Hugh Peter Martin Donnelly (born 26 March 1964) is a

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

driver from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He competed in

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 driv ...

and

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championships ...

where he won 3 races. In the

1988 International Formula 3000 season The 1988 International Formula 3000 Championship was contested over 11 rounds. 24 different teams, 69 different drivers, 5 different chassis and 2 different engines competed. Drivers and teams Calendar Note: Race 5, 6 and 7 stopped and rest ...

he placed third despite only competing in the final five rounds of the championship. He raced in

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, ...

in and , until a serious crash during practice at the

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...

circuit ended his Formula One career. After leaving F1, he has been a prominent driving coach and retains an association with

Lotus Cars Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics. Lotus was previously involved in Formula One r ...

Racing career

Formula One

During , as well as his racing commitments, Donnelly was the test driver for Lotus

team. But it was during that Donnelly got his first race start when he substituted for Arrows driver

Derek Warwick Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick (born 27 August 1954) is a British former professional racing driver from England, who lives in Jersey. He raced for many years in Formula One, collecting four podiums but never winning a Grand Prix. He did, however, ...

at the 1989 French Grand Prix after Warwick injured his back in a non-competitive

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

accident. He impressed in France qualifying 14th compared to his much more experienced teammate

Eddie Cheever Edward McKay "Eddie" Cheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American former racing driver who raced for almost 30 years in Formula One, sports cars, CART, and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 Formula One World Championshi ...

who started 25th on the grid. Donnelly finished his first F1 race 3 laps down in 12th place and was the last car running to finish while Cheever's experience told and he had a better race finishing only 1 lap down in 7th place. In he continued in F1 with Lotus though this time not as a test driver but as a race driver alongside new teammate Derek Warwick. However, it was a frustrating season of scoring no points driving the

V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to: Aircraft * Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter * Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft * Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project * Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...

powered Lotus-

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

which often saw him retire with engine failure. Donnelly's performance in the Lotus drew interest from several more competitive teams, prompting Lotus to renegotiate his contract for 5.6 million pounds, to prevent him from being bought out. Shortly thereafter he suffered a serious crash caused by suspension failure during practice at the

circuit which ended his Formula One racing career. He sustained multiple injuries in the crash, including

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

and lung contusions as well as severe

leg fracture The human leg, in the general word sense, is the entire lower limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh or sometimes even the hip or gluteal region. However, the definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower lim ...

s, the latter of which almost necessitated the

amputation Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...

of his right leg. The leg injuries made Donnelly unable to drive single-seater racing cars.

After Formula One

Donnelly has since raced in smaller club events, and owned a Formula Vauxhall and Formula Three team, Martin Donnelly Racing. In 2004, Donnelly raced a Mazda RX-8 in a Silverstone 24-Hour race, finishing in 27th place. 2006 saw Donnelly return to Lotus, participating in a track day sponsored by a Lotus owner's club. In September 2007, Donnelly beat 35 other

Lotus Elise The Lotus Elise is a two-seat, rear-wheel drive, mid-engined roadster conceived in early 1994 and released in September 1996 by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars. The Elise has a fibreglass body shell atop its bonded extruded aluminium chassi ...

s to win Class A in the

Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...

round of the Elise Trophy. This class win was closely followed by the race win in the 2nd Elise Trophy race of the day. Later in the season he raced at Spa-Francorchamps and in 2008, campaigned in a Lotus 2-Eleven. Donnelly continues to have a close relationship with Elise Trophy organisers LoTRDC, racing in a Lotus Evora in 2012 and he is currently working as a club steward for Lotus Cup Europe. In 2017 Donnelly raced in the FIA Lotus Cup Europe in a Motul sponsored Lotus Elise. Donnelly worked as a driver development director for Comtec Racing in 2008. By 2009, Donnelly was no longer associated with Comtec Racing. In June 2010, Donnelly drove as a guest in the Ginetta G50 Cup at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...

. On 2 July 2011 at the

Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...

, Donnelly drove a

Lotus 102 The Lotus 102 was a Formula One racing car designed by Lotus for use in the 1990 Formula One season and would eventually go on to compete in 37 races spanning three seasons from until . Development Using the 101 as its basis Frank Dernie inco ...

similar to that which nearly took his life. The Lamborghini-powered car was the same specification as the car he drove in 1990, the original car having been completely destroyed in the crash. He has been appointed as the driver representative on the FIA stewards panel for a number of F1 Grand Prix including most recently the 2012 and 2013 Canadian Grand Prix. Having worked as sporting director and driver development manager at

Comtec Racing Comtec Racing is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It competes in three championships — Formula Renault, World Series by Renault and the Auto GP World Series. History The team started out in Formula Ford from the ashes of ...

, Donnelly has recently formed the Donnelly track academy specialising in Lotus trackday events and racing services in Norfolk. Donnelly made his

British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...

début in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, briefly driving for the works

Infiniti is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989, in North America. The marketing network for Infiniti-branded vehicles included dealers in over 50 countries in ...

- Support Our Paras Racing team, but the team's plans were thrown into disarray by the marque's subsequent withdrawal of its backing from the project, and he was replaced by

Max Coates Max Peter Coates (born 4 January 1994) is a British racing driver currently competing in the 2022 Mini Challenge UK. He is a former Clio Cup UK competitor but has since moved factors as the Clio Cup withdrew from being a British Touring Car C ...

. In 2019 Donnelly crashed his moped while participating in a charity rally, rebreaking his femur and subsequently suffering from

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

. As he was unable to work due to his injuries, a successful fundraiser was held, drawing donations from numerous members of the racing community.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results

(

)

Complete Formula One results

(

)

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races; * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)

References

External links

Martin Donnelly biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Martin 1964 births Living people Formula One drivers from Northern Ireland Arrows Formula One drivers Team Lotus Formula One drivers Racing drivers from Northern Ireland British Formula Three Championship drivers Sportspeople from Belfast International Formula 3000 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers Britcar 24-hour drivers Ginetta GT4 Supercup drivers Nismo drivers