Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia
Interview

How an Indy 500 'nearly man' found a home in Japan

Having come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, having already had the door to Formula 1 slammed in his face, Bertrand Baguette finally found a stable home in Japan with Honda. Ahead of his eighth season as a SUPER GT driver, he looks back on his career so far with Jamie Klein.

Bertrand Baguette, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Bertrand Baguette, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Michael C. Johnson

Motorsport.com's Prime content

The best content from Motorsport.com Prime, our subscription service. <a href="https://www.motorsport.com/prime/">Subscribe here</a> to get access to all the features.

Almost any racing driver over the age of 30 or so would probably say that they have at least a couple of regrets in their career, but if there’s anyone that would be justified in having them, it would be Honda SUPER GT racer Bertrand Baguette.  

It’s been seven years since Baguette started racing in Japan, so European and American fans who are unfamiliar with SUPER GT would be forgiven for wondering what on earth happened to him after a four-year stretch around a decade ago that saw him win the Formula Renault 3.5 title, the Le Mans 24 Hours in the LMP2 class and – very nearly – the Indianapolis 500. 

In that time he also tested for two manufacturer-owned Formula 1 teams and the Peugeot LMP1 squad, but it wasn’t until Satoru Nakajima signed him up for his first season in SUPER GT in late 2013 that the Belgian could be said to have had much in the way of stability in his career. 

For a driver that appeared to be on the cusp of the big-time more than once and suffered more than his fair share of setbacks, you might have expected him to have just a tinge of remorse in his tone when invited to look back on his career so far in conversation with Motorsport.com.

But it’s testament to Baguette’s character and good nature that he says he has “no regrets” about the F1, IndyCar and LMP1 chances that weren’t. 

Moreover, his commitment to racing in Japan, on the other side of the world from his wife and young son back in Belgium, and especially in the middle of a pandemic in which opportunities to travel home are extremely limited, is nothing short of admirable, and no doubt has gone down well with his Honda bosses.

#17 KEIHIN NSX-GT

#17 KEIHIN NSX-GT

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

In fact, our call takes place while Baguette is serving his mandatory quarantine from his Tokyo apartment after a brief trip back to Europe following a private test at Okayama with the Real Racing squad at the start of the month.

We start by talking about his title-winning Formula Renault 3.5 campaign in 2009, which was his third season in the F1 feeder category and his second for Draco Racing. Up against the likes of future grand prix racers Charles Pic, Jaime Alguersauri (promoted to Toro Rosso in the middle of that campaign) and Brendon Hartley, as well as current Ferrari GT factory driver Miguel Molina and Formula E ace Oliver Turvey, Baguette dominated in the second half of the year, winning five of the last eight races and taking the title with a round to spare. 

After what Baguette calls a “dream season” in which he only failed to finish in the top five three times in 17 races, the then-23-year-old was rewarded with his first test at the wheel of a Formula 1 car by Renault at Jerez. 

It was just his bad luck that the test followed the French manufacturer’s decision to quit the championship, which basically precluded any real possibility of being considered for the race seat that ultimately went to Vitaly Petrov.  

It was a similar story with the other team Baguette drove for two days later, BMW Sauber. While he was strongly linked with a reserve role with the soon-to-become independent Swiss squad, any deal was always going to hinge on bringing funding that he simply didn’t have.

Bertrand Baguette, Renault R29

Bertrand Baguette, Renault R29

Photo by: Sutton Images

“It was more of a present for my championship than a real test,” recalls Baguette of his first day driving a Formula 1 car. “I did one day of work for Renault, aero tests and some other stuff; I think I did more limited-speed laps than real pushing laps.  

“I did about 10 laps [pushing] at the end of the day for myself, but I was completely destroyed because I’d already done 95 before and it was my first day in a Formula 1 car.   

“And then on the last day [of the three days at Jerez] I had a real test with Sauber. Unfortunately, there was a gearbox problem in the morning, so we just had the afternoon, but that was a fantastic test. The speed was really positive.  

“We had some talks with Sauber at the time about being a reserve driver, but they were struggling for money and it didn’t happen. We had some talks as well about being an official [race] driver, but very early they asked for money and I had no money.

“And there were no talks with Renault. The timing was really bad; they had just been bought by Gravity, and they were not really interested in drivers.” 

And so, Baguette was left in a tough position as the weeks went by in the wake of his two days in grand prix machinery. Not only had the hoped-for step up to Formula 1 failed to materialise, at one point it was looking like he might be left on the sidelines entirely.  

That was until a change of management which drove Baguette into the arms of the Belgian national federation RACB – which helped him cobble together a last-minute agreement to drive for minnow IndyCar squad Conquest Racing, run by compatriot Eric Bachelart, full-time in 2010.

