The Andros Trophy (Trophée Andros) is the French national ice racing championship.

Andros Trophy
CategoryIce racing
CountryFrance
Inaugural season1990
Official websitewww.tropheeandros.com

The championship is currently holding its 35th and last season.[1]

History

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The 2010 Trophée Andros at Serre Chevalier

The idea of an ice racing series first became an idea when professional racer Max Mamers (French Rallycross Champion 1982 and 1983 with Talbot Matra Murena) and the owner of the Andros company (jam and compote producers), Frédéric Gervoson, met as rugby fans in 1985. They spent the winter racing with friends on ice circuits.

On 27 January 1990, the idea of a series came to life at Serre Chevalier with the first round of four.

The series quickly grew, with a round at Paris (Pelouse de Reuilly) in 1991 creating a five round series; and a seven round championship in 1992.

In 2003, the trophy gained an international aspect with a race at Sherbrooke in Canada, a race that was held for three seasons. For the 2005-06 season, the trophy remained mainly national, the exception being one round held in Andorra.

The championship made a switch to full electric cars for the 2019-20 season.[1] The 2023-24 season will be the last, in part due to global warming making it harder and harder to find predictable ice and snow in France.[2][3][4]

The current series

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The series now runs with a number of different races and classes.

 
A Fiat Stilo (all-wheel drive prototype) racing in the French Trophée Andros 2005/2006

Elite Pro Class

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This is the original and highest class, featuring the most prominent names.

Elite Class

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Starting in 1994 (named Promotion), this class is for the smaller teams, encouraging them to take part in the Trophée Andros. To partake in this class, there are three conditions: the drivers cannot have finished in the top 20 over the general classification; must never have participated in the Elite Pro Class; and cannot be a professional driver.

AMV Cup

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The motorbike races for the Andros Trophy first appeared at the 1996 championship final at Super Besse, after an idea of Mamers and Claude Michy. It became a series in its own right in the 1997/98 season with a race at every round from that point.

Trophée Andros Féminin - Sprint Cars

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Created in 2002, this series combined two categories. The 600cc 6-speed buggy-styled car was shared between a female driver and an experienced driver, who also was the instructor for the female driver. They competed in two different races at each weekend they attended. The Féminin trophy was discontinued as of 2011, with some of the female drivers from the series moving into other categories of the trophée including the main series and the electric cars.

Famous names

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Three times champion Alain Prost in 2010

The driver with the most championship wins in the history of the series is Yvan Muller, who has won the championship 10 times with 48 race victories. Jean-Philippe Dayraut holds the record for the most race victories with 54, having taken the championship 6 times. Another multiple championship winner is Alain Prost, with 3 championships and 38 race wins.[5]

The series always attracts names who were famous in other series before moving to ice racing – including Formula One drivers Olivier Panis, Romain Grosjean and Jacques Villeneuve.

The "Superfinal"

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On 14 February 1999, the series held a "Superfinal" at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris. Using 700 tonnes of ice, an oval track was established around the edge of the stadium, allowing for racing in front of around 60,000 people, with no championship points at stake.

The Superfinal was held at the Stade de France for three years, before moving to an oval track at Nœux-les-Mines in 2002. No Superfinal was held in 2003, but returned to the Stade de France in 2004.

In 2005 the races were held at Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, and once again at the Stade de France in 2006, 2008 and 2011. Various other locations have been used, but in recent years the Superfinal was almost always raced at Clermont / Super Besse.

Trophy winners

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Season Rounds Elite (1990–15)[6][7]
Elite Pro (2015–)
Elite (2015–)

Elite 2 (2014–15)

Promotion (1990–2014)

