Plamen Simeonov Kralev ( bg, Пламен Симеонов Кралев, born 22 February 1973 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

) is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

and

businessman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for th ...

. He is the first Bulgarian driver to participate in

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the lo ...

, and the only Bulgarian driver to compete in

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

Le Mans series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

ADAC GT Masters The ADAC GT Masters is a grand tourer-based auto racing series founded by the international Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and supported by the German ADAC automotive club. Similar to an earlier ADAC GT Cup series in the 1990s, the new GT ...

International GT Open The International GT Open is a grand tourer-style sports car racing series founded in 2006 by the Spanish GT Sport Organización. It was a spin-off of the now-defunct Spanish GT Championship, but is now a distinct series featuring FIA GT3-spec car ...

, FIA European Touring Car Cup, Italian Touring Car Championship and

Ferrari Challenge The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque motorsport championship that was created in 1993 for owners of the 348 Berlinetta who wanted to become involved in racing. The series was proposed by Ferrari Club Nederland founder and President Hans ...

. Kralev also has participated in the

FIA GT3 European Championship The FIA GT3 European Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a championship derived from the international FIA ...

, and 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 ...

. Kralev wraps up his active racing career in 2018 in the Italian Touring Car Championship with a podium finish at Misano.

Biography

In 1999 Kralev graduated from the

University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy The University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy is located in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was founded in 1942 as a Higher Technical School following a decree issued on June 6, 1941 by the Bulgarian Tsar Boris III. In 1945 it was transform ...

Racing career

2003 Plamen Kralev debuted his racing career in 2003 in the Bulgarian Road Championship and became champion of class X3 in the same year. Simultaneously he also won the National Off-Road Championship in Bulgaria. 2007 Kralev began his international career in 2007 in the European

series, driving for Team Rosokorso. In his first season Kralev recorded two wins:

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hos ...

and

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Flo ...

. At the end of the season he was ranked 11th place with 112 points. 2008 In 2008, Kralev moved to Kessel Racing. He participated both in the Ferrari Challenge as well as in the

. Kralev was initially partnered with Dimitar Iliev and was later teamed with Niki Cadei. Kralev and Kessel Racing also participated in the German

series with their GT3 car. During 2008 Kralev recorded two wins in the Ferrari Challenge and was ranked fifth at the end of the season. Kralev ran as high as third on the Ferrari Challenge World Cup event near the end of the season but fell back due of tire problems. Kralev also participated in the final round of the

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

with

Matteo Cressoni Matteo Cressoni (born October 28, 1984 in Mantua) is an Italian racing driver. He has competed in such series as the FIA GT Championship, Euroseries 3000, Superstars Series, International GT Open and Formula Renault V6 Eurocup Formula Renault V ...

. The two earned tenth and fourth-place finishes in the two races. The success he achieved during these two years led him to pursue a professional racing career. On 8 September 2008 Kralev signed a cooperation agreement with the Bulgaria State Tourism Agency to serve as the country's ambassador to the world of motorsport. Kralev's GT3 Ferrari bears the Bulgarian rose as a tourism promotion. 2009 In 2009 Kralev became the first Bulgarian to participate in the

endurance race driving the Endurance Asia Team

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

, but due to a gear box failure, had to stop at the 18th hour with 186 laps completed. Plamen Kralev remains the only Bulgarian driver to have participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans series to date. Later that year, he joined the

in the 2009–10 season with the

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 ...

team. Despite the lack of any experience in Formula racing, Kralev managed to meet the eligibility criteria and finished a full season. 2010-12 Next, Kralev moved to the

FIA Formula Two Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebrandi ...

for the 2010 season, and continued in the series in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. He remains the first Bulgarian driver to have ever competed in the Formula Two Championship. At the end of the 2012 season, the Formula Two Championship had been disbanded and Kralev ended this stage of his racing career with it. 2014 Kralev partially competed in the

European Touring Car Cup The FIA European Touring Car Cup was an annual touring car racing event, which had been held at various locations across Europe from 2005 to 2017. Unlike in previous years where it was a one-off event, in 2010 the series was a three round event. ...

for

Engstler Motorsport Engstler Motorsport is a private German auto racing team based in Wiggensbach, run by driver Franz Engstler. It has competed successfully in the Asian Touring Car Championship and the ADAC Procar Series. It is sponsored by lubricants company Liq ...

with

BMW 320si The fifth generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars is designated under the model codes E90 (saloon), E91 (estate, marketed as 'Touring'), E92 (coupé) and E93 (convertible). The model was introduced in December 2004, and pr ...

, for 3 events and was ranked 10th place with 14 points. 2017 Plamen Kralev started racing in the FIA European Touring Car Cup (ETCC) and the TCR Italy Touring Car Championship (ITCC) for this 2017 seasons for Kraf Racing with AUDI RS3 LMS. Kraf Racing is a new bulgarian team, and despite the lack of experience still manage to get 6 podiums - 2 in ETCC and 4 in TCR. 2018 Kralev continues racing only in the TCR Italy Touring Car Championship (ITCC) for the 2018 season because the FIA European Touring Car Cup (ETCC) had folded at the end of the 2017 season. Kralev missed the second racing weekend (

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

) of this season because his car was damaged from the first race in

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical re ...

and wasn't ready in time. He returned for the third racing weekend at Misano where there were a record number of 31 cars racing and yet Kralev still managed to get in 3rd place on the first race but due to a collision he became 9th in the second race.

Racing Record

Career Summary

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete GP2 Series results

Complete GP2 Asia Series 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 FIA Formula Two Championship results

(

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kralev, Plamen 1973 births Living people 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers Bulgarian racing drivers European Le Mans Series drivers European Touring Car Cup drivers FIA Formula Two Championship drivers GP2 Asia Series drivers International GT Open drivers Sportspeople from Sofia Trident Racing drivers Engstler Motorsport drivers TCR Europe Touring Car Series drivers