Philippe Bugalski

Who was Philippe Bugalski?

Philippe Bugalski was a French rally driver.

Bugalski became a works Renault driver in the French Rally Championship in 1994. In 1998, he joined the works Citroën team, with whom he won the French national title three years in a row, from 1998 to 2000.

By the mid 1990s he had become a regular choice as tarmac specialist for Citroën, along with team mate Jesús Puras. However, as the Citroën Total World Rally Team entered the World Rally Championship full-time, employing such drivers as Sébastien Loeb, he was frequently entered as Citroën's 3rd driver for tarmac rallies. His top performances have been on home soil on the Tour de Corse, but he has also shown potential in the Rallye Sanremo, Monte Carlo Rally, and Rallye Catalunya.

After his breakthrough, he has struggled to secure a firm place in Citroen's WRC team but has always been a solid reserve driver. By 2003, he had stopped rallying professionally.

Bugalski died on August 10, 2012, aged 49, from injuries sustained when he fell out of a tree at his home in Vichy.