Bertrand Baguette, Conquest Racing

Bertrand Baguette, Conquest Racing

Photo by: IndyCar Series

“The winter was quite difficult,” he says. “I was putting a lot of hope into F1, but my management at the time was not the best. There were a lot of arguments and miscommunication. I was promised a lot of stuff and in the end nothing happened.  

“It had got to February and I had nothing. I decided to switch management and I put my whole career into the hands of the RACB, which supports Belgian drivers in motorsport. We found a deal with Eric Bachelart, but it was a really late deal, so late that I missed the first two races [Sao Paulo and St. Petersburg]. 

“The budget we had was ridiculously low, but what Eric and the team did with that budget was really good. The chassis was really old, I think it was from 2003. My engineer [Todd Malloy] at the time was really good, but in those conditions it’s almost impossible to do a good result. It was a really tough year, but it was the only opportunity I had and I did my best.” 

In 15 starts for Conquest, Baguette cracked the top 10 on just one occasion with a 10th-place finish at Kentucky Speedway. That left him 22nd overall and a point behind fellow novice Takuma Sato in the standings, but his efforts didn’t go unnoticed, as his tenacity with the underfunded Conquest outfit opened the door to a one-off drive for the Indy 500 in 2011 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. 

This was the race that, in the words of Baguette, very nearly “changed everything” for his career. Had he won it, as it he came so close to doing, a full-time IndyCar drive and a potential career racing the States could have been the prize. Instead, he finished seventh, and he never drove an Indy car again after that day.

To provide some context on how close he came: with 12 laps remaining, the yellow RLL machine car of Baguette swept by the neon-green Andretti Autosport entry of Danica Patrick, who was on the same strategy, approaching Turn 1 to take the lead. Once Patrick bailed out and pitted, Baguette was left with a three-second advantage at the head of the field over the fuel-saving Dario Franchitti. 

Bertrand Baguette, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Bertrand Baguette, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

While Franchitti dropped back, Baguette stretched his legs, and was 10 seconds to the good with five laps to go. But the caution flag that his and so many other strategies had been pinned upon never arrived, and he had to peel into the pits at the end of lap 197.

Had JR Hildebrand put it in the barrier before then, instead of famously doing so at the last turn on the last lap (in the process handing victory to the late Dan Wheldon), the yellow would have flown and Baguette’s name would have been written into the history books. 

As it was, what followed was another frustrating winter that once again threw up the right opportunity, just at the wrong time - this time with the Peugeot LMP1 team just as the French manufacturer was on the cusp of ending its 908 project.

“I needed one yellow flag in the last 30 laps, which almost always happens,” Baguette looks back. “Half of the field was on the same strategy as me: Dario, Marco [Andretti], Danica Patrick. I was P1 of the drivers who were on that strategy, so everything was looking good. Especially at that time, I was having a tough time to restart my career, and it was quite tough to accept.  

“But even that race, finishing P7, opened a lot of doors and started a lot of discussions. Even with Bobby [Rahal], we tried to put something together. But I didn’t have money. I nearly got a full-time drive; it was with AJ Foyt and it was Mike Conway who got the drive in the end.

“It was a difficult year, 2011, I only did three races – the Indy 500 and then two FIA GT1 rounds [in a Ford GT] for Marc VDS alongside Maxime Martin. I did a test for Peugeot at the end of the year [at Paul Ricard] which went quite well, but then Peugeot stopped everything… nothing went really well at that time.”

#15 Oak Racing Pescarolo Honda: Bertrand Baguette, Dominik Kraihamer, Takuma Sato

#15 Oak Racing Pescarolo Honda: Bertrand Baguette, Dominik Kraihamer, Takuma Sato

Photo by: James Holland

Luckily for Baguette, an opportunity to race in the fledgling World Endurance Championship in 2012 came up in the end, albeit with privateer outfit OAK Racing. It was a disjointed campaign as he started the year in a Pescarolo-Judd LMP1 car, dropped down to LMP2 mid-season and ended up back in LMP1 with a Honda engine now in the back of the Dunlop-tyred Pescarolo – an early clue to the future that would await him a couple of years later in SUPER GT. 

Despite the disruption, and the lack of results, Baguette says he “learned so much” during the year, as what he calls his “second career” began in earnest. 

“Because we were a privateer LMP1 team, we did a lot of testing: we had to develop the chassis, the engine, also the tyres because we were the only ones on Dunlop tyres [as opposed to Michelins],” he reflects. “It was tough in terms of results, because we were fighting Audi, Toyota and Rebellion, but as a driver it was a fantastic experience. I learned how to be a teammate and an endurance racing driver.” 

That year paved the way for a full-time LMP2 campaign with OAK in 2013, the highlight of which came at Le Mans with Baguette piloting the Nissan-powered Morgan (essentially a rebranded Pescarolo) for the crucial final hours. He survived a late scare, spinning and nearly crashing in the rain while on slicks, but he was able to coax the car back to the pitlane and change tyres to secure victory for himself and his teammates, Ricardo Gonzalez and Martin Plowman.  

