Bruno Thiry

Bruno Thiry (born 8 October 1962) is a <a href="/facts/Belgium/YKuMXP5j">Belgian</a> <a href="/facts/Rallying/M5YhL4Fm">rally</a> driver.[additional citation(s) needed] He was born in <a href="/facts/St._Vith/msY13xP0">St. Vith</a>, <a href="/facts/Li%C3%A8ge_Province/D6IbEg8S">Liège Province</a>.
He began his career as an amateur in 1981, driving a <a href="/facts/Simca/o9kYcXP2">Simca</a>, and quickly became very successful in the Belgian Rally Championship. by 1991 to 1993, he joined the <a href="/facts/General_Motors_Europe/YpTklI7z">GME</a> team that contested only in some selected <a href="/facts/World_Rally_Championship/sNcRpfAM">World Rally Championship</a> (WRC) events and in non-WRC events. In 1992, he managed a first podium finish for him on the final running of the notorious <a href="/facts/Rallye_C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire/NuwdmrEf">Rallye Côte d'Ivoire</a> and finished second in an ex-works <a href="/facts/Opel_Kadett/Gep0CjIV">Opel Kadett GSI</a>. The following year saw Thiry win some WRC events in an <a href="/facts/Opel_Astra/UFPqMrIV">Opel Astra</a>[<a href="/facts/MOS:BROKENSECTIONLINKS/8a6NWTwL">broken anchor</a>] in the F2 category and brought GME its first manufacturer's title of the inaugural FIA 2-Litre World Cup in 1993. <a href="/facts/1994_World_Rally_Championship_season/CGnwWU4J">1994</a>, the year saw Thiry join the <a href="/facts/Ford_Motor_Company/lY6Wcwty">Ford</a> team to contest the WRC, driving a <a href="/facts/Ford_Escort_RS_Cosworth/vPMPcjNl">Ford Escort RS Cosworth</a>. In these years, he managed several third places; in the <a href="/facts/RAC_Rally/HFHJffts">RAC Rally</a> in 1994 and in <a href="/facts/Rally_San_Remo/DTm8J8kF">Rally San Remo</a> and the <a href="/facts/Rally_Catalunya/q46Uzu0m">Rally Catalunya</a> in <a href="/facts/1996_World_Rally_Championship_season/pQeVuLXp">1996</a>. He finished fifth overall in the WRC standings in 1994.

In 1997, he won the Rally of the Azores in a privately entered Escort Cosworth. The <a href="/facts/1998_World_Rally_Championship_season/nVjrXzWl">following year</a> saw Thiry continue with Ford and he contested thirteen events with the exception of the <a href="/facts/Safari_Rally/cW40THD4">Safari Rally</a> and <a href="/facts/Rally_Portugal/geKhN8cn">Rally Portugal</a> due to an accident that caused Thiry two broken ribs and he was replaced by <a href="/facts/Ari_Vatanen/51BHv6mc">Ari Vatanen</a> as the second driver for the team. Then in <a href="/facts/1999_World_Rally_Championship_season/Q9dpHsGu">1999</a> he campaigned a <a href="/facts/Subaru_Impreza/nqygPr8q">Subaru Impreza</a> in his role as third driver for the Subaru World Rally Team.
<a href="/facts/2001_World_Rally_Championship_season/UWxsUbBG">2001</a> saw Thiry joined the <a href="/facts/%C5%A0koda_Motorsport/5GtDe6b8">Škoda Motorsport</a> team and he had a disappointing year in the <a href="/facts/%C5%A0koda_Octavia_WRC/kGcn2RaU">Octavia WRC</a>. His highest placings that year were eight place in the <a href="/facts/Monte_Carlo_Rally/FRW7Qx28">Monte Carlo Rally</a>, the <a href="/facts/Cyprus_Rally/1j38WlsH">Cyprus Rally</a> and <a href="/facts/Rally_Great_Britain/HFHJffts">Rally Great Britain</a>.
In 2002 and 2003, the <a href="/facts/Peugeot_206_WRC/yVo5hGy0">Peugeot 206 WRC</a> was Thiry's vehicle of choice. He won the <a href="/facts/Ypres_Rally/EGy19BpJ">Ypres Rally</a> both years, and became <a href="/facts/European_Rally_Championship/aGrLDu04">European Champion</a> in 2003 after five victories. In 2004, he was runner-up in a <a href="/facts/Citro%C3%ABn_C2_S1600/fajAqUep">Citroën C2 S1600</a>.
Since 2005, Thiry has more or less retired from motorsport and only occasionally competes on events. A notable recent result was a second place on the Rally of Condroz in 2006, driving a <a href="/facts/Peugeot_307_WRC/CGt3dvNQ">Peugeot 307 WRC</a>. His <a href="/facts/Co-driver/hskdLTwf">co-driver</a> for most of his rallying career was fellow-Belgian <a href="/facts/St%C3%A9phane_Pr%C3%A9vot/UuVr7zdj">Stéphane Prévot</a>.

Bruno Thiry open-in-new

Bruno Thiry