Jean Marc Sanchez 1961 - 2009

Jean-Marc Sanchez of France lost his life during the first race of the Dubai Grand Prix the last round of the Class-1 World Championship.  Aged 48 the tragic accident also took the life of co-driver Mohammad Al Mehairi from the UAE. The two pilots, representing the Dubai Victory Team, were involved in a high speed crash during the early stages of the race at the Dubai International Marine Club, which was subsequently red flagged. Safety personnel attended to both pilots at the scene. They were subsequently airlifted to a local hospital, where all efforts to resuscitate them were in vain. The Victory Team, UIM, WPPA, DIMC and IOTA pass on their deepest condolences to the families of both pilots. As a mark of respect to both pilots and their families the event organisers have cancelled all races and event activities.  Born 27 March in the boating town of St. Tropez in the Cote d'Azur, Jean-Marc "Frenchy" Sanchez was an experienced and multi-talented racer. He had started racing in 1984 in Didier Pironi's Leader. Sanchez remained with Pironi until 1987, racing with him several times in the ill-fated Colibri. In 1989 he joined the Italian Team Rainbow and in 1991 he transferred to Achilli Motors.  In 1993 Sanchez joined the Victory team. Initially hired as a mechanic his duties gradually grew to become a crew chief and later the team's test driver. In 2004 Sanchez made his comeback in the World Championship this time as a driver, he finished third in the point standings alongside Mohammed Al-Marri. The next year they won the Middle East Championship and finished second in the World Championship.  In 2006 Sanchez and Al-Marri were again runner-up in the World Championship.  In 2007 Sanchez changed his role to throttle-man amd won the world title with Arif Saif Al-Zafeen. The next year he was runner-up in the boat driven by Abdullah Al-Mehairbi.  In his career Jean-Marc Sanchez won ten Grand Prix races out of 47 starts.