IZOD IndyCar Series - Tristan Vautier

Sebastien Bourdais Dragon Racing
20th
22nd
James Jakes Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Tristan Vautier Hero
Tristan  Vautier
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
  • 55-LucasOil-Indy
  • France
21st
Tristan Vautier
Driver Info
Tristan Vautier
All-Time Career Statistics - IZOD IndyCar Series
  • Championship
    0
  • Indy 500 Wins
    0
  • Total Poles
    0
  • Race Wins
    0
55
Biography of Tristan Vautier

Tristan Vautier caught the motorsport bug at age 4 when his father, Eric, who had just set up the Laquais circuit, let him try his hand at karting. Five years later, Vautier asked him for a proper racing kart and a few days after his 10th birthday he took part in his first race.

At the start it was a hobby, but little by little he got caught up in the sport and in his first-ever full competitive season, he picked up his first title as Champion of the Rhône Alpes League, which he won again in 2002. He did his first laps in a car behind the wheel of a Formula Ford at the age of 13 at the Laquais circuit.

Vautier earned the 2011 Star Mazda championship and the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights title. He moved up to the IZOD IndyCar Series for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2012.

He is fluent in French and English. He enjoys all types of sports, especially mountain biking, running and cross-country skiing.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

First start: March 24, 2013 (St. Petersburg)

ROAD TO IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

2012
• Finished first in Firestone Indy Lights standings for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
• Recorded victories at St. Petersburg opener, Milwaukee, Trois Rivieres and Baltimore.
• Had 10 top-five finishes in 12 races.
• Earned the pole at St. Petersburg, Milwaukee, Iowa, Trois Rivieres and Baltimore.
• Was running at the finish in 11 of the 12 races.

2011
• Won the Star Mazda Championship for JDC Motorsports with four wins, six podiums and four poles in 11 starts.
• Won at Barber, Trois Rivieres -1, Infineon and Baltimore.
• Finished in the top-five in every start.

2010
• Finished fifth in Star Mazda Championship for Andersen Racing with two wins, including season opener at Sebring.
• Scored three podiums, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.

2009
• Finished fourth in Formula Palmer Audi Championship, winning six races and recording nine podiums in 20 races.
• Made two starts in FIA Formula 2 Championship, finishing third and sixth at Catalunya.

2008
• Finished second in French Formula Renault 2.0 Championship and Formula Renault EuroCup.

2007
• Placed fifth in the Formula Renault 2.0 Championship. 

2006
• Runner-up in the French Championship of Formula Campus
• Nominated for the Espoirs de l'Année Echappement (the French equivalent of the BRDC Rising Star) award. 

Early career
• Began career karting from 2001 to 2004, earning two championships in the Rhône-Alpes League.
Year Series Starts Wins Poles** Top 5 Top 10 Laps Led RAF
2013 IZOD IndyCar Series 4 0 0 0 1 0 3
Total 4 0 0 0 1 0 3
Year Series Starts Wins Poles** Top 5 Top 10 Laps Led RAF
2012 Firestone Indy Lights 14 6 2 12 13 405 13
Total 14 6 2 12 13 405 13
* Under INDYCAR sanction RAF = Running at Finish
** Includes all poles, including those awarded based on entrant points
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which was formed by Sam Schmidt in 2001, is the winningest team in Firestone Indy Lights  history, recording 26 race victories and three driver championships.

The team earned its first Firestone Indy Lights championship in 2004. In a 12-race season, the team won six races with Thiago Medeiros and captured nine pole positions, eight by Medeiros and one by Travis Gregg.

Jay Howard captured the driver's championship in 2006 on the strength of two race victories and two pole positions, while the team finished second in the entrant championship.

In 2007, Alex Lloyd won the championship with eight victories in 16 races, including a record five consecutive victories to start the season.

Team owner Sam Schmidt made 27 career starts in the IndyCar Series as a driver, earning one victory and pole position, both achievements in his hometown of Las Vegas in September 1999 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway while driving for Treadway Racing. In January 2000, Schmidt became a quadriplegic due to injuries suffered in a testing crash at Orlando, Fla.

Schmidt, who endures more than 35 hours of physical therapy per week, puts his master's degree in international finance from Pepperdine University to work managing the marketing efforts for his team and the strategic direction of the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation.

The foundation's mission is to help individuals overcome spinal-cord injuries and other related debilitating illnesses by facilitating scientific research, medical treatment, rehabilitation and technological advances. The foundation raises funds through the power of motorsports to improve quality of life and assure the best possible outcomes by touching individual lives. Every dollar raised in the foundation name goes to support the foundation and its missions.

Schmidt resides in Henderson, Nev., with his wife, Sheila, and their children, Savannah and Spencer.

In late-2012, Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Oculus Transport Ltd., announced the formation of a new partnership between the two as owners of SSM’s Firestone Indy Lights and IZOD IndyCar Series race teams.