Enrique Bernoldi

Enrique Antônio Langue e Silvério de Bernoldi (; born 19 October 1978) is a Brazilian former professional racing driver who raced for the Arrows Formula One team in 2001 and 2002, and was the test driver for British American Racing (later Honda) between 2004 and 2006. He entered IndyCar racing in 2008, and competed in the FIA GT World Championship between 2009 and 2011, in addition to entering multiple other competitions.

Racing career

Early career Bernoldi was born on 19 October 1978, in Curitiba, Paraná. He originally wanted to be a jockey because he liked horses but he received a go-kart from his parents as a gift for his seventh birthday. Bernoldi gained the inspiration to drive from watching compatriots Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. He began karting when he was nine years old, and he won multiple regional and national titles. Bernoldi won the Brazilian Paulista Kart Championship every year from 1989 to 1991 and claimed title honours in the Brazilian Kart Championship in 1990 and 1991. He went on to finish third at the 1992 Paulista Kart Championship in Brazil as well as placing third in the 1993 South American Kart Championship and fourth in the 1993 Pan-American Kart Championship.

Bernoldi travelled to Europe at the age of sixteen to begin his car racing career. The following year, he took in nine victories in eleven rounds and the title, before entering British Formula Three with the Promatecme team in 1997. He took his first victory at Spa-Francorchamps en route to fifth in the championship, and also finished third at that year's Macau Grand Prix. Bernoldi remained with Promatecme for 1998 to take six more victories, and he was able to finish runner-up to compatriot Mario Haberfeld. He finished second at the 1998 Masters of Formula 3 and third at the 1998 Macau Grand Prix. His first choice was West Competition alongside Nick Heidfeld but was not signed despite running fastest in a test session with the team. in addition to also testing for the Prost Grand Prix team in 2000. Although touted before the start of the 2001 season to be joining either Prost, Minardi, or Sauber, Bernoldi instead signed a three-year contract to drive for the Arrows squad with the option to extend his stay at the team for a further two years after his first season with them.

Formula One Bernoldi follows Arrows teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen at the 2002 French Grand Prix. Driving the A22-Asiatech car that had a small fuel tank to take advantage of the tyre battle between Bridgestone and Michelin during the 2001 season, He failed to score any points in 2001 due to the car's engine being unreliable and Bernoldi making driver errors, with ten retirements from seventeen starts, his highest finish being an eighth at the German Grand Prix. At Sepang he notably overtook Michael Schumacher, having been passed by the German as he attempted to fight through the field after a first-lap incident with Juan Pablo Montoya, although his driving in that race was criticised by Allan McNish. Due to serious financial problems, Arrows were forced to withdraw three-quarters of the way into the 2002 season. Bernoldi thus again did not score any points in the World Drivers' Championship in the 11 races he entered. after a potential drive for Jordan Grand Prix failed to materialise due to legal constraints. He also participated in a "mega test", held by Alfa Romeo, with a prospect of driving for the team in the 2004 European Touring Car Championship. Despite this test, he continued in the World Series in 2004, and finished third overall, with another pair of wins. In mid-2004 he was named a test driver for BAR, completing two tests at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain, in order to prevent the regular BAR drivers having to make several long-distance trips. He remained with the team after these sessions, also undertaking tests of BAR's "Concept Car" (a hybrid F1 car with a 2004 frontal setup mixed with a 2005 rear setup). He remained BAR's test driver for 2005, but began to look for pastures new in 2006, participating in less tests for the now-renamed Honda Racing F1 Team - although he did remain as official test driver. Although he impressed in Champ Car during a test for Rocketsports, his solitary race during 2006 came in Argentina's TC 2000 series.

