ANDROSRACER

TURNINGTHEICEELECTRICINAN Muller leads the way in the record books despite a host off 1 stars trying their hand at the andros trophy

The Andros Trophy has a history of attracting high profile motorsport stars to compete in the winter series in what would otherwise be a quieter period of the year for most racing drivers.

The most successful Andros participant is undoubtedly touring car legend Yvan Muller, who claimed the title 10 times in a 11-year period between 1997 and 2007.

Muller’s success came at the wheel of first a BMW 318 compact, before driving for Opel and Kia’s works outfits.

But, while Muller has the most crowns, Andros specialist Jean-philippe Dayraut has the most race wins: 59 to Muller’s 48. Dayraut is himself a sixtime champion. Four-time Formula 1 champion Alain Prost won a trio of titles in 2008, ’09 and ’13, driving first for Toyota and then Dacia, and is third in the all-time wins’ table, with 38.

This winter, World Rallycross driver Jean-baptiste Dubourg matched Prost’s title tally. The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner Oliver Panis has 12 wins to his credit, competing until the end of the 2017 season, while the list of drivers that have claimed at least one victory in the Alps-based series includes 1997 Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, 13-time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel and current Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean, who has made selected appearances in the series and claimed his most recent victory last winter.

British F1 driver turned television commentator Martin Brundle (2006), 1994 World Rally champion Didier Auriol (2006) and nine-time WRC title holder Sebastien Loeb (2015) have all made one-off appearances, while 1981 World Rally champion Ari Vatanen raced in the series as recently as 2010.

The series has enjoyed a number of works or works backed efforts since it was formed in 1990, including from Opel, Kia, Dacia, Mazda, Toyota and Skoda. Opel leads the manaufacturer wins table with 41 and six titles.