Published April 17, 2009
A couple of new updates on the official FKM site give us an insight into what the man himself has been up to off track. Whilst he's not actually racing at the 1,000K of Spa, Franck turned up to a photoshoot with Peugeot. The Google translate suggests: Well, it's true that taking poses in front of the lens is probably not his favorite exercise, but it could be harder and …
Published April 8, 2009
So, as it turns out, Peugeot have decided that the lovely Franck won't be racing at the 1,000 km of Spa. After such great fun at Sebring, I'm disappointed. Olivier Quesnel - Director of Peugeot Sport - says: This is not a delay in our preparation or our work, but an adjustment in our organization. The priority remains Le Mans and I do not want to wear the team preparing …
Published April 6, 2009
Just popped over to the official FKM site and saw this post that is asking for helmet designs. Now that Franck is in the US, he fancies a change and wants some help redesigning his helmet, with the one stipulation that it has to reflect the colours already in place: The famous fuschia, white, gold, silver, black, playing on effects mat and shiny... Come on, now, it's pink, and we …
Published March 23, 2009
Franck's keeping positive: I am disappointed by the outcome but still satisfied because we have worked well. We came to learn a difficult circuit. 12 hours here is worth 24 hours in Le Mans! The new Audi was within reach on land which is not in favor of the 908, very responsive. The team worked hard all winter and that's what makes me optimistic for the future. He's got two …
Published March 23, 2009
Argh, it was just so disappointing. I was looking forward to posting a picture of Franck on the podium but he looked so utterly miserable, I couldn't bear it. They got off to a really bad start, when the car had to begin the race from the pitlane after developing problems. Franck was the first behind the wheel and had soon made his way up to third. The number #7 …
Published March 21, 2009
Finally the race arrives, and I don't know about you, but I'm ready to see Franck in action. The 12 Hours of Sebring kicks off today, and if you want to follow along, then I would highly recommend Sidepodcast.com (well, I would, wouldn't I?). A live thread will be available ahead of the race, and chances are there will be many more knowledgeable people than me. What else can I …
Published March 20, 2009
Qualifying was a surprise for all involved as Scott Dixon took pole position with de Ferran Motorsports' Acura. The petrol powered car dominated the works diesel of both Audi and Peugeot, although the split to second place Tom Kristensen was barely a tenth of a second. The entire top five was only split by 0.28, with Klien picking up third for Peugeot. Franck's car was fifth, although it was Bourdais …
Published March 18, 2009
It turns out testing can be a topsy-turvy experience. On the second day, Peugeot jumped ahead, although it wasn't Franck's car topping the times. All times were at least a second slower than Monday, but Nicolas Minassian led the way just three tenths ahead of Allan McNish. Unfortunately, it Bourdais had an off and didn't manage to set a time. Uh oh. Le Seb didn't get very far at all, …
Published March 17, 2009
Franck has left a note on his official website, that shows his excitement over the upcoming race: Sebring is coming YYYEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH! He adds he was getting tired of the gym and wants to start racing again, and that he's "super ultra motivated" for the first race of the new year. In other, more disappointing news, Audi led the first official test day. Both Peugeot and Audi have completed private tests, …
Published March 16, 2009
In slightly worrying news, Peugeot Sport have admitted that their participation in the Sebring 12 Hours is simply a test for Le Mans 24 Hours later in the year. It's not unusual for teams to use the race as a practice run for Le Mans, but to be so open about it isn't a good sign, really. It may be that they are simply playing down the prospect of a …
Published February 24, 2009
In the latest update on Franck's official site, there appears to be a new nickname in there for our favourite guy. Instead of just FKM, we can now call him: "Franck the Tank". I'm not entirely sure I'm on board with this new name, so I chose to ignore it and move on. The rest of the entry simply tells us that Franck will be visiting AGR before training hard …
Published February 18, 2009
I just realised that I didn't share the video I made of Franck at Autosport. There are other clips in there as well, as my Sidepodcast Diaries audience have a wider variety of tastes than Mr M. Silly people! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y2EU6wzmXA The whole thing tells a story, but if you only want to see FKM, visit 1:42, 2:53 and 3:12. Yum!
