David Besnard

David John Besnard (born 21 January 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian retired professional racing driver.

David Besnard
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1977-01-21) 21 January 1977 (age 48) Sydney, Australia
Supercars Championship career
Championships	0
Races	151
Wins	2
Podiums	8
Pole positions	0

Career history

Starting in karts in 1991, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had a major accident at Eastern Creek Raceway and broke his leg. In 1996 he made a comeback and won the Australian title.^[1] He made a venture to the United States, with a small budget, and limited success. In 1998, he returned to win the U.S F2000 National Championship. 1999, saw David enter the US Formula Atlantic Championship. After a heavy crash at Nazareth Speedway, the team had to buy a new chassis and ran out of budget halfway through the season. 2000 saw Besnard again in the United States, running various Sports Car races, until Stone Brothers Racing picked him up for the Konica V8 Supercar Series and the Bathurst 1000. From there he drove with Stone Brothers for several seasons, with the highlight being winning the 2002 Queensland 500 with Simon Wills. He raced with Ford Performance Racing for one season in 2003, and WPS Racing for three seasons following that.

In 2004, with his links with WPS, a drive in the Champ Car World Series came about at Surfers Paradise. His finishing position of seventh is still the highest finish for an Australian at that event (but bettered by Ryan Briscoe's 2008 IRL win after the CCWS collapsed). After being dropped by WPS in 2006 Besnard has been racing in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship, picking up an endurance race co-driver role with Stone Brothers Racing in 2007, paired with James Courtney, which resulted in a second place at Bathurst.

Motorsports career results

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Position
1992	CIK-FIA Karting European Championship - Junior A	1st
	FIA Karting World Championship - Junior A	30th
1993	FIA Karting World Championship - Formula A	15th
	World Cup Karting - Formula A	8th
	4th Tropeo Andrea Margutti - ICA	13th

Career summary

Besnard placed eighth in the 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series driving a Ford Falcon AU. The car is pictured in 2018.

Season	Series	Position	Car	Team
1995	Australian Formula Ford Championship	26th	Van Diemen RF90 – Ford	David Besnard
1996	Australian Formula Ford Championship	1st	Van Diemen RF96 – Ford	David Besnard
1998	United States Formula Ford 2000 Championship	1st	Van Diemen RF98 - Ford	Van Diemen USA
	United States Formula Ford 2000 Oval Crown	1st
	GrandAm Sportscar Series	43rd	Riley & Scott - Ford	Transatlantic Racing
1999	United States Formula Atlantic Series	15th	Swift 008.a - Toyota	Hylton Motorsports
2000	GrandAm Sportscar Series	83rd	Riley & Scott - Lincoln	Dyson Racing
	Konica V8 Lites Series	5th	Ford EL Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing
	Shell Championship Series	40th	Ford AU Falcon
2001	Shell Championship Series	23rd	Ford AU Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing
2002	V8 Supercar Championship Series	8th	Ford AU Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing
2003	V8 Supercar Championship Series	21st	Ford AU Falcon Ford BA Falcon	Ford Performance Racing
2004	V8 Supercar Championship Series	30th	Ford BA Falcon	WPS Racing
	Champ Car World Series	20th	Reynard 03i Ford Cosworth	Walker Racing
2005	V8 Supercar Championship Series	25th	Ford BA Falcon	WPS Racing
2006	V8 Supercar Championship Series	45th	Ford BA Falcon	WPS Racing
2006/07	New Zealand Touring Car Championship	4th	Ford BA Falcon
2007	V8 Supercar Championship Series	27th	Ford BF Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing
2008	V8 Supercar Championship Series	30th	Ford BF Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing
2009	V8 Supercar Championship Series	33rd	Holden VE Commodore	Garry Rogers Motorsport
2010	V8 Supercar Championship Series	47th	Holden VE Commodore	Garry Rogers Motorsport
	Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series	30th	Ford BF Falcon	Peters Motorsport
2011	International V8 Supercars Championship	76th	Ford FG Falcon	Dick Johnson Racing
2012	International V8 Supercars Championship	49th	Holden VE Commodore	Brad Jones Racing

GrandAm Championship

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Rank	Points
1998	Transatlantic Racing	Riley & Scott - Ford	CA	D24	HOM	MID	MIN	WGL 5					43rd	26
2000	Dyson Racing	Riley & Scott - Lincoln	SA	D24	PHX	HOM 9	LRK	MID	DAY	RAM	CTR	WGL	83rd	22

