Bertrand Marcel Nicolas Baguette
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Bertrand Marcel Nicolas Baguette

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Bertrand Marcel Nicolas Baguette is a Belgian professional racing driver who won the 2022 Super GT GT500 Championship with Nissan. He is also a class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a champion in the FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 category, both achieved in 2013. In 2017, he won the final 1000km running of the Suzuka) 1000km.

Born on 23 February 1986, Baguette began his racing career in karting at the age of fourteen. Competing in the inter-provincial championship's "Blue" class, he finished fifth in his debut year. In 2003, his fourth year of karting, Baguette won the Belgian Championship and earned a scholarship for a seat in 1600cc Formula Renault Belgium.

Baguette transitioned to single-seater racing in 2004 with Marc Goossens Motorsport. Utilizing his scholarship, he finished third in the Belgian Formula Renault 1600cc championship with three wins and four pole positions. In 2005, he moved to Epsilon Euskadi to compete in both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the French Formula Renault 2.0 series. He achieved a win at Le Mans and four other podiums during the 2006 Eurocup season, finishing fourth overall.

In 2007, Baguette entered the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with KTR. After moving to the Italian team Draco in 2008, he secured his first victory at Spa. His 2009 campaign with Draco resulted in the championship title, which he won by a 57-point margin over Fairuz Fauzy. During that season, Baguette recorded five wins and ten podiums. As a reward for the title, he conducted Formula One tests for both the Renault R29 and the BMW Sauber F1.09 in December 2009.

Baguette moved to the United States in 2010 to join Conquest Racing in the IndyCar Series. He qualified 24th for the 2010 Indianapolis 500, finishing 22nd. Lacking the budget for a full-time 2011 seat, he signed with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the Indianapolis 500. He led the race on lap 189 after passing Danica Patrick, but he was forced to pit for fuel three laps before the finish, resulting in a seventh-place result.

In 2013, Baguette joined OAK Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Driving a Morgan-Nissan in the LMP2 class alongside Ricardo González and Martin Plowman, he achieved podium finishes at Spa-Francorchamps, São Paulo, and Shanghai. The trio won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and secured a victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji. These results earned Baguette the 2013 FIA WEC World Championship for LMP2 drivers.

Baguette relocated to Japan in 2014 as a factory driver for Honda in Super GT. He spent five seasons with Epson Nakajima Racing. In 2019, he moved to Keihin Real Racing, where he and teammate Koudai Tsukakoshi finished third in the 2020 championship after taking victories at Fuji and Motegi. After eight years with Honda, Baguette joined Nissan and Team Impul for the 2022 season. Partnering with Kazuki Hiramine in the Calsonic-liveried Nissan Z, he won the GT500 title, marking the first championship for Kazuyoshi Hoshino’s squad since 1995.

During the 2011 Indianapolis 500, Baguette took the lead late in the race, but a fuel-strategy gamble failed to yield a late caution flag. He was forced to pit from the lead with three laps remaining, dropping him to seventh.

In the 2022 Super GT season, Baguette and Hiramine achieved a victory at the fifth round in Suzuka) after starting last on the grid. They moved through the field to take the lead from the No. 17 Astemo NSX with only three laps remaining.

Baguette’s statistical record includes championships in three distinct disciplines: junior formulae (Formula Renault 3.5, 2009), global endurance racing (WEC LMP2, 2013), and Japanese grand touring (Super GT GT500, 2022). His 2022 Super GT title was achieved with 70.5 points, 4.5 points ahead of the runner-up Nismo Z.

Baguette competed in the Super Formula championship in 2015 and 2016 for Nakajima Racing, scoring a best result of fifth in the final race of the 2016 season at Suzuka). He has also participated in the GT1 World Championship, the European Le Mans Series, the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, and the 24 Hours of Spa and Zolder.

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