Career
After winning the "Volant V" in 1977 at the André Pilette Racing School, Zolder, Boutsen entered the Belgian Formula Ford 1600 championship and won it in 1978 with 15 victories in 18 races. He also entered the 1978 Spa 24 Hours race, the very last auto race on the old 14 km (8.7 mi) Spa-Francorchamps circuit- driving a Toyota Trueno. For 1979 he moved to Formula 3, winning three races in 1980 and second place in the European title race, behind Michele Alboreto. In 1981 he moved to Formula 2 and was again second in the European championship, including winning at the 14-mile Nürburgring- this time behind Geoff Lees. He also entered the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race started at 3pm – one hour earlier than usual due to the Parliamentary elections held on the same weekend.
At 4:06pm Boutsen suffered a massive accident just after the Hunaudières kink, some 400 metres (0.25 mi) before the Mulsanne bosse (the "hump") when his WM P81-Peugeot was travelling at some 350 km/h (217 mph). A suspension piece had failed and the car hit the guard-rail losing the entire rear end. Boutsen was untouched, but the debris field of hurled parts and bodywork was spread over 150 metres (490 ft). Three marshals were struck by the debris. One of them, Thierry Mabillat was killed, struck in the chest by a detached piece of the guard rail. Two of his colleagues, Claude Hertault and Serge David (who lost an arm), were seriously injured.
In 1983 Boutsen drove in the European Touring Car Championship and in World Sportscar races, where he won the very first Group C race, the Monza 1000 km with Bob Wollek driving a Porsche 956. He also won the famous Daytona 24 hour race in 1985, co-driving the Porsche 956 from the Preston Henn Racing with Bob Wollek, AJ Foyt and Al Unser Sr.
In 1983 he paid $500,000 for a drive in Formula One, and made his debut with Arrows at his home race, the 1983 Belgian Grand Prix at the shortened 7 km (4.3 mi) Spa. At the 1985 San Marino Grand Prix, Boutsen finished third, behind Alain Prost and Elio de Angelis, but after the race, Prost and de Angelis were disqualified because their cars were 2 kg underweight, meaning that Boutsen won for the first time in his Formula One career. This also gave the Arrows team their first ever win. But later, de Angelis was reinstated, and was given the race win. Boutsen dropped to second place, and Arrows were denied their first race win. A greater opportunity for Boutsen came when he moved to Benetton in 1987 where he scored six 3rd place finishes for the team. In parallel to F1 he drove for the Walter Brun team in Group C and clinched the World Championship title with them in 1986, winning Spa 1000 km.
In 1989 Frank Williams signed him on a two-year contract, where he had his three Grand Prix wins. In 1989 and he won the rain-soaked Canadian and Australian Grands Prix and in 1990 he scored a victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix over his friend Ayrton Senna's McLaren-Honda. In 1991 he moved to Ligier and from there to replace Ivan Capelli at Jordan in 1993, after which he retired from Formula One.
Boutsen then drove sports cars in the US, driving for Champion Racing in a Porsche GT-One, alongside Bill Adam and Hans Stuck. The trio finished 2nd in class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1997, Boutsen won the GT-One US Championship with the Champion Racing in 1998. After a crash at Le Mans in 1999 at the wheel of a Toyota Gt-one he retired from racing altogether.
Today Boutsen runs his own company, Boutsen Aviation, in Monaco. Its business is the "Sale and Acquisition of Business Jets". He founded the company in 1997 with his wife Daniela and, to date (5-2011) the company has sold 205 aircraft, ranging from Airbus Corporate Jets to Cessna Citation. He is also co-owner of Boutsen Energy Racing, alongside his brother-in-law Olivier Lainé and Georges Kaczka. The team competes in the Formula Le Mans class in the Le Mans Series. Boutsen also runs cars in Formula Renault and Eurocup Mégane Trophy.
Read more about this topic: Thierry Boutsen
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