Baguette rates the race as the second-best memory of his career after the famous Indy near-miss, but it was three races later at Fuji where his future career path would be set as he caught the eye of Japanese grand prix racing hero and SUPER GT team owner Satoru Nakajima. 

Taking up the story, he says: “At Fuji I did pole position, although we didn’t race because of the rain, and Nakajima-san was there and saw my name. He was looking for someone to replace Ryo Michigami, who was retiring from GT500.

#35 Oak Racing Morgan - Nissan: Bertrand Baguette, Ricardo Gonzalez, Martin Plowman

#35 Oak Racing Morgan - Nissan: Bertrand Baguette, Ricardo Gonzalez, Martin Plowman

Photo by: Andy Chan

"Later, I was contacted by Nakajima Racing to do a test in Sepang with the GT500 car to see if I was a good fit. It was a four-day test, and on the first day I did four laps and that was good enough, apparently! At the end of that day we actually signed the contract for the year after.   

“I spent five years in the Dunlop car, but it was difficult to do any results when you are the only car using the tyre. But they believed in me, and I tried to give back as much as I could. After a few years at Nakajima Racing I started to get stronger links with Honda and I switched to a Honda contract. Honda always told me that if I did a good job I could get a chance in a car capable of winning the championship and that was the ultimate target.” 

Very much the minnow in SUPER GT’s four-way tyre war, Dunlop finally came good at the Suzuka 1000km in 2017, allowing Baguette and teammate Kosuke Matsuura to take victory. Coming after three seasons that yielded only two top-five finishes, Baguette reckons this was the catalyst to be finally given a crack with one of Honda’s Bridgestone squads, Real Racing, although the arrival of a certain Jenson Button in the series in 2018 put things on hold for a year.

“When I won the Suzuka 1000km for Nakajima and Dunlop in 2017 I felt that was the opportunity for me to switch cars, but unfortunately for me Jenson came along and I had to wait one more year!” Baguette says. “Finally, in 2019 the opportunity came to race for a quick Honda, a car capable of winning the championship.” 

After a promising but ultimately frustrating first year paired with Koudai Tsukakoshi at Real Racing, Baguette added two more wins to his tally in 2020, with the duo leading the championship standings at the halfway point and finally finishing a strong third overall.

Podium GT500: race winners #64 Nakajima Racing Honda NSX Concept GT: Bertrand Baguette, Kosuke Matsuura, second place #23 Nismo Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3: Tsugio Matsuda, Ronnie Quintarelli, third place, #100 Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX Concept GT: Naoki Yamamoto, Takuya Izawa

Podium GT500: race winners #64 Nakajima Racing Honda NSX Concept GT: Bertrand Baguette, Kosuke Matsuura, second place #23 Nismo Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3: Tsugio Matsuda, Ronnie Quintarelli, third place, #100 Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX Concept GT: Naoki Yamamoto, Takuya Izawa

The Belgian, who since last year has been the only ‘gaijin’ driver on Honda’s GT500 roster, faces his third season with the team in 2021 and with the same teammate – and the 35-year-old is adamant that he wants to stay in Japan at least until he’s achieved his target of winning the title. 

“I’ve had a good feeling since I started racing in Japan and even more so now that I have the full support of Honda,” enthuses Baguette. “I am highly motivated to win the championship, and I would be sad and frustrated to end my career in Japan without winning the championship. As long as I haven’t won it, I want to continue trying.  

“The fact last year I spent five months [consecutively] in Japan and this year will be more or less the same, shows that I am ready to give everything to fight for the championship.” 

Having seemed half-a-step away from the big-time a decade ago, Baguette is undeniably content with his lot as a factory racer in Japan. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise; after all, opportunities to race as a paid professional in both Europe and America have become rather scarce lately, and chances for foreign drivers to prove themselves to the manufacturers in Japan are equally few and far between.

But, we have to ask – knowing what he knows now, how would he approach his career differently if he could do it all again? 

“My father was just a fan of motorsport and I started karting at 14 years old,” Baguette replies. “We did everything together. We didn’t know anybody in racing, we did it with our amateur eyes, we took decisions without knowing anything. We did mistakes.  

 “If I could go back, I would have done things differently which I think could have changed stuff in my career. I had some bad people around me, but since I was with the federation things went much better. I wish they would have been involved earlier. 

“But at the same time, I won World Series by Renault, I tested in F1, I nearly won the Indy 500, I won Le Mans, I am a professional driver for Honda in Japan… I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in my career, and I hope it’s not finished and that I can achieve more.” 

Bertrand Baguette, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Bertrand Baguette, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Photo by: IndyCar Series

Previous article Alesi joins Super GT test as Sakaguchi replaces Fenestraz
Next article Baguette: No qualms about being 'Cerumo of Honda'

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia