March 9, 2026

I am taking a look back at Michel Joudain Jr. racing in Champ Car in 2003.

Michel started racing in the Mexican Formula Junior series at 12 years old and in 1996 started in the IRL racing series. From 1997 to 2004 he was racing in Champ Car with 2 wins in 2003 for Team Rahal at Milwaukee and Montreal.

The Milwaukee Mile 2003 race was a night race and cold! I remember putting on a heavy coat, hat and gloves to shoot a few photos from the spotters stand on the roof of the main grandstand. 

It was a big weekend at the Milwaukee Mile for the Centennial 250 race on the tracks 100th anniversary of auto racing.

It was also a big weekend for me because I got a photo job with Fittipaldi Dingman racing and their driver Tiago Monteiro for Milwaukee and Road America. Still waiting to get paid for that and so is most of the racing team crew.

Michel Jourdain Jr. had a great race and his first win in the series at Milwaukee. 

A few photos here are from Milwaukee and Road America where it was a mess of weather in 2003 with a lot of rain delays.  I remember the race finishing finally at about 7 or 8pm.

He raced in NASCAR, WTCC, A1GP, Craftsman Truck Series and he now is still in the Super Copa GTM Series in Mexico for Andretti Jourdain Autosport where he was champion in 2020.

He's a nice racer and still racing in anything he can even having done the Baja 1000 in 2003 finishing sixth.

He placed second overall in a 1953 Studebaker in the La Carrera Panamericana in 2010.

Enjoy a look at some photos from Milwaukee and Road America in 2003.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann