BIO

Formula 1

Born the 23 of December 1968 Gachot was considered one of the sport’s most promising young drivers. He was signed by the newly- formed Onyx team, having played a role in attracting the team’s Moneytron sponsorship from the erratic Jean-Pierre van Rossem and partnered with the experienced Stefan Johansson.

The team was well-funded but late in getting their car prepared. As a new entrant they were consigned to the hugely competitive Friday morning prequalifying sessions and it wasn’t until the French Grand Prix that Gachot made it onto the grid. There he impressed, starting 11th ( two places ahead of Johansson) and ran in the points until battery problems dropped him to an eventual 13th and last.

1990 was initially more promising as he switched to the Coloni team. The small Italian outfit had signed an exclusive deal with Subaru to use their new Carlo Chiti designed Motor Modern built 1235 flat-12 engine and Gachot was selected to drive the sole entry.

However the engine was overweight and underpowered, resulting in an ill-handling car that rarely ran for more than a few laps and Gachot didn’t look like getting out of prequalifying. Subaru withdrew entirely after the British Grand Prix. After that the car ran with a Cosworth DFR engine and performances improved; the withdrawal of Onyx ironically promoted Gachot to the main qualifying sessions but the car still wasn’t quick enough and he failed to the grid all season.