Jean Todt

Todt in 1988, during his Peugeot Sport tenure

**Jean Henri Todt** (born 25 February 1946) is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and now Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team principal.

In 1966, Todt started his career as a rally co-driver and participated in World Championship rallies until 1981 when, with Guy Fréquelin, he won the Constructors' World Rally Championship with Talbot Lotus. Under Todt's leadership, Peugeot won four World Rally Championship titles (drivers and manufacturers), won the Paris-Dakar Rally four times, and won the Le Mans 24 Hours.

## Life and career

Todt was born in Pierrefort, a southern Cantal village in the Auvergne region of France. After high school, Todt studied at the Ecole des Cadres School of Economics and Business in Paris.

### Rally co-driver: 1966 to 1981

The young Todt was fascinated by motorsport and had special respect for drivers like Jim Clark and Dan Gurney. Borrowing the parental Mini Cooper to drive in rallies, he soon decided his greatest strength was as a co-driver. He first co-drove with Guy Chasseuil in 1966 and his talent for calculation, strategy and organisation quickly made him a sought-after navigator. By 1969, Todt was involved with world-class rally stars such as Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Rauno Aaltonen, Ove Andersson, Hannu Mikkola and Guy Fréquelin. He went on to enjoy success as a co-driver with Jean-François Piot, Ove Andersson, Achim Warmbold, Jean Guichet, Hannu Mikkola, Jean-Claude Lefèbvre, Timo Mäkinen, Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Guy Fréquelin.

In 1981, as Guy Fréquelin's co-driver with Talbot, a Peugeot subsidiary, he won the manufacturers’ World Rally Championship and was runner-up in the drivers' World Rally Championship. At the same time, he was increasingly moving out from his role as a co-driver by participating in the management of the team and in relations with the FIA. He also represented the drivers in the FISA (Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile) Rally Commission from 1975 to 1981.

### Director of Peugeot Talbot Sport: 1982 to 1993

In 1981, he retired from competing as a co-driver and was appointed Director of Racing for Peugeot by the then CEO Jean Boillot at a time when PSA Peugeot Citroën was experiencing major financial difficulties as well as image problems. He applied his abilities as an organiser and strategist to the creation of Peugeot Talbot Sport, which he set up to spearhead the French firm's return to competition. He was the mastermind behind the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 and Peugeot 905.

In 1984, Peugeot returned to the World Rally Championship and, in 1985 and 1986, the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Group B driven first by Timo Salonen then by Juha Kankkunen obtained back-to-back manufacturers’ World Championship titles. In 1986 Henri Toivonen died driving a Lancia Delta S4 during the Tour de Corse rally and the FIA decided to drop the Group B class as being too fast and too dangerous.

In 1987, Todt adapted the 205 Turbo 16 to off-road rallies with the aim of competing in the showcase Paris-Dakar Rally. He became the centre of attention in the 1989 Paris-Dakar when he tossed a coin to decide between his two drivers Ari Vatanen and Jacky Ickx to ensure that their rivalry would not lead to one of them quitting and costing the team victory. From 1987 to 1990, he oversaw four successive victories in the Paris-Dakar with Vatanen and Juha Kankkunen. Peugeot subsequently decided to withdraw from off-road rallying and left the field open to Citroën who won the event with the Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid, based on the Peugeot 405 chassis.

In 1992, Todt won the Le Mans 24 Hours with the Peugeot 905 driven by Derek Warwick, Yannick Dalmas and Mark Blundell.

## Notes

1. ↑ Décret du 13 juillet 2011 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier (fr).
2. ↑ Who Is Jean Todt, Michelle Yeoh's Husband? (en-US) (2023-07-28).
3. ↑ Jean Todt (en-US).