Laurent Aïello

Laurent Aïello (born 23 May 1969) is a French former race car driver, most notable for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) in 1999, and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series in 2002.

Aïello's racing career lasted from 1988 until 2005, and, in addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the BTCC and DTM, saw him enter the International Formula 3000, the French Supertouring Championship (CFS), the Italian Super Touring Championship (ISTC), and the Super Tourenwagen Cup (STW), in addition to several other series. He took the CFS title in 1994, and the STW title in 1997.

Career

Early career

Aïello won the French Karting Championship for three years in a row, in 1983, 1984, and 1985. He made his car racing debut in 1988 in the Volant Avia, and his professional racing debut in 1989, entering 11 rounds of the French Formula 3, driving for Daniel Gache Racing, with his best result being a solitary podium. In 1990 Aïello won the Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race, in addition to finishing fourth in the Macau GP for Bowman Racing, and fifth in the French F3 for Graff Racing, with four wins from 11 races. He did, however, take the 1992 French Formula 3 title.

1993-1996 In 1993, Aïello switched to touring car racing in the French Supertouring Championship (CFS), finishing runner up, whilst driving for the non-works team Oreca. After a less-successful 1995 season, where he finished third overall, and won just one race, he made the switch to the Super Tourenwagen Cup (STW) in Germany for 1996, still driving for Peugeot, but in their new 406 model, following their withdrawal from the CFS. He also entered a round of the Porsche Carrera Cup France, winning the race. 1998 would be his third and final season in the STW, with six wins only being enough for a second place, with the Venezuelan driver Johnny Cecotto beating him by just three points. During the 1998 season, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in a Porsche 911 GT1, his first attempt at the endurance race.

For 1999, Aïello switched to the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), driving for the works Nissan team in their Primera model, replacing the outgoing Anthony Reid, who had moved to Ford. He had initially been offered the drive at Renault, but rejected the offer as WilliamsF1, who ran the team, refused to allow him to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The season would prove to be highly successful, as he took the title in his one and only season in the series, with ten wins helping him finish 16 points ahead of teammate David Leslie, and Nissan taking a comfortable Manufacturer's and Team's championship victory. His performances in the BTCC saw him win the National Racing Driver of the Year award in the Autosport Awards. He also entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999, this time for Audi in their Audi R8R, and he finished third in class.

2000-2002 Aïello at the Sachsenring in 2002, his championship year in the DTM. Following Nissan's withdrawal from the BTCC at the end of the 1999 season, a potential drive for Honda fell through (that spot being taken by Tom Kristensen), Aïello made the switch to the new Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series, driving for the Abt Sportsline team in their Audi TT-R, a move that surprised some. The first season was unsuccessful, with no victories, as the Audi TT proved to be uncompetitive against the faster Mercedes-Benz CLK and Opel Astra rivals, its best finish being Aïello's fifth place at the second Oschersleben sprint race. He entered his third 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for Audi, and finished second.

Following heavy development on the car, 2001 would prove to be more successful: Aïello was the first member of the Abt team to win in the series, at the Nürburgring sprint race. He would take 3 more victories that season, all three at the Nürburgring. He once more returned to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Audi, and finished second once more.

2002 would be an even more successful year — Aïello defeated reigning champion Bernd Schneider to take the title by six points, winning 12 races in the process. Although initially signed to drive once more for Audi in the 2002 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he would not appear, with Christian Pescatori being entered instead.

2003-2005

Abt Sportsline, and Aïello, would be much less successful in 2003, winning just one race, and after switching to Opel for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, without any further victories (the firm's new Vectra GTS proved to be unsuccessful), Aïello announced his retirement from racing at the end of the season, aged 36, finishing ninth in his final race at Hockenheim. During his final season, he tested a "breathable overall" at the Nürburgring round.

In a 2005 poll run by Motorsport Magazine, Aïello was voted the 13th best touring car driver of all time.

Personal life Aïello is married to Géraldine and has two children: a daughter named Marie, and a son named Tom. He has a passion for jetskis, and enjoys DJing.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points 1991 DAMS Lola T91/50 Mugen VAL PAU JER MUG PER HOC BRH SPA BUG NOG 15th 4 1992 Pacific Racing Reynard 92D Mugen SIL PAU CAT PER HOC NÜR SPA ALB NOG MAG 15th 3

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Porsche AG Allan McNish Stephane Ortelli Porsche 911 GT1-98 GT1 351 1st 1st Audi Sport Team Joest Michele Alboreto Rinaldo Capello Audi R8R LMP 346 4th 3rd Audi Sport Team Joest Allan McNish Stephane Ortelli Audi R8 LMP900 367 2nd 2nd Audi Sport North America Rinaldo Capello Christian Pescatori Audi R8 LMP900 320 2nd 2nd

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete British Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Pos Pts 1999 Vodafone Nissan Racing Nissan Primera GT DON1 DON2 SIL1 SIL2 THR1 THR2 BRH1 BRH2 OUL1 OUL2 DON1 DON2 CRO1 CRO2 SNE1 SNE2 THR1 THR2 KNO1 KNO2 BRH1 BRH2 OUL1 OUL2 SIL1 SIL2 1st 244

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

1 – A non-championship one-off race was held in 2004, in Shanghai, China. † — Retired, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance.