 | |
| Born | (1961-09-30)30 September 1961 (age 64) Verviers,Liège, Belgium |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Belgian |
| Active years | 1991 –1992 |
| Teams | Modena,Brabham,Fondmetal |
| Entries | 29 (5 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1991 United States Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1992 Italian Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
|---|---|
| Years | 1992,1994,1996 –1998,2000 –2002,2008 –2010 |
| Teams | Clayton Cunninghman Racing, Racing for Belgium/Team Scandia,Nissan Motorsports/TWR, Doyle-Risi Racing, TeamCadillac, TeamBentley,Krohn Racing |
| Best finish | 3rd(2001) |
| Class wins | 3(1998,2001,2002) |
Eric Francis Edouard Ghislain Thérèse van de Poele[1] (French pronunciation:[e.ʁikvɑndəpwal,-pwɛl]; born 30 September 1961) is aBelgianracing driver and formerFormula One driver. He participated in 29 Grands Prix, in 1991 and 1992. He is a three-times class winner at24 Hours of Le Mans, and won three Formula 3000 races in1990. Before his Formula One career, he won theDeutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft.
After a difficult 1984 season in FrenchFormula Three, van de Poele then won the Belgian and BeneluxFormula Ford titles, also racing in theBelgian Touring Car Championship.[2] He subsequently raced inGerman Touring Cars Championships, winning the 1987 championship despite not winning a race all season.[3] He also won the 1987Spa 24 Hours, sharing a car withDidier Theys andJean-Michel Martin.[3] He also dabbled in British Formula 3. For 1989, he moved up toFormula 3000, finishing fourth, and then runner-up in 1990.
After this, he signed for theModena Formula One team for 1991, driving theirLamborghini cars thanks to backing from long-time sponsorsLeasePlan. He qualified onto the grid at his third attempt, for the1991 San Marino Grand Prix. There he impressed in the rain, running fifth in the last lap before the car ran out of fuel, dropping him to ninth. The team, in financial difficulties, was unable to build on this success, and van de Poele would not race again that year.
He then signed forBrabham in 1992, but the team were low on money. He qualified for the openingSouth African Grand Prix, finishing 13th, but did not manage to qualify the outdated car again. He frequently matched team-mateDamon Hill in the other Brabham, however. For theHungarian Grand Prix he switched to the promisingFondmetal team. He qualified the car at the first attempt, only to spin out. He then started an excellent 15th for theBelgian Grand Prix, finishing 10th, and qualified again for theItalian Grand Prix, only for the clutch to break. After this,Fondmetal also hit money troubles and withdrew, leaving van de Poele without a drive.
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Aside from a largely unused capacity as test driver forTyrrell in 1993, van de Poele has since found considerable success inTouring Cars andsports cars, winning the12 Hours of Sebring in 1995 and 1996 and thePetit Le Mans in 1998. He has also added to his 1987 win in the Spa 24 Hours with four more wins in1998,2005,2006 and2008, giving him the record of five wins in the event.[4] In 2008, van de Poele competed in theRolex Sports Car Series.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Pts | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Hartge Motorsport | VW | A | NÜR 12 | AVU DNS | ZOL 8 | HOC 6 | ÖST | SIE | NÜR 5 | NÜR 14 | ZOL 3 | 11th | 29 | [5][6] |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| 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 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Zakspeed BMW Team | BMW M3 | HOC 2 | ZOL 10 | NÜR 4 | AVU 4 | MFA 8 | NOR 6 | NÜR 8 | WUN 3 | DIE 2 | SAL 10 | 1st | 127 | ||||||||||||||
