than 48 hours before the first practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. Team's drivers Davidson and Sato shocked many people with getting 10th and 11th place in qualifying for Australian GP. Until this, the best result in qualification set by this team was 17th place (by Takuma Sato). Sato dropped to 12th by the race's end, while Anthony Davidson 's race was ruined on
1176-675: The acquisition of an unspecified portion of the team by the Magma Group . Luca Filippi was once linked to a drive in 2008. However, he then signed to the GP2 team ART Grand Prix partnering Romain Grosjean . On 8 January 2008 the team announced that the SA08 would be launched in Barcelona , Spain. On 12 February Super Aguri postponed the SA08 launch and did not announce for how long due to their uncertainty of
1225-473: The breach of contract by the promised partner SS United Group Oil & Gas Company resulting in the loss of financial backing as putting the team into financial difficulties. It was confirmed on 7 May that Super Aguri had gone into administration, after a team of corporate recovery partners was appointed to seek a buyer for the operation. In spite of the fact that it is mentioned the Magma Group pulled out, it
1274-493: The car has been placed on the development skills of Montagny. This was further evidenced at the start of the 2006 GP2 Series season, when Montagny was called in to test for the newly created FMS International team, to aid them and their drivers in understanding the complexities of the car, at Circuit Ricardo Tormo , Valencia, Spain , where Montagny had put in hundreds of testing laps in his time with Renault F1. For 2006, Super Aguri took Montagny on as third driver; however, he
1323-465: The chief test and development driver for the new GP2 Series , which would be powered by Renault engines. Montagny was the first driver to take the wheel of the car, and along with former F1 driver and ex-Renault F1 tester and Friday driver Allan McNish , divided testing duties between them, before the GP2 Series was officially launched in 2005. Much of the success of the championship and the drivability of
1372-401: The dominating Audi factory R10s . He was the first active Formula One driver to also participate at Le Mans in the same year since Mark Blundell in 1995. On 12 July, Super Aguri announced that Sakon Yamamoto would replace him from the German Grand Prix onwards. Montagny did not appear in his role as third driver for the next two weekends as only two Super Aguri SA06s were available but
1421-577: The feat in the Zandvoort Masters in the Netherlands later that year, beating then German Formula Three champion Nick Heidfeld . He consistently outpaced long-time teammate Sébastien Bourdais and ended the season with 10 wins from 22 races, including 12 pole positions, finishing the championship as runner-up behind David Saelens. Montagny moved up to Formula 3000 in 1999, driving for the DAMS team which
1470-565: The first lap when Spyker's Adrian Sutil collided with him after a failed passing move. Davidson's car was thrown into the air, severely jarring his back upon landing. He drove through the pain to finish 16th and was taken to hospital following the race. Shortly before the 2007 Australian Grand Prix , the team announced SS United Group Oil & Gas Company as its title sponsor. Also in 2007 Super Aguri signed an official supplier agreement with Speakerbus to supply race intercom. However, SS United Group defaulted on sponsorship payments, forcing
1519-553: The future of the team. The team then said that although it had cancelled its attendance at the final pre-season tests because some parts had not arrived, it expected to compete at the first race of the 2008 season in Australia. However, Magma pulled out of their proposed takeover, leaving Super Aguri's future in doubt again. The Super Aguri F1 Team travelled to Barcelona and competed in the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix , allegedly aided by financial support from Bernie Ecclestone . On arrival at
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1568-528: The grid for the start of the season. In its debut race at Bahrain, Sato successfully completed the Grand Prix while Ide retired on lap 35 with a mechanical failure and after nearly running over his pit crew. Suzuki deemed this race to be a good test for the team as the car had only done a maximum of 10 laps during pre-season testing. The team's second race (in Malaysia ) was little better, with again only Sato finishing
1617-553: The importance, at that time, of the Roman the town, located near important Roman roads . A church dedicated to St. Baudile is reported in 960. A second dedicated to the Virgin Mary appears in the texts in 1001. A Castle in Feurs is reported in 1246. In the Middle Ages , the city had no bridge over the Loire but there was a harbor (953) and another close to Randans (1060). Feurs with
1666-527: The practice was against Formula One regulations. The teams cited the fact that the Concorde Agreement mandated a car may not use any parts designed or constructed by another manufacturer of Formula One cars. Super Aguri (as well as Scuderia Toro Rosso and Red Bull) seemed to be in violation about this. The FIA however did not have the authority to act on the Concorde Agreement without the matter already being resolved in court. However, Super Aguri (as well as
1715-525: The race. Super Aguri's third race, the Australian Grand Prix , saw significant improvement. Ide said "This is the first time that both Taku and I have finished a race, so I am happy about that." At the San Marino Grand Prix , Ide was involved in a collision with Midland driver Christijan Albers , sending Albers into a series of spectacular rolls although incredibly he was unharmed. Ide
1764-463: The race. The team's improving form culminated with an impressive tenth place at the Brazilian Grand Prix from Sato, whilst Yamamoto set the seventh-fastest fastest lap , less than a second behind most of the points-finishers. Reports suggesting that the team would be using the works Honda chassis of 2006 came under intense resistance by rival teams Williams and Spyker, who contested that