Published February 17, 2009
My little Franck-obsessed corner of the web turns one year old this month. We started on the 5th February, in an attempt to follow the Frenchman as he navigated his way through Champ Car. Of course, that didn't happen, but I was not deterred. We've followed Franck through A1GP, ALMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and hopefully, there is plenty more to look forward to in 2009 and …
Published February 16, 2009
The official Franck site has recently uploaded some more pictures to the gallery, featuring photos throughout the man's career. Whilst perusing these pictures, it reminded me of something from Autosport International. We were busy stalking FKM, as expected, and he was asked to pose in front of the Peugeot car, with fellow driver Nicolas Minassian. The photographer said: "Let's see some smiles." And Franck muttered something like: "I am smiling." …
Published February 10, 2009
Peugeot Sport announced their lineup yesterday for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, confirming that Montagny would join them for the second year in a row. He'll also turn up for a couple of prepatory events, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and 1000 Kilometres of Spa. I've never heard of either of these events but am now very excited about them. FKM's team mates for Spa and Sebring have been …
Published January 29, 2009
A few days ago, a new update appeared on the news section of Franck's official site, and I have just got round to translating it and having a read. There's not much in the way of news, Franck's in training for the new season, and will apparently be getting in the Peugeot soon. The bit that interested me, though, was this: You may have noticed that the stories were more …
Published January 11, 2009
During his second day at Autosport International, Franck chose to talk about his prospects with Peugeot Sport. Having worked with them for the 24 Hour Le Mans race in 2008, Franck quickly signed up to continue racing with them this year, but at the moment, he doesn't know to what extent his workload will be. I am with the team for 2009, I don't know exactly what my programme will …
Published January 11, 2009
As mentioned in a previous blog entry, Mr M turned up at the trade show in Birmingham, and he had plenty to say for himself. He's been pretty quiet recently, after finishing up his year with ALMS, and he turned up at the show on behalf of Peugeot Sport - his Le Mans team. He wasn't the only member of the squad there, but of course, he was the most …
Published January 5, 2009
It's Franck's birthday today. I am ashamed. I didn't forget, but I did not actually know when his birthday was. This is terrible and I now have the date burned into my mind for future reference. Happy Birthday, Franck! As it turns out, I was reminded by Scott Woodwiss, who has written an excellent blog post on the subject. I will point you in that direction, and simply say: What …
Published January 3, 2009
As am I! According to this story, Peugeot Sport will be showing off their cars at the Autosport event next weekend - with the details as follows: Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle will be on the Peugeot Sport stand on Thursday 8th for interviews. Nicolas Minassian and Franck Montagny will also be available on the Peugeot Sport stand for interviews on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th. I'll be there on …
Published December 5, 2008
I'm not entirely sure why, presumably just as an exercise in corporate relations, but Peugeot Sport took their Le Mans team to the Michelin factory in France. They had a look round they tyre manufacturing plant, but also learnt some of the basics of production and had a go at making a tyre themselves. Wurz, Gene, Sarrazin, Minassian and Lamy were all very impressed with what they saw, but here's …
Published November 24, 2008
I was just checking out the official Franck site for any news and updates on our favourite Frenchman and the latest article is about his test with AGR. However, at the end of the post, there is a snippet of information. Since then, Franck returned to Europe on our good old continent. On the agenda this week, a Training Camp in good and due form! Franck joined his coach and …
Published November 24, 2008
After a relatively good showing with AGR's American Le Mans team, Montagny was given a road course test with the IndyCar team a couple of weeks ago. Franck already had a go in the Indy car back in September, testing at the Kentucky Speedway, but this time he got to have a go at Sebring - which should be a more preferable circuit style to him. He tested with Tony …
Published September 1, 2008
It's been a while, but I return with good tidings. Franck won his first ALMS race this weekend, taking the top stop of the podium with team mate James Rossiter. The win came after some good strategic calls from the team, some good decision making in the pit stops, and some good driving from Mr FKM. The team waited until the minimum amount of time a driver has to be …
Published August 12, 2008
Well, I can only apologise for not updating more often. There are no excuses, except I don't really understand the Le Mans series very well, and therefore don't find myself going looking for news every day. It looks like Montagny is showing well in the series, but having some small bouts of bad luck. At the moment he's partnered with James Rossiter, I believe, and they raced this weekend at …
Published July 13, 2008
