Jean Baptiste Dubourg

 

Prior to starring in the FIA European Rallycross Championship, Jean Baptiste ‘JB’ Dubourg – son of 1992 European Autocross Champion Dominique Dubourg – was already busy making a name for himself on the domestic scene, lifting the French Championship laurels in Sprint Car competition in 2012 and Super1600 the following season, before finishing as runner-up in the Supercar class in 2014. That same year, he made his FIA World RX bow on home soil at Lohéac, scoring points in the 37-strong field.

That prompted a full-time graduation to the international stage in Euro RX’s headlining Supercar (now Euro RX1) category in 2015, having already dipped his toe into the water with a one-off outing at Super1600 (now Euro RX3) level in 2013. Joining the Supercar fray in a Citroën C4, a rostrum finish in the Franciacorta season finale propelled the Frenchman to fifth in the overall points table at the end of his maiden campaign in the series. He dovetailed that with selected starts in World RX, notably taking the chequered flag third in France.

2016 saw just sporadic appearances, and after focussing his efforts on the World Championship in 2017 – scoring points in half of the events he contested – Dubourg returned to Euro RX in 2018, now equipped with a G-FORS Renault Clio, which he piloted to the podium in Barcelona and fifth place in the championship again.

Another switch – to Peugeot machinery this time – yielded five rostrum results from six rounds in 2019, including a breakthrough victory in Latvia, as the multiple Andros Trophy ice-racing champion scooped the runner-up spoils in the Euro RX standings. After retaining that position in 2020, ‘JB’ looked set for a title bid in 2021 until an accident at Lohéac left him with a broken arm and curtailed his challenge.