Philippe Bugalski, the first man to hand Citroen their first ever World Rally Championship event win, died on Friday at the age of 49 after falling at his home near the town of Vichy, France.
Bugalski test drove and developed all of Citroen’s prototype cars which helped them achieve unprecedented success; he also played a huge role in shaping up the modern era of WRC.
He first started rallying back in 1984 before joining Citroen in 1998 for a full-time job.
‘Le Petit Bug’, as he was known, won both Catalunya and Corsica in the dominant Formula 2 Xsara in 1999. His conquering performance forced competitors to call for a handicap on his car during WRC events.
The Frenchman competed in historic rallies onboard cars such as the legendary Audi Quattro lately; he also devoted his time to the Automeca rally team which he had recently taken control of.
Bugalski has a wife and two daughters.
