Pierre-Henri Raphanel

Pierre-Henri Raphanel (27 May 1961 - Present): French racing driver from Algeria who competed in Formula One from 1988 to 1989, participating in 17 Grand Prix entries for Larrousse, Coloni, and Rial, but qualifying for only one race—the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix—making him the only driver in Formula One history whose sole race start was at Monaco, though he later achieved success as Toyota's factory driver in Japan and became Bugatti's chief test driver, setting the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport's 431 km/h top speed record in 2010. Born to French parents in Algeria on 27 May 1961, Raphanel moved to France after Algeria's War of Independence ended and was raised in southern France, making a relatively late start to motorsport by becoming French national karting champion in 1981 at age 20.

He competed in Formula Renault in 1983 and moved up to French Formula 3 in 1984, finishing third overall and demonstrating promise. In 1985, Raphanel won the French Formula 3 Championship, taking four victories and establishing himself as France's leading junior driver. He made a further impression by winning the prestigious Monaco Formula 3 support race, always a showcase for rising talent. These achievements marked him as a Formula One prospect.

Raphanel made his Formula One debut attempt at the 1988 Australian Grand Prix on 13 November 1988, driving for Larrousse-Lola, but failed to qualify. This pattern of failed qualification attempts would define his Formula One career—he entered race after race throughout 1988-1989 for various teams including Larrousse, Coloni, and Rial, but was consistently too slow to make the grid. His breakthrough came at the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix on 7 May 1989, driving for Rial. At Monaco's tight street circuit where car performance differences are minimized and driver skill emphasized, Raphanel finally qualified in 20th position and started his first and only Formula One race.

He completed 77 laps of the 77-lap race, finishing eleventh, four laps behind race winner Ayrton Senna but classified as a finisher. This single race start makes Raphanel unique in Formula One history—he is the only driver whose entire Formula One race career consists solely of the Monaco Grand Prix. Following Monaco, Raphanel continued attempting to qualify for races through the remainder of 1989 but never again made the grid, his Coloni and Rial machinery proving too slow. At the end of 1989, with no Formula One offers and facing the reality that his pace was insufficient for the sport's highest level, Raphanel moved to Japan where he became a factory driver for Toyota, competing in Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC) and All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC).

He found considerable success in Japan, winning races and establishing himself as one of Toyota's leading European drivers in their domestic programs. Raphanel also figured prominently in Toyota's Le Mans challenge, finishing second in 1992 co-driving with Sekiya and Acheson, demonstrating his endurance racing abilities. After 2006, Raphanel joined Bugatti as lead test driver and product specialist, beginning a relationship that would bring him lasting fame. When Bugatti developed the Veyron Super Sport, an enhanced version of their already extraordinary Veyron hypercar, they needed a driver to attempt the world production car speed record.

On 26 June 2010 at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany, Raphanel drove the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport to a maximum speed of 431.072 km/h (267.856 mph), setting a new production car speed record that stood for several years. This achievement brought Raphanel international recognition that his Formula One career never provided. Known for being the only driver in Formula One history whose sole race start was at Monaco, for his 16 failed qualification attempts across 17 race entries, for his success as Toyota factory driver in Japan, for finishing second at Le Mans 1992, and for setting the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport's 431 km/h speed record in 2010, Pierre-Henri Raphanel's career demonstrates that Formula One failure doesn't define a racing driver's value—his subsequent success in sports cars and as Bugatti's test driver proved his abilities extended far beyond the single Monaco race that represents his entire Formula One racing record.