Jean-Christophe Boullion

Jean-Christophe Boullion is a former French racing driver who has an impressive record both in the open-wheel racing and sports car racing. He recorded eleven Formula 1 starts, driving for Red Bull Sauber Ford in 1995. A year earlier, he was the International Formula 3000 champion.

In the sports car racing, Boullion was the Le Mans Series champion two times, in 2005 and 2006. He participated fourteen times at Le Mans 24 Hours, reaching an overall podium two times, in 2005 and 2007.

Jean-Christophe Boullionended his racing career in 2012

Formula Ford champion early in a career

Born in December 1969 in Saint-Brieuc in northwestern France, Boullion spent his teenage years in karting competitions, progressing to car racing in 1988. He attended a racing school near Paris and then entered the French Formula Ford 1600 in 1989. In 1990, he won the Formula Ford title with nine wins in ten races.

The next step was the French Formula 3 Championship in 1991. He spent two seasons in the Formula 3, driving for Graff Racing. He was sixth in 1991 and fourth in 1992.

Boullion was the 1994 F3000 champion in the #1 Reynard-Cosworth

International Formula 3000 champion in 1994

In 1993, Boullion joined Apomatox team in the International Formula 3000 Championship. Driving the #11 Reynard-Cosworth, he scored two podiums in the last two championship rounds, finishing 8th in the final standings.

For the 1994 Formula 3000 season, Boullion joined DAMS team to drive the #1 Reynard-Cosworth. He won the last three rounds of the championship, at Spa, Estoril and Magny-Cours, to win the title with a 2-point advantage over Franck Lagorce.

In June 1994, Boullion made a debut at Le Mans 24 Hours, driving the #34 Bugatti EB110 SS. He was sharing a car with Alain Cudini and Eric Helary. They retired after 230 laps because of an accident.

Jean-Christophe Boullion in 1995

Formula One season with Sauber

In 1995, Boullion made a progress to Formula One. Initially, he was signed as a test driver for Williams but he was loaned to Red Bull Sauber to replace Karl Wendlinger from the fifth round. Boullion made a debut in the #29 Sauber C14 at the Monaco Grand Prix, finishing in the 8th place.

Later in the season, he scored points two times by finishing fifth in the German Grand Prix at Hockenheimring and sixth in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Wendlinger returned to the team for the last two rounds in Japan and Australia. With three points on his account, Boullion finished 16th in the points.

Boullion never started in Formula 1 again. In the following years, he had testing duties with different teams (Williams, Jordan, Tyrrell) but he focused his career on other racing disciplines.

Boullion was driving the #37 Renault Laguna in the 1999 BTCC season

A season with Renault in the British Touring Car Championship

Boullion returned to full-time racing in 1997, participating in the Renault Spider Eurocup. He was a race winner two times, finishing fourth in the points.

In 1999, Boullion spent a season in the British Touring Car Championship with Williams Renault. He was driving the #37 Renault Laguna. Scoring just one podium, at Silverstone, he finished 10th in the points.

Three DNFs at Le Mans from 1997 to 2000

Boullion recorded three unsuccessful Le Mans attempts from 1997 to 2000. In 1997, he was sharing the #52 DAMS Panoz Esperante GTR-1 with Franck Lagorce and Eric Bernard, retiring after 149 laps.

In 1998, Boullion returned to Le Mans in the #5 JB Racing Ferrari 333 SP, sharing a car with Vincenzo Sospiri and Jerome Policand. A broken gearbox forced them to retire after 187 laps. Boullion recorded his fourth Le Mans attempt and fourth DNF in 2000, driving the #34 Reynard 2KQ-Volkswagen for ROC team. His partners were Jordi Gene and Jerome Policand.

After joining Pescarolo Sport, Boullion was racing in a Courage C60-Peugeot

Joining Pescarolo Sport in 2001

In 2001, Boullion joined Pescarolo Sport and stayed with the team for an entire decade, scoring numerous wins and several championship titles. He made a debut with Pescarolo Sport's Courage C60-Peugeot at Sebring 12 Hours in March 2001.

