Michael Geni

Mikhail Pshenichnikov (Russian: Михаи́л Пшеничников); born 19 October 1952) is a Russian racing driver racing under the alias Michael Géni, and with a French Racing License. He raced for Shadow in Formula One. 
Michael was born in Moscow, Soviet Union, and is the younger half-brother of fellow Formula One driver Vadim Pshenichnikov. 
== Early Years ==
When Michael was 14 years old he fled the Soviet Union with his mother Anastasia Pshenichnikov in pursuit for a better life in France, while his father Ivan Pshenichnikov and older half-brother Vadim stayed in the Soviet Union due to Ivan's connections with the KGB.
== Racing Career ==
Michael was introduced to motorsports at age 17 when his best friend Julien Lemaire brought him with his family to spectate the 1970 French Grand Prix. Once he turned 18 he started working two jobs in order to save up money to buy a car to race with in local events. He quickly found success and won multiple races. 
=== Sportscar Career ===
At age 20 he was discovered by Guy Ligier who called Michael up to test drive the Ligier JS2. After the tests, Guy asked Michael to drive for the team in the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans.
=== Formula One Career ===
==== Shadow (1978 - 1980) ====
After the 1978 San Marino Grand Prix where German driver Hugo Gehring lost his life, Shadow was yet again in a situation of having to find a driver, after both Gervais Trémaux and Richard Jockey found themselves receiving contracts to race for Ferrari. As they were getting closer to the French Grand Prix without a driver, an engineer for the team noted that Géni was likely available from the Sportscar championship as he had not gained a visa to travel to the United States for the Watkins Glen 1 Hour. 
During qualifying for the French Grand Prix, Géni had a crash at the last corner which broke the nose of the car and gave him a concussion. The team managed to fix the car and asked if he was okay to get back into the car, to which he allegedly responded: "No broken bones, ok to drive."Michael Géni was forced to retire from Formula One after the 1980 French Grand Prix as the Shadow team replaced him with the young Finnish pay-driver Veikko Nyquist.
== Personal Life ==
Michael was an outspoken critic of Communism and the Soviet Union until the fall of the USSR in 1991. This caused a further strain between him and Vadim until Vadim's death in 1986. Michael would return to Russia for several years in the 1990's but left again in the early 2000's when Putin came to power. He returned to France and frequently gives interviews and lectures on Russia, often criticising Putin's regime. Category:Drivers
Category:French
Category:Soviet
Category:Russian
Category:F1