François Duval
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{{WRC driver
| Name = François Duval
| Image = [[Image:françois duval.JPG|250px]]
| Caption = Duval at the 2006 [[Rally of Turkey]].
| Nationality = {{flagicon|BEL}} [[Belgium|Belgian]]
| Years = 2000 - present
| Teams = [[Ford]], [[Citroën]], [[Skoda]]
| Races = 77
| Championships = 0
| Wins = 1
| Podiums = 12
| Stagewins = 48
| Points = 152
| First race = 2001 [[Rally Portugal]]
| First win = 2005 [[Rally Australia]]
}}
'''François Duval''' (born [[November 18]], [[1980]]) is a [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[rally (sports)|rally]] driver in the [[World Rally Championship]].
==Career==
===1999-2004===
[[Image:S16 fd ford.jpg|thumb|left|Duval in a [[Ford Puma]] at the 2001 [[Rally Finland]]]]
Victory on four events landed Duval the Belgian [[Citroën Saxo]] Challenge title in 1999. He then began his career as a rally driver at the international level, firstly, as a driver in the inaugural season of the lower-rung [[Super 1600]] category of the World Rally Championship (latterly the [[Junior World Rally Championship]]) aboard a [[Ford Puma]] in [[2001 World Rally Championship season|2001]], the same year in which Saxo driver and future Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb won the title. Beginning with the [[2002 World Rally Championship season|2002 season]], he progressed to become a regular driver of a [[Ford Focus WRC]] with the factory [[M-Sport]]-ran [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Ford World Rally Team|World Rally Team]]. Concurrently with his World Rally Car exploits, he added a second campaign with the Puma in the junior series, taking a category win on the [[Monte Carlo Rally]].
For the [[2003 World Rally Championship season|2003 season]], Duval found himself promoted to the role of regular Ford points-scorer in the manufacturers' championship, alongside [[Estonia]]n youngster [[Markko Märtin]] after the double departure from the team of both [[Colin McRae]] and [[Carlos Sainz]]. He made a points-scoring debut on that year's Monte Carlo Rally, and as predicted by team boss [[Malcolm Wilson (rally)|Malcolm Wilson]], collecting his first world rally podium on the asphalt roads of [[Corsica]] on the [[Tour de Corse]] later in the year. He retained his role alongside Märtin heading into the [[2004 World Rally Championship season|2004 season]], backing up the Estonian ''[[de facto]]'' team leader in a 1-2 surprise early season win on the first world series running of the [[Rally Mexico]]. However, amidst increasing uncertainty as to Ford's participation in future championship seasons, both he and Martin were to be released from their contracts at the end of the season.
===2005-2008===
[[Image:François Duval - 2005 Cyprus Rally.jpg|thumb|left|Duval at the 2005 [[Cyprus Rally]].]]
Duval moved to reigning world champion manufacturers [[Citroën]] for [[2005 World Rally Championship season|2005]] and the chance to partner freshly crowned World Champion [[Sébastien Loeb]] and drive their [[Citroën Xsara#Citroën Xsara WRC|Xsara WRC]]. Unfortunately for Duval, this new partnership arrangement got off to an inauspicious start, with a series of costly shunts, including on his Citroën debut from second place in [[Monte Carlo]], leading to an enforced two-rally leave from the cockpit for Duval for the [[Rally Turkey|Turkey]] and [[Acropolis Rally|Acropolis]] rallies, ironically to be replaced by the Belgian's idol, double world champion and immediate Citroën predecessor, [[Carlos Sainz]]<ref>BBC News: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/world_rally/4553647.stm Duval temporarily deposed by Sainz]</ref>. By latter 2005, however, the Belgian appeared to be recovering his verve. After an initially tentative return, he was to storm to second place on the [[OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland|Rally Deutschland]] barred from victory only by the all-conquering Loeb. He added a fine second place finish on the [[Wales Rally GB]], somewhat ill-starred by the fatal accident that befell erstwhile [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] team-mate Markko Martin's navigator, [[Michael Park (rally co-pilot)|Michael Park]]. Then, at the 2005 [[Telstra Rally Australia]], on the backdrop of the exits of podium challengers Loeb, [[Petter Solberg]], [[Marcus Grönholm]] and one-off [[Škoda Auto|Škoda]] entrant [[Colin McRae]] over the course of the three [[leg (rallying)|legs]] of the event, Duval won his first World Rally Championship event, ahead of [[Harri Rovanperä]] and [[Manfred Stohl]].
[[Image:François Duval - 2007 Rallye Deutschland.jpg|thumb|left|Duval at the [[2007 Rallye Deutschland]].]]
The immediate forecast for the Belgian's future remained clouded, however, with [[Citroën]] taking a one-year formal sabbatical from the series<ref>BBC News: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/world_rally/4380086.stm Citroen set for 2007 rally return]</ref>. Although 2005 team-mate and now two-time champion [[Sébastien Loeb]] could revel in the luxury of a contract with the privateer Kronos outfit for all of the [[2006 World Rally Championship season|2006 season]]'s world rallies, as well as a testing package within the rejuvenated factory-backed Citroen C4 WRC,<ref>http://www.wrc.com/page/BreakingNewsDetail/0,,10111~752776,00.html</ref> Duval proved unable to maintain a link to either organisation. Sporadic stints in a privately run [[Škoda Fabia|Škoda Fabia WRC]] formed the platform of his eventual world championship campaign, with a best finish of sixth on the [[Rally Catalunya]] in [[Spain]]. Only two other top ten finishes were achieved all year, namely on the [[Italy|Italian]] and [[Turkey|Turkish]] rounds, notwithstanding a late-season triumph in the same apparatus on his native non-world championship [[Condroz Rally]] in November.
[[Image:François Duval - 2008 Monte Carlo Rally.jpg|thumb|Duval at the [[2008 Monte Carlo Rally]].]]
Despite outstanding funding woes forcing him to abort a proposed campaign with the Fabia for the [[2007 World Rally Championship season|2007 season]], Duval's continued presence in the world series was ensured with a deal to drive a privately run Citroën Xsara WRC later in the season. He subsequently finished a close second to the [[Citroën C4]]-mounted defending title-holder, Loeb on the [[2007 Rallye Deutschland|2007]] [[Rallye Deutschland]] that August. The result marked his first podium since his one and, thus far only, World Rally victory.
In the [[2008 World Rally Championship season|2008 season]] opener, [[2008 Monte Carlo Rally]], Duval competed in a [[Ford Focus WRC|Ford Focus RS WRC 07]] for [[Stobart VK M-Sport Ford]]. After a tight battle for third place with [[Subaru World Rally Team|Subaru]]'s [[Chris Atkinson]], Duval finished fourth only 1.1 seconds behind Atkinson.
==WRC victories==
:{| class="wikitable"
! Number
! Event
! Season
! Co-driver
! Car
|-
| 1
| {{Flagicon|Australia}} [[Rally Australia|Rally Australia 2005]]
| [[2005 World Rally Championship season|2005]]
| [[Sven Smeets]]
| [[Citroën Xsara WRC]]
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commonscat|François Duval}}
* [http://www.fduval.com/ François Duval official website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duval, Francois}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Belgian rally drivers]]
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