Alain Menu

Alain Menu (born 9 August 1963) is a Swiss racing driver who is currently working for Team BMR as a driving coach. He was one of the most successful touring car drivers of the 1990s, winning the prestigious British Touring Car Championship twice (the only driver during the series' 1991–2000 Super Touring era to do so). He drove for Chevrolet in the World Touring Car Championship between 2005 and 2012 with a best finish of second in 2012.

The son of a farmer, Menu was born in Geneva. Like many drivers who eventually build a career in touring cars, Menu began his career in single-seater racing, reaching the International Formula 3000 championship in 1991 after two years in the British Formula 3 Championship and one year in the British Formula 3000 Championship, in which he finished runner-up in 1990. However, for the next year he returned to Great Britain to race a BMW 3 Series in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), showing promise before being injured mid-season in a quadbike accident at Knockhill; despite only participating in half of the season, he still managed to finish 9th in the final championship standings. As a result of this accident, he was unable to jog for exercise again – he instead took up cycling as his main exercise.

In 1993, Menu began a six-year association with Renault in the BTCC, who had just entered the series with the GB Motorsport run Renault 19. He finished second in a very wet round two at Donington Park behind teammate Tim Harvey. At the next round at Oulton Park, he crashed out of fifth place late on in the race. Menu collided with Nissan Primera of Tiff Needell on the final lap of round eight at Silverstone, dropping Menu for seventh to eighth and forcing Needell into the pits. The Renault team missed the double header at Knockhill and returned to the grid for round ten at Oulton Park. The car had been revised and Menu was sixth after the first few corners having started eighth; he went on to finish fourth behind John Cleland. The first year of their partnership was not particularly successful, with the 19 little better than a midfield runner in the hands of Menu and reigning champion Tim Harvey. However, Menu did manage to win one race at a rain-soaked Donington Park late in the season.

For 1994, the 19 was replaced by the Renault Laguna, which proved to be a much better package all-round. Alfa Romeo had dominated the first four races and Menu did not finish on the podium until Silverstone. At Oulton Park, Alfa Romeo were told to run their cars without their disputed aerodynamic aids and they left the circuit in protest. This allowed Menu to win the race from pole position and set fastest lap. He collided with Julian Bailey at the first corner of the British Grand Prix support race at Silverstone, triggering a pileup that red flagged the race. He took pole position for round fifteen at Oulton Park by nearly a second over BMW driver Joachim Winkelhock but made a poor start and finished third. Menu scored four further podiums in the last four races to finish second in the championship behind Gabriele Tarquini.

The running of the Renault team was taken over by WilliamsF1 for the 1995 season and Menu was joined by former Toyota driver Will Hoy. Despite relatively little testing, Menu qualified third for the season opener at Donington Park and went on to finish second in the race. He took pole position for the first race at Thruxton and held on to take a narrow victory over Cleland. Menu was running third in round seven at Silverstone when he was forced to retire with mechanical issues but he was able to take part in the second race of the day and he finished fourth. Third place in round nine at Oulton Park was the start of five successive mid-season podiums that kept him second in the championship behind Rickard Rydell and then Cleland. Menu was third in the championship after round 21 at Snetterton but three consecutive wins finished the year and elevated him back up to second in the standings.

Menu was partnered with Hoy once again in 1996. The main rival for the Renault team was Audi Sport UK and their 4-wheel drive car, driven by Frank Biela. The season opener at Donington Park saw Menu finish third behind teammate Hoy and Biela. Menu had to start the second race of the day from the back of the grid having failed the ride height check after race one. He recovered to seventh before having to retire with mechanical problems. Menu took pole position for the next event at Brands Hatch, but was demoted to second at the start by Biela and those positions stuck until the finish line. The next event at Thruxton saw Menu spin at Church corner in race one and ditch his car into the nearby woodland, he was unhurt but the damage left him on the sidelines for race two. Menu worked his way up into the lead of race one at Snetterton but almost immediately slowed down with car problems and retired. He took the first win of the year for Renault in the next meeting at Brands Hatch, winning both races. After this, Menu won twice more on his way to second in the championship, 92 points shy of champion Frank Biela.

He continued with Renault in 1997 and was joined by Renault Spider champion Jason Plato. The car was much more competitive for that year and Menu won the first four races of the season. Rounds five and six at Thruxton took place in wet conditions and the Renaults front row lock-out translated into two third-placed finishes for Menu. He was nudged into a spin in round eight at Brands Hatch by Anthony Reid's Nissan, but was able to rejoin the race and finish fourth while Reid finished fourteenth. Menu started on pole for a wet round eleven at Donington Park, although the two Audis got a better start and led into the first corner. Menu was able to cleanly retake second from John Bintcliffe, despite a misted up windscreen. Contact with James Thompson at Knockhill meant Menu retired for the first and only time that season. Just before round 19 at Thruxton, Menu pulled into the pits to fix a broken rear wheel, which meant he missed the start and he finished in a non–points classified finish for the first time that year. After the second race at Thruxton, Menu had secured the championship crown and so on the final lap of round 21 at Brands Hatch, Menu let teammate Plato through into second place to allow him to close in on Biela in the championship. Menu had taken twelve wins in a dominant car in 1997, a record that was later equalled by Ashley Sutton 26 years later.

1998 would see the Renault team have a large amount of sponsorship from Nescafe and Menu was once again partnered by Plato. The Renault Laguna was not as dominant as the previous season and Menu won only three races, the first which came at Thruxton in the second race of the year.