| 1988 | BMW M Team Linder | BMW M3 Evo | ZOL 1 | ZOL 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | BRN 1 | BRN 2 | AVU 1 | AVU 2 | MFA 1 | MFA 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | NOR 1 | NOR 2 | WUN 1 | WUN 2 | SAL 1 | SAL 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | HOC 1 6 | HOC 2 Ret | 34th | 13 |
| 1989 | BMW Faltz Essen | BMW M3 Evo | ZOL 1 | ZOL 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | MFA 1 | MFA 2 | AVU 1 | AVU 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | NOR 1 15 | NOR 2 DNS | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | DIE 1 | DIE 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | 39th | 4 | ||
| 1990 | BMW M Team Schnitzer | BMW M3 Sport Evo | ZOL 1 | ZOL 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | AVU 1 | AVU 2 | MFA 1 | MFA 2 | WUN 1 | WUN 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | NOR 1 | NOR 2 | DIE 1 | DIE 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | HOC 1 15 | HOC 2 10 | 32nd | 1 | ||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Players/GA Motorsports/Colt Racing | Lola T89/50 | Cosworth | SIL 6 | VAL 3 | PAU Ret | JER 4 | PER Ret | BRH Ret | BIR 14 | SPA 4 | BUG 2 | DIJ 5 | 5th | 19 | |
| 1990 | GA Motorsport | Reynard 90D | Cosworth | DON 6 | SIL 5 | PAU 1 | JER 9 | MNZ 9 | PER Ret | HOC Ret | BRH Ret | BIR 1 | BUG 10 | NOG 1 | 2nd | 30 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Central Park Modena team | Lambo291 | Lamborghini 3512 3.5V12 | USA DNPQ | BRA DNPQ | SMR 9† | MON DNPQ | CAN DNPQ | MEX DNPQ | FRA DNPQ | GBR DNPQ | GER DNQ | HUN DNQ | BEL DNQ | ITA DNQ | POR DNQ | ESP DNQ | JPN DNQ | AUS DNQ | NC | 0 |
| 1992 | Brabham | BrabhamBT60B | Judd GV 3.5V10 | RSA 13 | MEX DNQ | BRA DNQ | ESP DNQ | SMR DNQ | MON DNQ | CAN DNQ | FRA DNQ | GBR DNQ | GER DNQ | NC | 0 | ||||||
| Fondmetal | FondmetalGR02 | Ford HBA5 3.5V8 | HUN Ret | BEL 10 | ITA Ret | POR | JPN | AUS | |||||||||||||
† Driver did not finish the race, but were still classified as they completed 90% of the race distance.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Old Spice Nissan Racing | Nissan Primera eGT | THR 1 13 | BRH 1 DNS | BRH 2 DNS | SNE 1 9 | SIL 1 13 | SIL 2 12 | OUL 1 14 | DON 1 17 | DON 2 13 | BRH 1 14 | BRH 2 12 | SIL 1 DNS | KNO 1 | KNO 2 | OUL 1 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | DON 1 | DON 2 | 22nd | 2 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Team Repsol Nissan | Nissan Primera | JER 1 3 | JER 2 Ret | JAR 1 2 | JAR 2 8 | BAR 1 2 | BAR 2 1 | EST 1 4 | EST 2 2 | ALB 1 Ret | ALB 2 5 | CAL 1 1 | CAL 2 4 | ALB 1 3 | ALB 2 10 | JER 1 4 | JER 2 4 | BAR 1 1 | BAR 2 1 | JAR 1 | JAR 2 | 3rd | 204 |
| 1996 | Team Repsol Nissan | Nissan Primera | JAR 1 5 | JAR 2 1 | ALB 1 4 | ALB 2 2 | BAR 1 4 | BAR 2 Ret | EST 1 9 | EST 2 7 | CAL 1 4 | CAL 2 8 | JER 1 3 | JER 2 2 | JAR 1 Ret | JAR 2 8 | BAR 1 7 | BAR 2 1 | 5th | 139 | ||||
Source:[11] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 |  Zakspeed BMW-Team | Marc Hessel Karl Senne | BMW M3 | 8 | 119 | 19th | 5th |
| 1988 | BMW Motorsport GmbH | Marc Duez Eddy Joosen | BMW M3 | 9 | 40 | DNF | DNF |
| 1989 | BMW Fina | Marc DuezJean-Michel Martin | BMW M3 | 2 | 70 | DNF | DNF |
| 2006 |  Maserati SPA | Andrea BertoliniMichael BartelsGianni Giudici | Maserati Gransport Light GT3 | E1XP | 26 | DNF | DNF |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Gravity International Racing |  Christophe Bouchut Stéphane LémeretVincent Radermecker | Mosler MT900 R GT3 | 1 | DNF | DNF |
(key) Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap.
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Team Golden Palace | Delta Motorsport GPM | Nicholson McLaren 3.5V8 | QAT 3 | ITA C | GBR 2 | MAL C | RSA C |
Source:[7] | ||||||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | German Touring Car Champion 1987 | Succeeded by |