Later during the season, he participated in the FIA Sportscar Championship, European Le Mans Series and at Le Mans 24 Hours. He finally reached the finish line at Le Mans, 13th overall and 4th in the LMP900 class together with Sebastien Bourdais and Laurent Redon in the #17 Courage C60. Boullion's first win with Pescarolo Sport was in the ELMS round at Estoril.

Third place in the 2002 FIA Sportscar Championship

In 2002, Boullion took part in the FIA Sportscar Championship only, scoring two wins in five races to finish third in the points. He was a race winner at Barcelona and Spa, sharing the #16 Courage C60-Peugeot with Sebastien Bourdais. At Le Mans, they were sharing the #17 car with Franck Lagorce, finishing in the tenth place.

In 2003, Boullion reduced his commitments to just three races. He and Stephane Sarrazin won the Sportscar Championship round at Estoril. At Le Mans, Boullion and Sarrazin were joined by Franck Lagorce, finishing in 8th place.

¸Jean-Christophe Boullion (left) with teammates Emmanuel Collard and Erik Comas¸

Championship title and Le Mans podium in 2005

Boullion was out of racing in 2004 and then returned with Pescarolo Sport to win the Le Mans Endurance Series LMP1 title and to score his first Le Mans 24h podium. His race car was a Pescarolo C60 Hybrid-Judd.

Boullion's partners both in the championship and at Le Mans were Emmanuel Collard and Erik Comas. At Le Mans, they finished second, two laps behind ADT Champion Racing's Audi R8.

One more LMS title in 2006, one more Le Mans podium in 2007

In 2006, Boullion and Emmanuel Collard had a perfect score in the Le Mans Series, winning all five races in the #17 Pescarolo C60 Hybrid-Judd.  They were race winners at Istanbul, Spa, Nurburgring, Donington Park and Jarama. That year, Boullion skipped Le Mans race.

He returned to Circuit de la Sarthe in 2007, scoring one more overall podium. He finished third in the #16 Pescarolo 01-Judd, sharing a car with Emmanuel Collard and Romain Dumas. In the 2007 Le Mans Series season, Boullion scored no wins and four podiums to finish second in the points.

Driving for Pescarolo Sport until 2009

Boullion stayed for two more seasons with Pescarolo Sport. In 2008, he scored one podium to finish sixth in the Le Mans Series. At Le Mans 24 Hours, Boullion, Emmanuel Collard and Romain Dumas didn't finish the race.

In 2009, Pescarolo Sport switched to Peugeot 908 HDi LMP1 prototype at Le Mans 24 Hours. Boullion was sharing the #17 car with Benoit Treluyer and Simon Pagenaud, retiring after 210 laps. In the Le Mans Series, the team continued to race with Pescarolo-Judd prototype. Boulliard finished second in the final LMP1 points, together with Christophe Tinseau.

Jean-Christophe Boullion joined Rebellion Racing in 2010

Two seasons with Rebellion Racing

After nine years with Pescarolo Sport, Boullion moved to Rebellion Racing in 2010. He was driving the #13 Lola B10/60 LMP1 prototype in the Le Mans Series, scoring one podium to finish seventh in the points. His full-time co-driver was Andrea Belicchi. At Le Mans 24h, Guy Smith joined them in the #13 car. They retired after 143 laps.

The crew was the same in the 2011 Le Mans race in the #13 Lola B10/65-Toyota. They retired again, stopping because of an accident after 190 laps. In the 2011 Le Mans Series, Boullion and Belicchi finished second in the LMP1 class.

Short return to Pescarolo Team before retirement

In 21012, Boullion returned to Pescarolo Team to participate in the inaugural season of revived FIA World Endurance Championship. He finished sixth at Sebring 12 Hours, sharing the #16 Pescarolo 01 Evo-Judd with Emmanuel Collard and Julien Jousse.

In June, Boullion was supposed to race with Pescarolo 03-Judd LMP1 prototype at Le Mans, but he didn't start the race because he was injured in an accident few days before the race. That withdrawal marked an end of his racing career.

Photos: motorsport.com,