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Yannick Dalmas is without question the most successful racing driver at Le Mans over the past decade, winning the endurance classic four times, the first of which was in 1992 with Peugeot. That year, he became the World Sportscar Champion with Derek Warwick. A former single-seat specialist in Formula Three, F3000 and Formula One, the Frenchman switched to endurance racing in 1991 and has never looked back.
Dalmas started his racing career on motor cross bikes in 1976 and did not make his car racing debut until 1982 in the French Formula Renault Championship. He recorded three wins in the series on his way to third position in the championship but won six times the following year to claim the title. In 1985 he switched to the French Formula Three Championship, winning three races on his way to second in the title race, but was crowned champion at his second attempt, also winning the Grand Prix support race at Monaco.
In 1987 Dalmas placed fifth in the overall Formula 3000 Championship standings as well as contesting three Grands Prix for Lola-Ford, scoring two championship points at the Australian Grand Prix. He stayed with Lola-Ford for the 1988 season before switching to AGS mid-1989 where he finished with Formula One in 1990, to concentrate on endurance racing with Peugeot.
Dalmas' record from 1992 onwards is quite stunning. Victory at Le Mans in the Peugeot 905 in 1992 and the Sportscar World Championship title that same year, he was second in 1993 at Le Mans, won in 1994 in the Dauer Porsche and won again in 1995, sharing with JJ Lehto and Masanori Sekiya in the McLaren F1 GTR. He was third for Porsche in 1996 and competed in the German and International Touring Car Series for Opel.
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