Toni Forne Dossier 2017

Antoni “Toni” Forné Tomás (born in 1970 in Girona, Catalunya, Spain) is one of the most experienced drivers in the Iberian Peninsula. Besides, he is considered a multifaceted racing driver as he has competed in several different forms of racing such as circuits - including Prototypes, GT cars, Silhouettes, Touring Cars and Karting- and rallying.

Forné made his debut in go karts in 1989 and he managed to achieve immediate success. A finalist in the prestigious Volante ELF Formula Renault he contested famous rally events such as the Rally of Portugal in 1996.

The Catalan driver still got involved in rallying for two seasons before making his debut in touring car racing in 2002.

From then on, he entered racing series and races such as the Spanish SEAT León Supercopa, the 24 hours of Barcelona and the 24 hours of Dubai and more recently the Radical European Masters, the Eurocup Megane Trophy and the Renault Sport Trophy.

• 1989 debut in karting. Runner-up in the Catalonian championship. 4th in the Spanish championship.

• 1990 Runner-up in both the Spanish and Catalan championships.

• 1994 Finalist Volante ELF Formula Renault • 1995 8th Gravel SEAT Ibiza Cup / 3rd Catalunya Rally Championship (FWD) • 1996 Rally of Portugal • 2000 Gravel SEAT Ibiza Cup • 2001 8th Gravel SEAT Ibiza Cup / 3rd 24 hours of Barcelona (Diesel class) • 2002 6th Supercopa SEAT León • 2003 8th Supercopa SEAT León • 2004 6th Supercopa SEAT León • 2005 8th Supercopa SEAT León • 2006 3rd 24 hours of Barcelona / 10th Supercopa SEAT León (62 points, 2 wins, 4 podiums) / 24 hours of Dubai • 2007 3rd Spanish Endurance Cup • 2008 7th Supercopa SEAT León (75 points, 2 wins)

• 2009 2nd 24 hours of Barcelona / SEAT León Supercopa (12th, 2 podiums) • 2010 2nd 24 hours of Dubai / 12th Supercopa SEAT León (selected rounds, 1 podium) • 2011 9th Eurocup Megane Trophy (64 points, 1 podium), 3rd Gentleman • 2012 12th Eurocup Megane Trophy (28 points) Half-season participation • 2013 10th Eurocup Megane Trophy (41 points) , 2nd in Gentlemen ´s Trophy after experiencing problems in 5 differentes races • 2014 3rd European Radical Masters Championship SR3RS • 2015 7th Renault Sport Trophy Endurance (43 points, 1 podium), 6th Renault Sport Trophy Prestige (81 points - 2 podiums) • 2016 10th Renault Sport Trophy - AM, 12th Renault Sport Trophy - Endurance

Antoni FornĂŠ TomĂĄs comes from a Catalan family involved in the automotive industry.

As a result, he was a passionate racing fan from an early age. As soon as he reached the age of majority, he made his debut at the wheel of a go-kart.

The results were not long in coming and within a two year period he took vice-championship honors in both Spanish and Catalan (twice) championships. Nowadays Toni is still an avid karting racer and it keeps him fit.

As it was previously mentioned, the Girona-born driver became a finalist in the prestigious Volante Elf for the Formula Renault, one of the strongest feeder series at the time.

His first participation on the international tage took place in 1996 Rally of Portugal.

Driving a SEAT Ibiza GTI was forced to retire in TC28 but this first outing in gravel led him to contest the Copa SEAT Ibiza in Spain on gravel in the new century.

FornĂŠ himself recognises there were extremely useful seasons as he learned the different techniques for driving on different road surfaces.

2002 was a time for a completely new direction and Forné move into touring car racing. He entered the new Supercopa SEAT León in 2002 and ranked 6th overall on his first year in the Spanish series.

Forné contested four other consecutive seasons in the Supercopa SEAT León. He wouldn´t have to wait a long time for his first podiums and wins and they came over this period.

Simultaneously Toni also stepped onto his first overall podium in the 24 hours of Barcelona in 2006 by finishing 3rd in a SEAT León Supercopa with Luis Carlos Maurel and Christian Cano.

That year he also fell in love with the 24 hours of Dubai.

For 2007 campaign, Forné joined his long-time partner Proauto to take part in the Spanish Endurance Championship again driving a SEAT León Supercopa. He finished on a high note this new step foward as he finished 3rd in the drivers´ standings.

In 2008, Toni had the chance to return to his roots and contested the Supercopa SEAT León again. Despite battling against WTCC drivers such as Óscar Nogués and Marc Carol, he took podium honors claiming an impressive 2-win record.

2009 saw him contesting the Supercopa SEAT León, with two podiums to his credit, and in addition he achieved his best result ever at 2009 24 hours of Barcelona.

With a PCR Sport-entered SEAT León Supercopa he finished 2nd teaming up with Marcos de Diego and Marc Aldavert.

On the international scene his first podium came in 2010 at the 24 hours of Dubai. Sharing a SUNRED SEAT León Supercopa with Marcos de Diego, Noel Jammal and Josep María Dabad, Forné claimed 2nd behind touring car racing stars such as Óscar Nogués and Michael Rossi.

In Spain, he contested selected rounds of Spain´s SEAT León Supercopa and sporadically claimed Podium addiction podium finish.

For 2011, Forné secured an international racing programme.

He was confirmed as the only full-season Spanish driver in the Mégane Trophy.

At the wheel of a Renault Mégane fielded by Pujolar Racing, Forné raced at iconic venues such as Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps, Nürburgring or Barcelona. He classified 9th in the drivers standings with a podium finish.

Toni repeated in the hinglycontested Mégane Trophy but with a part-time program. As a result, he couldn´t improve his previous record in the series. There was still a third season in the one-make series organised by the French manufacturer.

Forné, who switched to Gravity Charouz, finished 10th in the overall standings. It was an interesting season battling names such as Mirko Bortolotti, Mike Verschuur, Kevin Gilardoni or Erik Janis.

2014 was right time for a change.

It was also his first season in a Prototype-based championship.

Teaming up with Álvaro Fontes, Toni drove a Speed Factoryentered Radical SR3 in the Radical European Masters. It resulted in another fascinating season. The Spanish pair ranked 3rd overall and took two wins and five podiums throughout the season. Forné visited venues such as Monza, Nürburgring, Hungaroring, Silverstone or Spa Francorchamps.

2015 marked another milestone in his career as he committed to Renault Sport Trophy.

The Renault Sport RS01, quicker than mighty GT3-based cars, The inaugural season saw Forné driving a car of the multidisciplinary team ART Junior Team. Teaming up with Netherlands´ Indy Dontje, Forné claimed three podium finishes and sit 6th and 7th in Prestige and Elite classes respectively, Forné contested the first two rounds of the Renault Sport Trophy with R-ace GP finishing 4th twice at Imola. Besides, he tested the all - new Ligier - Nissan JSP3 LMP3 in Barcelona.

As a battle-hardened racing driver with long experience in one-make series, Forné is looking forward to exploring new possibilities next year. Distinguished by a successful racing career, the Catalan driver sets high goals and aims to lead in everything he does.

MR. TONI FORNÉ CTRA. SANTA COLONA, 59 17005 GIRONA (CATALUNYA, SPAIN) MOB.: (0034) 629 754 646 TEL.: (0034) 972 40 63 23 toniforne@autopodium.com