Marc Gené

Personal Details
 
Date of birth 29 Mar 1974    
Birthplace Sabadell (Barcelona, E)    
Nationality Spanish    
Lives St Quirze del Valles    
Marital status Single    
Height 1.73 m    
Weight 69 kg    
Hobbies Reading (esp. history and psychology), cinema, mountainbiking, diving, mountain-climbing    
Favourite food Pasta    
Favourite drink 7UP    
First drove a car At the age of 8 in a Ford Fiesta    
First drove a racing car A go-kart at the age of 6    


Career Highlights

1987 Second in the Catalan Kart Championship    
1988 First in the Spanish Kart Championship (national class);    
  First in the Catalan Kart Championship (national class)    
1989 10th in the European Kart Championship (junior class);    
  19th in the World Kart Championship (national class)    
1990 First in the Spanish Kart Championship (youngest winner in the senior class)    
1991 First in the Catalan Kart Championship(senior class);    
  13th in the World Kart Championship, Formula A    
1992 5th in the Spanish Formula Ford Championship, one win, one pole position    
1993 2nd in the Formula Ford Festival (World Cup), Team Manor Motorsport;    
  2nd in the Formula Ford European Championship, one win and three podium placings in four races    
1994 British Formula 3 Championship, Alan Docking Racing, "Rookie of the Year";    
  7th in the international Formula 3 Challenge at Donington Park    
1995 British Formula 3 Championship, West Surrey Racing, two podium placings;    
  2nd Avon Prize for the three fastest drivers in British Formula 3;    
1996 1st in the II Fisa Golden Cup Superformula, one win, four podium placings, four pole positions    
1997 International Formula 3000 Championship, Pacific Racing Team and Nordic Racing Team    
1998 1st in the Formula Open Fortuna by Nissan, Team Adrian Campos Motorsports, six wins;    
  Formula One test with Fondmetal Minardi Ford    
1999 17th in the Formula One World Championship;    
  Fondmetal Minardi Ford, 10 out of 16 possible finishes, 6th in the Nürburgring Grand Prix; nominated "Best Rookie of the Year" by the Spanish Car and Driver magazine and as Driver of the Year by Spanish Motorracing World    
2000 19th in the Formula One World Championship    
  Telefonica Minardi Team, 8 out of 17 possible finishes    
2001 Official test and reserve driver to the BMW WilliamsF1 Team.

 

Profile

The model pupil
His favourite pastimes don't really fit in with the dynamic world of racing - Marc Gené loves reading, whenever and wherever he can. He devours books by the shelfload, preferably biographies and specialist books on history and psychology. When it comes to newspapers, he devotes particular attention to the financial pages. The Spaniard graduated from the University of Buckingham in 1995 with a degree in economics.

Academics are a rare breed among the sporting elite. Strict training precludes the pursuit of further vocational studies in the interests of one's professional career. Even school can quickly become a regrettable drain on precious sporting time. Marc, on the other hand, was a model pupil. Good grades were the foundation stone of his racing career. "At the age of ten I used to get very good marks," he recalls, "and I was allowed to choose a present as a reward." It didn't take him long to decide - for the hobby he shared with Jordi, one of two older brothers, he was given his first go-kart.

At the age of twelve Marc was contesting his first races. At 14 he was Catalan and Spanish karting champion. In 1993, at the age of 19, he first drew attention to himself in international Formula racing. Anyone hoping to appear in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in England has to beat the best young racing talent from around the world, race for race, in a knockout system. Gené was runner-up in this world cup and achieved the same result in the Formula Ford European Championship.

First Formula One test in 1998
Two years in the British Formula 3 Championship were followed in 1996 by victory in the Fisa Golden Cup Superformula in Italy and in 1997 by his move into the international Formula 3000 Championship, before Giancarlo Minardi gave him the chance of testing a Formula One car. "That was the best experience of all," recalls Marc. "That day a childhood dream come true for me."

That test paved the way for him to ascent into Formula One. In 1999 and 2000 the proud Catalan drove for the Italian team. He came away with a single world championship point - "even so, nobody should knock Minardi," he emphasises. "The team makes the most of what it's got and optimises with the resources available."

A new opportunity with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team
For Marc Gené, signing up as the official test driver for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team for the 2001 season was like hitting the jackpot. "I knew straightaway that this was a chance to get my hands on top-flight material and prove my ability in Formula One - it's the only way I can show myself worthy of a firm place in one of the established teams. I might miss not being able to race full time," admits Marc. "But even so, I'll be clocking up more Formula One kilometres in 2001 than in any previous season. Technology and development are the heart of Formula One, and I'll be learning a lot."

Learning, for him, is a passion. After perfecting his English he is now tackling Italian, French and German. And he's also toying with the idea of going back to university - to do an MA in economics, for example, or a completely new degree, preferably in law or psychology.