The Frenchman clinched the IndyCar championship on the twists of turns of the Sonoma track in California. His race, like the rest of the season, was absolutely masterful. He started as favourite, with a forty-point lead over rival Will Power, but was undaunted by the pressure. Power ran into gearbox trouble but Pagenaud didn’t let up. Three seconds ahead of Graham Rahal and less than 20 over Juan-Pablo Montoya, Pagenaud held on until the end. His 2016 record speaks volumes: five wins, seven pole positions, 10 top-five finishes and 406 laps in the lead. This is his best season in the USA since he began competing stateside ten years ago.

Having won the Elf ACO young driver’s competition in 2000, Pagenaud seemed destined for a career in single-seater racing. He headed for the States and joined fellow countryman Sébastien Bourdais in the Champ Car series. Despite a worthy seventh place in 2007, he was left without a seat for 2008 and decided to try his luck in endurance.

Pagenaud was champion of the American Le Mans Series in 2010 with David Brabham, and went on to become the pillar of Peugeot’s 24 Hours of Le Mans campaign.

He raced Le Mans in 2008 with Oreca and joined Pescarolo Sport in 2009 in the privateer 908 HDi FAP that he shared with Benoît Tréluyer. Peugeot snapped him up in 2010 and in 2011, Peugeot’s last campaign to date, he finished just 13 seconds behind the Audi R18. When Peugeot pulled the plug on its programme, Pagenaud turned to IndyCar full time. He took his first win at Detroit in 2013, with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. He moved to Team Penske in 2015, which proved a winning strategy.

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest is proud to have revealed Pagenaud’s talent fifteen years ago. Many congratulations, Simon!