It started out well for Franck, as he finished the first practice session on top, although only by a tenth of a second. He then went on to hold a provisional pole during the qualifying sessions, but ultimately finished seventh. Afterwards, however, two Audi drivers were given penalties and pushed back to ninth on the grid - which helped our boy somewhat! Overall, Montagny finished 6th, and three laps down, …
Published July 13, 2008
Having performed so well in the Le Mans 24 Hour race, Montagny has been snapped up for the American Le Mans series for the remainder of the season. Now, I'm a bit late with news, and the race this weekend at Lime Rock sees Montagny teaming up with Marco Andretti but it looks like he will have various team mates throughout the season. The new lineup is somewhat unexpected, as …
Published June 18, 2008
Oops. Turns out that when I said this year was his best result, I was wrong. And my only excuse is that clearly I cannot read. To make amends for my error, here is the full run-down of Franck's achievements at Le Mans. | Year | Team | Result | |---------|---------|---------| | 1998 | Courage | 5th | | 1999 | DAMS | DNF | | 2000 | DAMS | …
Published June 17, 2008
Franck did an amazing job. He started second, and at one point was driving so fast he could catch the leaders at four seconds a lap. He overtook the front runners to lead the race at one point, and then made the big mistake of handing the car over to Klien. A couple of laps in, Klien through the car in the gravel. Still, we have to be impressed that …
Published June 13, 2008
Peugeot continued their fine form from the first round of qualifying, and took the first three spots on the grid. Franck’s car is second, behind Stephane Sarrazin, and ahead of Marc Gene. The finishing times were over three seconds quicker than Audi. The full qualifying results can be viewed here. Unfortunately, Montagny’s team mate Ricardo Zonta was having a go in the car when he was involved in an incident. …
Published June 12, 2008
First qualifying for Le Mans 24 Hours took place last night (thanks to Andrea in the comments for the heads up). Our Peugeot boys were on top form, taking the top three spots, with main rival Audi taking the next three: | Pos | Class | Drivers | Team | Car | Time | Gap | |---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------| | 1 | LMP1 | Lamy, Sarrazin, Wurz | Team Peugeot Total | …
Published June 3, 2008
Peugeot turned up for the test day this past weekend, with the Sporting Director Michel Barge, summing up the day for the team: "We have prepared extremely thoroughly for this monumental competition. We have raced at Sebring and in the three rounds of the 2008 Le Mans Series, including Spa where we fielded two complete driver line-ups, not to mention an extremely busy programme of testing since the flag came …
Published May 20, 2008
Whilst the demise of Super Aguri is both sad and a seemingly interminable story, the highlight of reading the articles for me, is the odd mention of Franck. He drove for SA briefly in 2006, replacing Yuji Ide and being replaced by Sakon Yamamoto. Montagny was third driver initially, and got the chance as the FIA believed Ide wasn’t necessarily experienced enough to be a full driver. Franck raced for …
Published May 20, 2008
Apologies for not writing anything about Franck after the event, but he took part in the A1GP race at Brands Hatch at the beginning of this month. He didn’t do too badly, finishing 8th and then 5th in the two races, but it wasn’t enough for Team France to finish higher than fourth in the championship. Switzerland took the title, with New Zealand and Great Britain behind. Speaking afterwards, Franck …
Published April 23, 2008
As I mentioned briefly in the previous post about Franck’s successful outing at Long Beach, it looks like FKM had a confirmed Champ Car drive for 2009. Before the race, he said: It was disappointing to have a deal three weeks before the season, and then nothing. But we've kept very close with Forsythe and we have a very good relationship. Maybe there will be a chance to do IndyCar …
Published April 23, 2008
I can only apologise for not posting this news immediately, it is definitely worth a blog post or two! In his one and only Champ Car race, Franck managed to finish 2nd with an inspired drive. But let’s start at the beginning. It appears that Franck had a confirmed Champ Car drive, which is why he lined up on the grid in Long Beach this past weekend. This was his …
Published April 18, 2008
I've been away this week, and missed out on all the action of last weekend, which is typical because Franck was... both good and bad. We had a moment to celebrate when he hit the top of the time sheets in the final Free Practice session, just ahead of favourites Switzerland. | Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps | |---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------| | 1 | Franck Montagny …
Published April 4, 2008
Thanks to Andrea in the comments, we now know that Franck has been snapped up by A1 Team France to take part in a couple of A1 GP races. There are more details here (link retired), but FKM will be driving in Shanghai on the 11th-13th April, and at Brands Hatch on 2nd-4th May. I was tempted to visit A1 GP when I saw some footage from it at Autosport …
Published April 2, 2008
It looks to me like Franck is going to debut and finish up his Champ Car career in one and the same race. According to this story (link retired), Franck is one of 13 drivers confirmed to appear at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. I was not aware of this, and I'm finding it hard to find out any more information. If anyone else knows more, let me know!
