Jean Ragnotti

INTRODUCTION

Jean “Jeannot” Ragnotti (born August 29th 1945), is a French former rally driver for Renault in the World Rally Championship. He is one of the first in a long line of famed French tarmac specialists. Jean also had a side career as a circuit racing driver and participated in many 24 Hours of LeMans events. Ragnotti would claim three World Rally Championship victories over his career, all gained at the wheel of Renault 5 Turbos – his signature car.


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PERSONAL SUMMARY (WRC)

Personal information
Nationality France French
Born August 29th, 1945
Pernes-les-Fontains
World Rally Championship record
Active years 1973~1987, 1990~1995
Teams Renault
Rallies 41
Championships 0
Rally wins 3
Podiums 9
Stage wins 90
Total points 190
First rally 1973 Monte Carlo Rally
First win 1981 Monte Carlo Rally
Last win 1985 Tour de Corse
Last rally 1995 Tour de Corse

RALLY BIOGRAPHY

(under construction)

Early Career

At age 15, Jean Ragnotti begins competing in tractor obstacle courses. His true entry into competition in 1967 is in a regional race at the Miramas circuit, followed the same year by participating in the Rally Oil Istres with an R8 Gordini where he finished third overall and first in Group 2.

Career

The year 1968 finally launched his career. He participated in the rally Vaucluse, the Mistral rally, then in the Gordini Cup. He also was at Dijon-Longvic, to participate in the first round of the Coupe de France.

Encouraged by his excellent first season, in 1969, he enrolled again at the rally Vaucluse, where he replaced Franck Alesi’s father, John, who had the flu. Then he goes on winning the Ventouxdans Hillclimb for the under 1300 cc class. It was during this year that he temporarily leaves Renault to join the Opel stable. He finished his season at the wheel of an Opel Kadett Rallye 1900.

His 1970 season was even more prolific; He participated in his first rally in Monte Carlo, finishing eleventh overall and first in Group 1. Jeannot continued his momentum by participating in the Opel Commodore GSE Auto Tour and the Mont Blanc Rally where he ranks fifth overall and first in group 1. He concluded his season by rallying the Cevennes finishing fifth overall and first in group 1. He is then ranked second in the rally championship of France and fourth in the European Championship.

In 1977, he finished fourth in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with team-mate Jean Rondeau driving an Inaltera LM77, and winning their class (GTP). The following year, he competed alongside Guy Fréquelin and Jean-Pierre Jabouille driving a Renault Alpine A442, finishing fourth again. In 1979, he finished fifth with Bernard Darniche (three successive years in the top five).

In 1980, he participated in the Paris-Dakar rally driving a Volkswagen Iltis and finished ninth in the race. He also ran the 1986 event in a Range Rover.

In 1981 and 1984, he became France rally champion. During that period, he sparingly participated in select WRC events as a tarmac specialist.

In 1985, in addition to his victory rally of the 24 Hours of Ypres, he headed to the top of the European Rally Championship. He also won his home WRC event at the Tour de Corse, driving a Renault 5 Maxi turbo.

PARTIAL SOURCE: Wikipedia (1) + (2)

(possibly spell-checked, translated, and/or edited; abridged, corrected, and/or expanded)


GROUP B RESULTS (WRC)

(# = finish position / R = retired or DNF / = did not compete)

Y TEAM EVENT PTS
Monaco
MC
Sweden
SE
Portugal
PT
Kenya
KE
France
FR
Greece
GR
New Zealand
NZ
Brazil
BR
Finland
FI
Italy
IT
Ivory Coast
CI
United Kingdom
GB
82 Renault 1 R 20
Y Team Event pts
Monaco
MC
Sweden
SE
Portugal
PT
Kenya
KE
France
FR
Greece
GR
New Zealand
NZ
Argentina
AR
Finland
FI
Italy
IT
Ivory Coast
CI
United Kingdom
GB
83 Renault 7 R R 4
84 Renault 5 3 20
85 Renault 1 20
86 Renault * United States
US-
86 pts *

*NOTE: For 1986, Ragnotti competed in Group A


WRC VICTORIES

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AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

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GALLERY

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VIDEOS


REFERENCES

(C) Page by Jay Auger – website owner & author


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