Jean Rondeau (racing driver) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jean Rondeau
Nationality	French
Born	(1946-05-13)13 May 1946 Le Mans, France
Died	27 December 1985(1985-12-27) (aged 39) Champagné, France
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1972, 1974-1985
Best finish	1st (1980)
Class wins	3 (1977, 1978, 1980)

The Rondeau M379B that won the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans

Jean Jacques Ferdinand Rondeau (born May 13, 1946, in Le Mans, France – died December 27, 1985, in Champagné, France) was a famous French race car driver. He was also special because he built his own race cars! In 1980, he won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race in a car that had his own name on it. This is a very rare achievement in racing history.

Jean Rondeau's Racing Career

Jean Rondeau started his racing journey in a series called Formula Renault. After that, he moved on to race saloon cars, which are like regular cars but built for racing. He raced in a few Le Mans events as a guest driver. In 1976, he became the leader of the Inaltera racing team.

Winning the Le Mans Race

After the Inaltera company stopped sponsoring his team, Rondeau continued racing. He used cars with Ford engines that carried his own name, starting in 1978. A big moment came in 1979 when he hired the famous driver Henri Pescarolo for his team.

In 1980, Jean Rondeau and his teammate Jean-Pierre Jaussaud achieved a huge victory. They won the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans race! They had a tough battle against another strong team, but they managed to win by two laps. This made Rondeau the only person ever to win the Le Mans race in a car he designed and named himself.

Later Races

In 1984, Rondeau finished second in the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans race. He was part of an American team and raced a Porsche 956B with John Paul Jr.. They finished just two laps behind the winners.

Building His Own Race Cars

Jean Rondeau also played a big part in creating new race cars. In the mid-1970s, he helped develop a special type of race car called a Group Six car. He believed that the powerful Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine was the best choice for success.

Early Designs

With sponsorship from a French wallpaper company called Inaltera, Rondeau built a Group Six car. This car was allowed to compete in the GT prototype class. The first car Rondeau built to race at Le Mans was the Inaltera GTP in 1976. This car won its class for two years in a row. In 1977, it even finished fourth overall in the race!

Rondeau Cars Take Over

When Inaltera stopped their support, Rondeau found a new sponsor, Otis, an elevator company. He then built slightly changed versions of the Inaltera cars, but this time they had his own name on them. The Rondeau M378 was introduced in 1978, and the Rondeau M379 came out the next year.

Even though his cars didn't do very well in 1978 and 1979, the Rondeau team surprised everyone in 1980. Their M379B car won first place and another Rondeau car finished third in the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans! This win made Rondeau one of only two independent builders (not linked to a big car company) to win at Le Mans since 1949.

In 1981, Rondeau entered five cars in the Le Mans race, and two of them finished second and third. However, this race was also sad because one of the Rondeau team drivers, Jean-Louis Lafosse, had a fatal accident. After this, Rondeau cars never reached such high achievements at Le Mans again.

Challenges and End of the Team

In 1982, the Rondeau team tried to win the manufacturers' title in the World Endurance Championship. They won a race at Monza and had two other podium finishes. This put them in a close second place behind Porsche. However, their new Cosworth DFL engines were not reliable enough for Le Mans, and all three of their main cars had to stop racing due to mechanical problems.

A controversial decision by the racing authorities allowed Porsche to win the title. Because of this, Rondeau's main sponsor, Otis, was very upset and stopped their support. In 1983, Ford became Rondeau's main supporter, and a new car, the Rondeau M482, was introduced. But the engines were still not reliable, and the team faced challenges with car design. It became clear that Rondeau's team would need a lot more development to be competitive, which they couldn't afford. So, Rondeau's team was closed down at the end of 1983.

The last time a Rondeau car was seen at Le Mans was in 1988, driven by private teams. Today, some of the old Rondeau M379B cars are still raced in special historic competitions. A total of 19 Rondeau cars were built, and 17 of them still exist today.

A Tragic Accident

Sadly, Jean Rondeau passed away in a tragic accident in December 1985. His car was hit by a train near Champagné.

Racing Record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1972	Guy Edwards	Brian Robinson	Chevron B21-Cosworth	S 2.0	76	DNF	DNF
1974	Christian Poirot	Christian Poirot	Porsche 908/02	S 3.0	252	19th	7th
1975	Auto Mazda Claude Buchet	Claude Buchet	Mazda RX-3 Coupé	TS	78	DNF	DNF
1976	Inaltéra	Christine Beckers Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Inaltéra GTP LM-Cosworth	GTP	264	21st	3rd
1977	Inaltéra	Jean Ragnotti	Inaltéra GTP LM77-Cosworth	GTP	315	4th	1st
1978	Jean Rondeau	Bernard Darniche Jacky Haran	Rondeau M378-Cosworth	GTP	294	9th	1st
1979	Jean Rondeau	Jacky Haran	Rondeau M379-Cosworth	GTP	207	DNF	DNF
1980	Jean Rondeau	Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Rondeau M379B-Cosworth	Gr.6 S 3.0	339	1st	1st
1981	Jean Rondeau	Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Rondeau M379C-Cosworth	Gr.6 S +2.0	58	DNF	DNF
1982	Automobiles Jean Rondeau	Henri Pescarolo Jean Ragnotti	Rondeau M382-Cosworth	Gr.C	146	DNF	DNF
1983	Jean Rondeau Ford France	Alain Ferté Michel Ferté	Rondeau M482-Ford Cosworth	C	90	DNF	DNF
1984	Henn's T-Bird Swap Shop	John Paul Jr.	Porsche 956	C1	358	2nd	2nd
1985	WM Peugeot	Michel Pignard Jean-Daniel Raulet	WM P83B-Peugeot	C1	299	17th	14th
Sources:

Images for kids

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  An early 1980s Rondeau M382 chassis.