Zachary Claman DeMelo

Zachary Claman DeMelo (born April 20, 1998) is a Canadian professional race car driver from Montreal, Quebec. He has competed in Formula Renault 2.0, the IndyCar Series and other open-wheel series, most recently competing for Belardi Auto Racing in Indy Lights in 2019.

Racing career

Karting and lower formula Claman DeMelo began competing in various regional and national karting events in 2008. In 2010, at the age of twelve, he clinched his first Canadian National Karting Championship as well as his first Eastern Canadian Karting Championship. By the age of sixteen, he had won three Canadian National Karting Championships, five consecutive Eastern Canadian National Championships, and earned a third-place finish at the Rotax Karting World Championships. Claman DeMelo made his car racing debut in the 2014–15 Formula Skip Barber winter series, where he won two of the four races.

In 2015, Claman DeMelo moved to Europe and participated in a handful of races in several Formula Renault 2.0 series, including Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps. From there, he moved on to the Invitational class of the MSV F3 Cup, where he claimed a win in all eight races he drove in.

Indy Lights

In 2016, Claman DeMelo entered Indy Lights as the youngest driver on the grid (at seventeen years old) with defending championship team Juncos Racing. In his rookie campaign, Claman DeMelo put up nine finishes in the top-ten and three finishes in the top-five. In 2017, Claman DeMelo raced for the 2016 defending championship team, Carlin Motorsport. He captured his first series win at Road America and captured a pair of podium finishes in Toronto. He finished fifth in points, just four points behind teammate Matheus Leist in fourth.

Unable to secure a full-time ride in the NTT IndyCar Series, Claman DeMelo chose to return to Indy Lights for the 2019 season, this time with Belardi Auto Racing. After winning the season-opening round at St. Petersburg, the season went south for the team, and budget issues ended Claman DeMelo's season before the Freedom 100.

IndyCar Series In July 2016, Claman DeMelo participated in an IndyCar Series test with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. He made his IndyCar debut in the 2017 season finale at Sonoma Raceway with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

In February 2018, Claman DeMelo was named a part-time driver of the No. 19 Paysafe Honda for Dale Coyne Racing in the 2018 IndyCar Series.

Personal life One of Claman DeMelo's grandmothers spent time in a Nazi concentration camp. She was freed on a Friday the 13th, and the tattoo numbers added up to 13. He has used number 13 on his racecars during most of his career.

In 2016, Claman DeMelo and his sister launched a shoe brand called ZCD Montreal.

In 2023, Claman DeMelo was assaulted by ice hockey player Daniel Sprong at a nightclub during the Detroit Grand Prix weekend.

Racing record

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

† As DeMelo was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 NEC results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points 2015 Fortec Motorsports MNZ1 MNZ2 SIL1 SIL2 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 SPA1 SPA2 ASS1 ASS2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 HOC3 30th 22

American open-wheel racing results

Indy Lights Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points 2016 Juncos Racing STP11 STP16 PHX11 ALA5 ALA7 IMS13 IMS14 INDY13 RDA5 RDA4 IOW8 TOR13 TOR13 MOH7 MOH7 WGL9 LAG12 LAG7 9th 199 2017 Carlin STP8 STP7 ALA5 ALA14 IMS2 IMS11 INDY6 RDA10 RDA1 IOW6 TOR2 TOR3 MOH5 MOH4 GMP6 WGL6 5th 274 2019 Belardi Auto Racing STP STP COA COA IMS IMS INDY RDA RDA TOR TOR MOH MOH GTW POR POR LAG LAG 10th 124

IndyCar Series Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref 2017 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 13 Dallara DW12 Honda STP LBH ALA PHX IMS INDY DET DET TXS ROA IOW TOR MOH POC GTW WGL SNM17 31st 26 2018 Dale Coyne Racing 19 STP17 PHX LBH23 ALA19 IMS12 INDY19 DET DET TXS17 ROA21 IOW18 TOR14 MOH POC GTW POR SNM 23rd 122

Season still in progress.

Indianapolis 500 Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 2018 Dallara Honda 13 19 Dale Coyne Racing