Jean Xhenceval was a leading saloon car driver with BMW throughout the 1970s for whom victory in the 1976 European Touring Car Championship was the highlight.
Seventh in the 1970 Spa 24 Hours driving a BMW 2800CS, he entered selected ETCC rounds a year later with 1972 his breakthrough season. He shared a BMW Belgium-entered BMW 2800CS with Alain Peltier that season and scored podium finishes at Monza and Járama.
Victory at Spa-Francorchamps
They switched to Luigi Racing for 1974 and won the Spa 24 Hours with Pierre Dieudonné also driving their 3-litre CSL. Xhenceval and Dieudonné repeated that success a year later when also paired with Hugues de Fierlant in Luigi’s BMW 3.0 CSL.
European Touring Car Champion
Xhenceval and Dieudonné shared Luigi Racing’s number one car in the 1976 ETCC. It was a dominant season that included five victories and culminated in the title. Eight podium finishes during 1977 included victory at Mugello but they were unable to defend their crown, taking third overall behind Dieter Quester and team-mate Carlo Facetti.
Three appearances at Le Mans included winning the IMSA class that year. Xhenceval continued with BMW until 1979 – winning four races in partnership with Dieudonné and compatriot Raijmond van Hove.
Luigi Racing and Xhenceval switched to an Alfa Romeo GTV6 for 1982 and he finished third at Brno before retiring from the sport after a couple of outings in 1983.