IndyCar Series

For 2008, Bernoldi signed a contract with Rocketsports for the 2008 Champ Car World Series. However, following the reunification of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, Rocketsports withdrew, opting not to compete in the new, combined, series. It was later announced that Bernoldi would drive for Conquest Racing in the newly combined series' 2008 season. His best result was fourth, in the final Champ Car-sanctioned race at Long Beach. His best result in the reunified IndyCar Series was fifteenth at the 2008 Indianapolis 500. A collision with teammate Jamie Camara at Watkins Glen lead him to publicly criticize the team, and speculation that he might leave them. A thumb injury ruled him out of the final two races of the season, his seat being filled by Alex Tagliani.

2009–present For 2009, Bernoldi was the full-time driver of Flamengo in the Superleague open wheel series and also he ran a partial schedule in Stock Car Brasil. He also competed in the FIA GT Championship for Sangari Team Brazil, taking his first win at Paul Ricard.

In 2010, Bernoldi raced in the new FIA GT1 World Championship for Vitaphone Racing, scoring the pole position and winning his home race at Interlagos.

In 2011, Bernoldi continued to race in the series, campaigning a Nissan GT-R for the Sumo Power GT team. He also entered four races of the GT Brasil, driving for Ford GT Racing Team BMG.

In 2012, Bernoldi drove for Vita4One Team Italy in the Italian GT Championship, followed by appearances for AF Waltrip in the FIA World Endurance Championship, before making his debut in the International GT Open, driving once more for AF Corse in a Ferrari 458 GT2. He also made his debut in the SPEED EuroSeries, driving for Team JD in a Tatuus CN, whilst entering the 500 Milhas de Kart do Beto Carreiro at the end of the year. In 2013, he entered the International Challenge of the Stars, run by Felipe Massa. Bernoldi retired from motor sport in 2015.

Racing record

Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles Points Position 1995 Formula Alfa Boxer ?824 ? 4th Championnat de France Formule Renault ? 1 0 1 ? NC Formula Renault Europe ? 1 1 ? 32 11th 1996 Renault Spider Europe Team Ghinzani6 0 1 38 12th Championnat de France Formule Renault ? 4 2 1 ? NC Formula Renault Europe Tatuus JD Motorsport1198 218 1st 1997 Macau Grand Prix Promatecme 1 0 0 N/A 3rd Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 N/A NC British F3 Championship 14 1 0 127 5th 1998 Macau Grand Prix Promatecme 11 1 N/A 3rd Masters of Formula 3 1 1 1 N/A 2nd British Formula 3 Championship 15 6 4 163 2nd 1999 Formula One Sauber Test driver International Formula 3000 Championship Red Bull Junior 8 0 0 2 18th 2000 Formula One Sauber Test driver International Formula 3000 Championship Red Bull Junior 10 0 1 5 16th 2001 Formula One Arrows 17 0 0 0 21st 2002 Formula One Arrows 11 0 0 0 22nd 2003 World Series by Nissan GD Racing 18 2 2 112 6th 2004 World Series by Nissan GD Racing 18 2 2 113 3rd Formula One British American Racing Test driver 2005 Formula One British American Racing Test driver 2006 Formula One Honda F1 Test driver TC 2000 Honda Petrobras Lubrax 1 0 0 0 NC 2007 Stock Car Brasil Biosintética 11 01 58 13th 2008 IndyCar Series Conquest Racing 15 0 0 220 22nd 2009 Stock Car Brasil RCM Motorsport 4 0 0 1 30th FIA GT Championship Sangari Team Brazil 5 1 1 25 11th Superleague Formula CR Flamengo 10 0 0 191 16th 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship Vitaphone Racing Team 20 1 1 53 15th 2011 Itaipava GT3 Brasil Ford GT Racing Team BMG 4 0 0 35 19th FIA GT1 World Championship Sumo Power GT 20 0 0 64 12th 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship AF Corse-Waltrip 1 0 1 0 N/A Italian GT Championship - GT3 Vita4One Team Italy 2 0 0 18 19th 2014 Stock Car Brasil C2 Team 1 0 0 0 NC 2015 Stock Car Brasil C2 Team 1 0 0 0 NCcenter|small|Sources:

1 Run on same day. 2 Non-points paying, exhibition race.