• Motor Racing

Former United star Barthez wins French GT Series

ESPN staff
October 29, 2013
Fabien Barthez retired from football in 2007 before turning his attention to motor racing © Getty Images
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Former Manchester United stopper Fabien Barthez has proven he is just as useful in a pair of driving gloves as he was wearing goalkeeper gloves - after he won France's GT motorsport series.

Barthez and Sofrev ASP Ferrari team-mate Morgan Moullin-Traffort claimed the title with 174 points after respective finishes of fifth and eighth in the championship's final two races at the Paul Ricard Circuit near Marseille.

The pair closed the series 21 points clear of the nearest rivals, with two wins and four podium finishes throughout the season.

Barthez joined United from Monaco in 2000 and retired from football altogether in 2007, before he swapped his shinpads for overalls.

"I have always been fascinated by motorsport, even when I was playing football. It always intrigued me," Barthez told the Metro.

"I wanted to understand what it felt like being in a car. I had to wait until the end of my pro career to try it. That said, it's not like football: you can still be good even when you are 35, which was my age when I stopped playing."

Also competing in the series were ex-Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis, while nine-time world rally champion Sebastian Loeb has also previously competed.

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