Complete American open-wheel racing results

(key)

Atlantic Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Points	Ref
1999	Hylton Motorsports	LBH 7	NAZ 11	GAT	MIL	MTL 7	ROA	TRR	MOH	CHI	VAN	LS	HOU	15th	16	[2]

Champ Car World Series

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points	Ref
2004	Walker Racing	Reynard 02i	Ford XFE V8t	LBH	MTY	MIL	POR	CLE	TOR	VAN	ROA	DEN	MTL	LS	LVS	SRF 7	MXC	20th	18	[3]

Supercars Championship results

(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Supercars results
Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	Position	Points
2000	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon	PHI R1	PHI R2	BAR R3	BAR R4	BAR R5	ADE R6	ADE R7	EAS R8	EAS R9	EAS R10	HDV R11	HDV R12	HDV R13	CAN R14	CAN R15	CAN R16	QLD R17	QLD R18	QLD R19	WIN R20	WIN R21	WIN R22	ORA R23	ORA R24	ORA R25	CAL R26	CAL R27	CAL R28	QLD R29 8	SAN R30	SAN R31	SAN R32	BAT R33 Ret							40th	96
2001	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon	PHI R1 29	PHI R2 18	ADE R3 Ret	ADE R4 Ret	EAS R5 19	EAS R6 Ret	HDV R7 7	HDV R8 5	HDV R9 7	CAN R10 15	CAN R11 Ret	CAN R12 Ret	BAR R13 20	BAR R14 28	BAR R15 22	CAL R16 7	CAL R17 16	CAL R18 26	ORA R19 3	ORA R20 2	QLD R21 Ret	WIN R22 24	WIN R23 14	BAT R24 Ret	PUK R25 22	PUK R26 Ret	PUK R27 21	SAN R28 14	SAN R29 14	SAN R30 15										23rd	1153
2002	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon	ADE R1 Ret	ADE R2 22	PHI R3 5	PHI R4 23	EAS R5 7	EAS R6 18	EAS R7 15	HDV R8 9	HDV R9 5	HDV R10 7	CAN R11 5	CAN R12 15	CAN R13 5	BAR R14 7	BAR R15 7	BAR R16 2	ORA R17 19	ORA R18 6	WIN R19 11	WIN R20 8	QLD R21 1	BAT R22 Ret	SUR R23 Ret	SUR R24 9	PUK R25 13	PUK R26 23	PUK R27 Ret	SAN R28 3	SAN R29 7											8th	988
2003	Ford Performance Racing	Ford AU Falcon	ADE R1 Ret	ADE R1 Ret	PHI R3 Ret	EAS R4 13	WIN R5 24	BAR R6 20	BAR R7 20	BAR R8 Ret	HDV R9 24	HDV R10 18	HDV R11 28	QLD R12 11	ORA R13 13	SAN R14 8	BAT R15 Ret	SUR R16 7	SUR R17 Ret	PUK R18 25	PUK R19 15	PUK R20 Ret	EAS R21 28	EAS R22 11																		21st	1059
2004	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	ADE R1 18	ADE R2 14	EAS R3 17	PUK R4 23	PUK R5 23	PUK R6 25	HDV R7 19	HDV R8 28	HDV R9 Ret	BAR R10 Ret	BAR R11 Ret	BAR R12 22	QLD R13 19	WIN R14 Ret	ORA R15 26	ORA R16 30	SAN R17 16	BAT R18 Ret	SUR R19	SUR R20	SYM R21 8	SYM R22 29	SYM R23 1	EAS R24 4	EAS R25 20	EAS R26 21														30th	790
2005	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	ADE R1 18	ADE R2 23	PUK R3 29	PUK R4 27	PUK R5 Ret	BAR R6 17	BAR R7 12	BAR R8 20	EAS R9 30	EAS R10 24	SHA R11 Ret	SHA R12 Ret	SHA R13 Ret	HDV R14 Ret	HDV R15 29	HDV R16 25	QLD R17 13	ORA R18 19	ORA R19 16	SAN R20 19	BAT R21 8	SUR R22 12	SUR R23 30	SUR R24 21	SYM R25 24	SYM R26 25	SYM R27 31	PHI R28 Ret	PHI R29 25	PHI R30 20										25th	904
2006	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	ADE R1	ADE R2	PUK R3	PUK R4	PUK R5	BAR R6	BAR R7	BAR R8	WIN R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	HDV R12	HDV R13	HDV R14	QLD R15	QLD R16	QLD R17	ORA R18	ORA R19	ORA R20	SAN R21 11	BAT R22 14	SUR R23	SUR R24	SUR R25	SYM R26	SYM R27	SYM R28	BHR R29	BHR R30	BHR R31	PHI R32	PHI R33	PHI R34						45th	220
2007	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford BF Falcon	ADE R1	ADE R2	BAR R3	BAR R4	BAR R5	PUK R6	PUK R7	PUK R8	WIN R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	EAS R12	EAS R13	EAS R14	HDV R15	HDV R16	HDV R17	QLD R18	QLD R19	QLD R20	ORA R21	ORA R22	ORA R23	SAN R24 16	BAT R25 2	SUR R26	SUR R27	SUR R28	BHR R29	BHR R30	BHR R31	SYM R32	SYM R33	SYM R34	PHI R35	PHI R36	PHI R37			27th	60
2008	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford BF Falcon	ADE R1	ADE R2	EAS R3	EAS R4	EAS R5	HAM R6	HAM R7	HAM R8	BAR R9	BAR R10	BAR R11	SAN R12	SAN R13	SAN R14	HDV R15	HDV R16	HDV R17	QLD R18	QLD R19	QLD R20	WIN R21	WIN R22	WIN R23	PHI Q 13	PHI R24 6	BAT R25 3	SUR R26	SUR R27	SUR R28	BHR R29	BHR R30	BHR R31	SYM R32	SYM R33	SYM R34	ORA R35	ORA R36	ORA R37		30th	459
2009	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	ADE R1	ADE R2	HAM R3	HAM R4	WIN R5	WIN R6	SYM R7	SYM R8	HDV R9	HDV R10	TOW R11	TOW R12	SAN R13	SAN R14	QLD R15	QLD R16	PHI Q 5	PHI R17 13	BAT R18 9	SUR R19	SUR R20	SUR R21	SUR R22	PHI R23	PHI R24	BAR R25	BAR R26	SYD R27	SYD R28											33rd	306
2010	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	YMC R1	YMC R2	BHR R3	BHR R4	ADE R5	ADE R6	HAM R7	HAM R8	QLD R9	QLD R10	WIN R11	WIN R12	HDV R13	HDV R14	TOW R15	TOW R16	PHI R17 Ret	BAT R18 7	SUR R19	SUR R20	SYM R21	SYM R22	SAN R23	SAN R24	SYD R25	SYD R26														47th	233
2011	Dick Johnson Racing	Ford FG Falcon	YMC R1	YMC R2	ADE R3	ADE R4	HAM R5	HAM R6	BAR R7	BAR R8	BAR R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	HID R12	HID R13	TOW R14	TOW R15	QLD R16	QLD R17	QLD R18	PHI R19 26	BAT R20 Ret	SUR R21	SUR R22	SYM R23	SYM R24	SAN R25	SAN R26	SYD R27	SYD R28												76th	66
2012	Brad Jones Racing	Holden VE Commodore	ADE R1	ADE R2	SYM R3	SYM R4	HAM R5	HAM R6	BAR R7	BAR R8	BAR R9	PHI R10	PHI R11	HID R12	HID R13	TOW R14	TOW R15	QLD R16	QLD R17	SMP R18	SMP R19	SAN QR 23	SAN R20 15	BAT R21 23	SUR R22	SUR R23	YMC R24	YMC R25	YMC R26	WIN R27	WIN R28	SYD R29	SYD R30									49th	181

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year	Car#	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
2000	9	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon	Tony Longhurst	DNF	151
2001	9	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon	Matthew White	DNF	84
2002	5	Glenn Seton Racing	Ford AU Falcon	Glenn Seton Owen Kelly‡	DNF	102
	9	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon	Wayne Gardner	DNS
2003	19	Ford Performance Racing	Ford BA Falcon	Owen Kelly	DNF	115
2004	23	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	John McIntyre	DNF	99
2005	48	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	Craig Baird	8th	158
2006	8	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	Max Wilson	14th	160
2007	4	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford BF Falcon	James Courtney	2nd	161
2008	4	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford BF Falcon	James Courtney	3rd	161
2009	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	Greg Ritter	9th	161
2010	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	Lee Holdsworth	7th	161
2011	17	Dick Johnson Racing	Ford FG Falcon	Steven Johnson	DNF	112
2012	14	Brad Jones Racing	Holden VE Commodore	Fabian Coulthard	23rd	147

‡ Besnard replaced Kelly due to illness