1813-666: The season with multiple fractures obtained in an accident at Le Mans) respectively, before transferring up to French Formula Three in 1997 with the La Filière Martini team, debuting with another fourth place championship finish. Montagny had a breakthrough year in Formula Three in 1998, including a pole position at the Spa-Francorchamps race ahead of much more experienced drivers including Mark Webber , Luciano Burti , Enrique Bernoldi and Peter Dumbreck . He repeated
1862-621: The team to cut as many as 30 staff. At the Spanish Grand Prix the team scored its first point ever, when Takuma Sato finished in 8th place. The Japanese driver benefited from the high attrition rate which saw cars usually in the points from Ferrari , BMW Sauber , Toyota and Williams drop out. At the Canadian Grand Prix the team scored its highest finish to that date, with Takuma Sato finishing 6th and garnering 3 points, passing defending world champion Fernando Alonso on track en route. ITV commentators mention that had it not been for
1911-583: The team's time in the sport, it scored four points, all of which were scored by Takuma Sato during the 2007 season. Honda had completed the buyout of British American Racing at the end of 2005, keeping Jenson Button as lead driver, but displacing Takuma Sato in favor of Rubens Barrichello after Sato scored only a single point that year, which was his second full season with the team. In Japan, public pressure and Sato's continued popularity persuaded Honda to help Sato continue to compete in Formula One. This
1960-491: The workshops of the company that will build more locomotives under the orders of Régnié engineer. The sites of archaeological interest are many but all are discovered during the various works in the municipality. The city gave its name to the Forez province in which it is located. Feurs was the capital of the Loire department from 1793 to 1795, during the French Revolution . The river Lignon du Forez flows into
2009-539: Was based in Tokyo, Japan, but operated from the former Arrows factory at the Leafield Technical Centre , Oxfordshire, England. The cars were referred to as Super Aguri Hondas, with the team functioning to some degree as an unofficial Honda 'B'-team. After participating in the championship for 2 years and 4 months, the team withdrew from F1 after 4 races in the 2008 season due to financial difficulties. Throughout
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2058-449: Was down to Nick Fry not accepting the 3-year debt payment plan Magma Group proposed. Fry wanted the whole payment at once or he would not allow the team to compete. The team's assets were bought by German businessman Franz Hilmer ( Formtech GmbH ), who applied unsuccessfully to enter the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship using the Brabham name. The intellectual property of the team
2107-615: Was falling from its peak by then. One podium finish at the Hungaroring was his main success; he totalled only 6 points and tenth place that season. He however ended the year with success in the Elf Masters Karting at Paris-Bercy . A repeat of his unsuccessful year in Formula 3000 prompted a move to World Series by Nissan in 2001, signing for the Epsilon by Graff team. He won 8 races out of
2156-644: Was founded by the Romans . The name Feurs is a contraction of Segusiavorum Forum . With a forum the Gallo-Roman era, city was the capital of Ségusiaves as is indicated by Ptolemy and appears on the Tabula Peutingeriana . By extension, the city gave its name to Forez . Vestiges of the ancient Roman city are located by the current post office. Archaeologists have unearthed a theater , sewers , milestones , inscriptions , statuettes and pottery that reflect
2205-440: Was influential in the creation of Super Aguri's F1 project and the engine supply from Super Aguri's official partner Honda. Talks to start the team began in February 2005, but it was not until September that plans started to take shape. The team registered its intention to enter the Formula One World Championship to the FIA , Formula One's governing body, on 1 November (ahead of the governing body's 15 November deadline). However,
2254-437: Was not immediately known why, but Montagny later admitted that he tested positive for benzoylecgonine , a cocaine derivative after the Putrajaya ePrix. In March 2015, Montagny was given a two-year ban from racing, and was also disqualified from the Putrajaya race, in which he initially placed fifteenth. Montagny now works as a pit lane summariser and expert for French television. ** Team standings † Championship merged into
2303-437: Was promoted to full race driver in May after it was announced that Yuji Ide was to drop back into testing; Ide was demoted at the behest of the governing body who considered him insufficiently experienced for Formula One. Montagny hence competed in his first Grand Prix, the 2006 European Grand Prix on 7 May, qualifying last and retiring with a hydraulics problem. He did not finish his second race 2006 Spanish Grand Prix : after
2352-456: Was puzzling due to his age (the oldest F1 rookie at 31 years), lack of European racing experience, and not speaking English; nonetheless, Aguri Suzuki was initially adamant on promoting Japanese talent. On 4 May, after four races, the team announced that Montagny would be replacing Ide as race driver in the European Grand Prix and subsequent races, after Ide's Super Licence was revoked after a clash with Christijan Albers . The team made it onto
2401-427: Was reprimanded by the race stewards. For the European Grand Prix , Ide and Montagny swapped roles within the team with Ide being demoted to test driver, at the request of the FIA, who felt Ide needed more experience outside of the Grand Prix. On 10 May 2006, the FIA Permit Office revoked Ide's Super Licence , thus preventing his return to an F1 seat until at least the 2007 season. Montagny raced until and including
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