24 Hours of Le Mans

President PSA Peugeot-Citroën will start the Le Mans 24 Hours

© Planetlemans - Frank Feenstra

Jean-Martin Foltz, the PSA Peugeot-Citroën President, will have the honour of giving the start of the 2006 Le Mans 24 Hours. “This year is the centenary of the ACO, a French association that enjoys international renown, so it seemed to us a good idea to entrust this mission to the president of a major French manufacturer that is well-known all over the world. What’s more he has decided to come back to endurance and Le Mans in 2007 with innovative technology, the diesel engine,” explained Jean-Claude Plassart, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. “It’s also a way of giving a French manager, who has a charismatic personality and a visionary viewpoint, the recognition he deserves.”
Jean-Martin Foltz will become part of a long list of honorary starters, which includes a President of the Republic (Georges Pompidou in 1972), several ministers and politicians, directors of motor sport, cinema stars (Steve McQueen in 1971, Alain Delon in 1996 and Luc Besson in 2002) as well as representatives of the major car manufacturers. Jean-Martin Foltz follows in the footsteps of Pr. Martin Winterkorn, President of Audi AG, who waved the flag in 2005 when his car won for the fifth time. Is this a lucky omen for the French make that scored a double at Le Mans in 1992 and 1993? The PSA Peugeot Citroën President will be the first honorary starter to unleash the cars at 17h00: because of the Football World Cup broadcasts the start has been put back an hour.