Jean-Louis Schlesser

Jean-Louis Schlesser (12 September 1948 - Present): French racing driver from Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, the nephew of Jo Schlesser who tragically died at the 1968 French Grand Prix. He began racing in the early 1970s after enrolling at the racing school at Le Mans, starting with numerous rally events. In 1976 he entered Formula Three, alternating between the French and European series for the next six years and sharing the 1978 French championship with Alain Prost. Working as a test driver for Williams, he gained his first taste of Formula One in early 1983 when he bought a drive in the RAM team's March-RAM 01-Cosworth.

At the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard he was the slowest of 29 cars in qualifying and failed to qualify. In 1988 Williams called upon Schlesser to deputise for an unwell Nigel Mansell at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. This race became his most infamous appearance—Senna came up to lap Schlesser for the second time and Schlesser's left front wheel hit Senna's right rear, causing the McLaren to spin and beach itself on a kerb, leaving the Ferraris to secure a one-two finish on home soil. In 1988 he joined Sauber-Mercedes full-time, winning the German Supercup and finishing second in the World Sportscar Championship behind Martin Brundle before winning the WSC title in 1989 and 1990, sharing with co-driver Mauro Baldi.

His Project Four Ralt RT1-BMW scored a succession of third-place finishes in Formula 2, finishing seventh in the 1977 European F2 Championship and sixth in 1978. In 1998 he switched to Renault power and won four consecutive World Championships including a win on the Paris-Dakar in 1999. Schlesser won every edition of the Africa Eco Race from its establishment in 2009 to 2014.