Published March 26, 2008
I've just been looking at the official Franck Montagny site, and it's a bit odd. The news is in French, and I don't speak the language, which makes things a little bit tricky. What I am confused about is the beginning and the end. Beginning of news article: Hot wheels,hell yea !!!! Pas beaucoup de news ces derniers temps hein ?? End of news article: Voilà vous en savez tout …
Published March 23, 2008
In a recent interview with Ed Gorman at The Times Online, BBC 5live pit reporter Holly Samos talks about her scariest moment in the heart of the action. The pits are a dangerous place so you have to have your wits about you. One of my scariest moments was when I was about midway down the pitlane talking with a photographer. Franck Montagny, who was driving for Super Aguri at …
Published March 19, 2008
Toyota driver Timo Glock suffered a big accident at the season opener in Australia last weekend, and whilst he walked away mostly uninjured, there were a few days of doubt whether he would be able to race in Malaysia. It's now been announced that he will. And all I can say is phew. If Toyota had to fall back on their reserve driver, the second race after Montagny is no …
Published February 29, 2008
As pointed out by Steven Roy in the comments, Forsythe Racing have announced they won't be competing in whatever championship the Champ Car/IRL merger turns out to be. I don't know about Franck, but I was kinda pinning my hopes on him getting that drive. Now we have simply the Le Mans thing to look out for. However, the good news is that in looking at that news story, I …
Published February 22, 2008
So, there he is, with his Peugeot Le Mans team buddies. Is it just me or is the goatee not necessarily the best look he's ever had? He also looks a bit manic, what with the sticky up hair and the slightly menacing glare. Nevertheless, he's in the team and that's all that matters.
Published February 20, 2008
Peugeot are running three cars at this year's Le Mans race, meaning a hoarde of drivers signing up to sit behind the wheel. Christian Klien and Alex Wurz are other Formula 1 drivers getting involved, but of course the most important is Franck Montagny. The Peugeot 908 is a diesel powered car with the maximum size engine allowed. Last year, two of them ran, one of which qualified ahead of …
Published February 19, 2008
Well, that may be an exaggeration, but the former Formula 1 driver has been saying some nice things about our favourite Frenchman. It also looks like there’s no shortage of talented drivers staying in and coming into Champ Car. The Sebring test demonstrated something I’ve known for a long time – that Franck Montagny is every bit as quick as his test times suggest. He deserves a competitive ride this …
Published February 14, 2008
The news doing the rounds at the moment is that IRL and Champ Car are getting back together. I can’t pretend to understand this fully, because I’m a newbie, but I get the idea. The two used to be part of the same series but split apart a while back. Going their separate ways obviously hasn’t done them any favours, I imagine the division of fans, audience, and sponsors, isn’t …
Published February 6, 2008
Is it just me or does the official Champ Car website leave a lot to be desired? Half of it is out of date - the driver bios only go up to 2005. Which is now three years ago. At least the event schedule and the news is up to date. But there should be more video and pictures available. Although, compared to the official F1 site, it's a dream. …
Published February 5, 2008
On the first day of testing for Forsythe Pettit/Racing, Mr Montagny topped the timesheets. I'm told this is not his first time in a Champ Car, but that's still pretty impressive. The top five of Day 1: | Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | |---------|---------|---------|---------|---------| | 1 | Franck Montagny | Forsythe Pettit/Racing | 50.788 seconds | 118.304 mph | | 2 | Oriol Servia | …
Published February 5, 2008
Hello everyone, welcome to the I <3 Franck blog. The mean old man over at Sidepodcast won’t let me talk about Champ Car (even though they have sidepods too!), so I’ve created this blog to worship at the feet of my new favourite CC driver: Franck Montagny. I say my new favourite CC driver as if I had one before, but quite honestly, I know absolutely nothing about Champ Car. …