Pilot Bike (1998–15)
AMV Cup (2015–)
Féminin and Best Dame Sprint Car Andros Électrique
Driver Car
2022-23 5   Aurélien Panis Audi A1   Julien Febrau   Vivien Gonnet
2021-22 5   Jean-Baptiste Dubourg Renault Zoe   Jimmy Clairet   Vivien Gonnet
2020–21 5   Jean-Baptiste Dubourg Renault Zoe   Sylvain Pussier   Vivien Gonnet   Clémentine Lhoste (Elite Dame) - -
2019–20 6   Aurélien Panis Audi A1   Jérémy Sarhy   Sylvain Dabert   Clémentine Lhoste (Elite Dame) - -
2018–19 7   Jean-Baptiste Dubourg Renault Captur   Dorian Boccolacci   Maxime Emery   Margot Laffite (Elite Dame) -   Christophe Ferrier
2017–18 7   Jean-Baptiste Dubourg Renault Captur   Eddy Bénézet   Sylvain Dabert   Margot Laffite (Elite Dame) -   Aurélien Panis
2016–17 7   Jean-Baptiste Dubourg Renault Clio[broken anchor]   Nathanaël Berthon   Sylvain Dabert   Margot Laffite (Elite Dame) -   Christophe Ferrier
2015–16 7   Jean-Baptiste Dubourg Renault Clio[broken anchor]   Eddy Bénézet   Sylvain Dabert   Clémentine Lhoste (Féminin Sprint Car) -   Matthieu Vaxivière
2014–15 7   Jean-Philippe Dayraut Mazda 3 Lionel Daziono   Sylvain Dabert   Marine Mercier (Féminin Sprint Car) -   Nathanaël Berthon
2013–14 7   Jean-Philippe Dayraut Mini Countryman Jacques Wolff   Sylvain Dabert Bérénice Demoustier (Dame) -   Christophe Ferrier
2012–13 7   Jean-Philippe Dayraut Mini Countryman Laurent Barbieri   Maxime Emery   Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (Dame) -   Christophe Ferrier
2011–12 7   Alain Prost Dacia Lodgy Glace   Nicolas Bernardi   Sylvain Dabert   Marlène Broggi (Dame) -   Christophe Ferrier
2010–11 7   Jean-Philippe Dayraut BMW 1 Series Andréa Dubourg   Sylvain Dabert Bérénice Demoustier (Dame)   Frédéric Bourlange   Nicolas Prost
2009–10 7   Jean-Philippe Dayraut Škoda Fabia Mk2   Lionel Régal   Sylvain Dabert   Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (Dame)   Laurent Macouin   Nicolas Prost
2008–09 7   Jean-Philippe Dayraut Škoda Fabia Mk2 Eddy Bemezet   Eddy Richer   Aurélia Marti (Dame)

  Marie-Pierre Cripia (Féminin)

  Olivier Dexant -
2007–08 8   Alain Prost Toyota Auris   Olivier Pernaut   Maxime Emery   Aurélia Marti (Dame)

  Anne-Sophie Lemonnier (Féminin)

  Olivier Dexant -
2006–07 9   Alain Prost Toyota Auris   Jean-Baptiste Dubourg   Maxime Emery   Aurélia Marti (Dame)

  Audrey Roche (Féminin)

  Olivier Dexant -
2005–06 8   Yvan Muller Kia Rio Jérôme Grosset-Janin   Maxime Emery   Margot Laffite (Dame)

  Marlène Broggi (Féminin)

  Olivier Dexant -
2004–05 8   Yvan Muller Kia Rio Yvan Lebon   David Baffeleuf   Justine Chicherit (Dame)

  Margot Laffite (Féminin)

  Olivier Dexant -
2003–04 8   Yvan Muller Kia Rio Steve Stievenart   David Baffeleuf   Aurélia Marti (Féminin) Benjamin Riviere -
2002–03 8   Marcel Tarrès Citroën Xsara Evens Stievenart   David Baffeleuf Emilie Petit (Féminin) David Beziade -
2001–02 8   Yvan Muller Opel Astra Jean-Luc Richner   David Baffeleuf Véronique Patier (Féminin) David Beziade -
2000–01 8   Yvan Muller Opel Astra Laurent Fouquet   David Baffeleuf Patricia Bertapelle (Dame) - -
1999–2000 8   Yvan Muller Opel Astra Jean-Noël Lanctuit   Pascal Roblin Patricia Bertapelle (Dame) - -
1998–99 8   Yvan Muller Opel Tigra Philippe de Korsak   David Baffeleuf Patricia Bertapelle (Dame) - -
1997–98 7   Yvan Muller Opel Tigra Claude Millet   David Baffeleuf Jutta Kleinschmidt (Dame) - -
1996–97 7   Yvan Muller BMW 318i Compact Frédéric Morel - Florence Duez (Dame) - -
1995–96 7   Yvan Muller BMW 318i Compact James Ruffier - Caroline Barclay (Dame) - -
1994–95 7   François Chatriot Opel Astra James Ruffier - Michèle Mouton (Dame) - -
1993–94 7   François Chauche Mega   Eric Arpin - Patricia Bertapelle (Dame) - -
1992–93 5   Dany Snobeck Mercedes 190 16S - - - - -
1991–92 7   Dany Snobeck Mercedes 190 16S - - - - -
1990-91 5   Maurice Chomat Citroën AX Sport - - - - -
1990 4   Eric Arpin Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 - - - - -

The title for the dame was awarded in to best women in a selected class in each season.

References

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  1. ^ a b Nguyen, Justin (2023-11-23). "Andros Trophy to run 35th and final season in 2023/24". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  2. ^ "La 35e édition du Trophée Andros sera la dernière". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  3. ^ "Le Trophée Andros, c'est fini !". Turbo.fr (in French). 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  4. ^ "Sport automobile : le Trophée Andros, c'est fini !". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  5. ^ "trophee - statistiques pilotes". www.tropheeandros.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-20.
  6. ^ Podiums Archived January 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine tropheeandros.com
  7. ^ Yvan Muller career Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine fiawtcc.com
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