Adrián Vallés Escortell (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish
race car driver.
Career
Vallés was born in
Teulada,
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
. After a strong karting career, he drove in Spanish
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...
, before moving to the
World Series by Nissan
The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...
in 2004. The series was renamed
World Series by Renault
The Renault Sport Series (formerly known as World Series by Renault) is a motor racing series. The series latterly consisted of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and used to contain the Renault Sport Trophy and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. ...
in 2005 while he continued in the series, finishing 2nd in the standings with two race wins. In 2006 he started racing in the
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...
with
Campos Racing
Campos Racing is a Spanish motor racing team, founded by former Formula One driver Adrián Campos. The team has been successful in Formula Three and the GP2 Series.
History
After retiring from racing, Campos formed his own team at the end of 1 ...
, and also tested for the
MF1 Racing
Midland F1 Racing (also known as MF1 Racing, or simply "Midland") was a Formula One constructor and racing team which competed in the 2006 Formula One season with drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro. The team was created by the renami ...
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
team on 19 September. The team was bought out by
Spyker
Spyker or Spijker was a Dutch carriage, automobile and aircraft manufacturer, started in 1880 by blacksmiths Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker. Originally located in Hilversum, the company relocated to Trompenburg, Amsterdam in 1898.
Notable produ ...
and on 30 January 2007 Vallés was named the team's official reserve driver.
He returned to GP2 for
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, driving for the
FMS International team in the
GP2 Asia Series
The GP2 Asia Series was a form of open wheel motor racing as a result of a spin-off from the GP2 series.
The series was officially announced during the weekend of the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix. GP2 series organiser Bruno Michel commented that "It ...
. He remained with the team for the first round of the
2008 GP2 Series season
The 2008 GP2 Series season was the forty-second season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also fourth season under the GP2 Series moniker. It began on 26 April at Montmeló, Spain and it finished on 14 September at Monza, I ...
, but then switched to
BCN Competicion
Ocean Racing Technology (ORT) was a racing team that took part in both the GP2 Main Series and the GP2 Asia Series Championships. The team, owned by Tiago Monteiro and José Guedes, was formed at the end of the 2008 season after being purchased f ...
. He elected to miss the final round of the season at
Monza to focus on his sportscar commitments. Vallés returned to the GP2 Asia Series, by replacing
Chris van der Drift
Christopher Jason van der Drift (born 8 March 1986) is a New Zealand racing driver of Dutch descent.
Career
Van der Drift started karting at the age of 7 and in 1994 he raced his first year in cadets. From there he went on to win 6 New Zealand ...
(racing for
A1 Team New Zealand
A1 Team New Zealand is the New Zealand team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.
Management
The team was formed by and is owned by prominent Auckland businessman Colin Giltrap, well known for this car dealerships. The team is mana ...
at their home round of the
2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season
The 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season was the fourth and final season of the A1 Grand Prix formula.
Ferrari supplied the engines for all entrants and advised on aspects of the chassis, based on its championship-winning F2004.
A1 Team Ireland be ...
at
Taupo Motorsport Park) at
Trident Racing
Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...
for the third round of the season in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
. Vallés and van der Drift would later team up to be the drivers for
Epsilon Euskadi
EPIC Racing (Euskadi Phil Imanol Claudio Racing) was a racing team from Spain. The team's headquarters were located in Vitoria ( Alava). It was the second major motorsport team from the Basque Country, (Euskadi). Epsilon Euskadi was the big ...
in the
2009 World Series by Renault season
The 2009 World Series by Renault was the fifth season of Renault Sport's series of events, with three different championships racing under one banner. Consisting of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Eurocup Méga ...
.
Additionally, Vallés has begun a sportscar career in 2008 with Epsilon Euskadi by driving in the
2008 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 76th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place on 14–15 June 2008 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The test day was on June 1. The race was atte ...
and the
2008 1000km of Silverstone.
He moved on to team management in 2013 with his
AV Formula
AVF formerly AV Formula, was a Spanish motor racing team, ran by former racing driver Adrián Vallés.
History
After retiring from racing, Vallés formed his own team at the end of 2012, under the name Av Formula. In October 2012 the team began by ...
team entering the
2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season
The 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship features drivers competing in 3.5 litre Formula Renault single seat race cars that c ...
with
Arthur Pic
Arthur Pic (born October 5, 1991) is a French retired racing driver. He competed in the GP2 Series between 2014 and 2016.
Career Karting
Like most top-line drivers, Pic began his racing career in karting, contesting the 2005 French Junior Champ ...
and
Yann Cunha as their drivers.
Formula One
Adrian took part in testing at
Silverstone in September 2006 testing for team
Spyker
Spyker or Spijker was a Dutch carriage, automobile and aircraft manufacturer, started in 1880 by blacksmiths Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker. Originally located in Hilversum, the company relocated to Trompenburg, Amsterdam in 1898.
Notable produ ...
although at the time they were
Midland F1. He was then confirmed at test driver for
Midland for . He tested for
Spyker
Spyker or Spijker was a Dutch carriage, automobile and aircraft manufacturer, started in 1880 by blacksmiths Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker. Originally located in Hilversum, the company relocated to Trompenburg, Amsterdam in 1898.
Notable produ ...
in 2007.
On 3 February 2010, the Spanish press said that Adrián Vallés could be the partner of Argentine driver
José María López
José María "Pechito" López (born 26 April 1983) is an Argentine race car driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing and 2014–2016 World Touring Car Champion. He raced in the 2006 GP ...
in the
USF1
Upstream stimulatory factor 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''USF1'' gene.
Function
This gene encodes a member of the basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper family and can function as a cellular transcription factor. The enco ...
team. Later, the Spaniard would not reach an agreement when the American team went bankrupt even before it was created.
Superleague Formula
On 8 November 2009, Valles clinched the
2009 title with a solid fourth place for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
in the final race of the season in
Jarama
Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jaram ...
.
Racing record
Career summary
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete GP2 Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete GP2 Asia Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Superleague Formula
(
key)
2008–2009
(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
2009 Super Final results
*Super Final results in 2009 did not count for points towards the main championship.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valles, Adrian
1986 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Alicante
Spanish racing drivers
Motorsport team owners
Euroformula Open Championship drivers
GP2 Series drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Superleague Formula drivers
GP2 Asia Series drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers
Pons Racing drivers
Campos Racing drivers
Epsilon Euskadi drivers
Trident Racing drivers
De Villota Motorsport drivers
Scuderia Coloni drivers