Valentin Hasse-Clot (born 26 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in the

European 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 ...

Career

Early career

Hasse-Clot's motorsport career began at the age of six, where he competed on his family's karting track in

Vaudoy-en-Brie Vaudoy-en-Brie () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics Inhabitants of Vaudoy-en-Brie are called ''Vaudoyens''. See also *Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The ...

. He graduated to local karting competitions in 2009, receiving mentorship from

Henri Pescarolo Henri Jacques William Pescarolo (born 25 September 1942) is a former racing driver from France. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 33 times, winning on four occasions, and won a number of other major sports car events including the ...

, and continued into national karting competitions through 2013. In 2014, Hasse-Clot graduated to single-seaters, taking part in the 2014 French F4 Championship. In his opening season of

formula racing Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single- ...

, he claimed two podium finishes – at Magny-Cours and

Nogaro Nogaro (; Gascon: ''Nogaròu'') is a commune in the Gers department, Southwestern France. It is the site of a distillery of Armagnac brandy. Geography The commune is bordered by six other communes: Caupenne-d'Armagnac to the northwest, Sain ...

– en route to a tenth-place finish in the championship. At the end of the season, Hasse-Clot was quoted as saying that he aimed to step up to

Formula Renault 2.0 Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

competition for 2015.

Single-seaters

Hasse-Clot graduated to Formula Renault competition in 2015, beginning the season with

Strakka Racing Strakka Racing was a British auto racing team founded by Nick Leventis. The team was based at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire. The team made history at the 2010 1000 km of Hungaroring when they became the first team in Le Mans Serie ...

in both the Eurocup and Northern European Cup competitions. After claiming a podium in the opening NEC round at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

, Hasse-Clot was left without a ride following Strakka placing their Formula Renault 2.0 program on hold for the year. He continued in Eurocup with

Manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

MP Motorsport at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

and the Hungaroring, before switching again to Fortec Motorsport to complete the season. Hasse-Clot had tested with Fortec prior to the 2015 season, but joined Strakka due to a lack of available seats at Fortec. Through the 17-race season, Hasse-Clot earned a best finish of ninth, scoring just two championship points. In 2016, Hasse-Clot returned to

Formula 4 FIA Formula 4, also called FIA F4, is an open-wheel racing car category intended for junior drivers. There is no global championship, but rather individual nations or regions can host their own championships in compliance with a universal set of r ...

competition, taking part in the

Italian F4 Championship Italian Formula 4 Championship is the first formula racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, effectively replacing the Formula Abarth. History Gerhard Berger and th ...

with Kiteviola Motorsport. However, he would only take part in the first two rounds at Misano and

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

, finishing as high as fifth. Following his campaign, Hasse-Clot stated that he realized he wouldn't have the budget to continue to progress through the single-seater ladder, leading him to pursue a career in sports car racing.

Sports car racing

During 2016, Hasse-Clot made his endurance racing debut, competing in the Spa 24 Hours for

Saintéloc Racing Saintéloc Racing is a French motorsport team. It mainly operates in rally and sports car racing series. Current series include the European Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. The team ...

. He drove in the Am class alongside Michael Blanchemain, Jean-Paul Buffin, and Gilles Lallemant, finishing 51st overall. At the end of the year, he took part in a shootout-style competition at Circuit Paul Ricard, looking to earn a €30,000 scholarship and support for the 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup France season. At the end of the weekend, Hasse-Clot was named Espoir Porsche Carrera Cup France, earning support from a local

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 ...

dealership alongside tires and a cash bonus for the coming season. For 2017, Hasse-Clot joined

Sébastien Loeb Racing Sébastien Loeb Racing is a French racing team, founded by rally and racing driver Sébastien Loeb. It currently competes in the World Rallycross Championship, World Touring Car Cup, Porsche Carrera Cup France, and 208 Rally Cup. The team used t ...

, taking part in a full-season campaign with the team. His immediate goal was to graduate through the Porsche pyramid, and he aimed to work towards a ride in the Porsche Supercup in 2018. In his opening season of Porsche Cup competition, Hasse-Clot claimed a sole race victory at

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 ...

, finishing fifth in the championship and claiming Rookie of the Year honors. Hasse-Clot returned to the team in 2018, joined by teammate Jérémy Sarhy. The season proved a pivotal one for Hasse-Clot, as he stated that his budget would likely prevent him from funding a 2019 campaign if he didn't receive financial support. Despite a difficult start to the season, Hasse-Clot rebounded to finish fifth in the drivers championship. Later in the season, he took part in a one-off weekend in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, driving for Motorbase Performance.

Aston Martin Racing

In 2019, Hasse-Clot began competing in

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

machinery, beginning with a part-time program in the

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 ...

, driving for PROpeak Performance. After only competing in the first two race weekends of the season, Hasse-Clot made his British GT Championship debut later in the year, driving for the Beechdean AMR team. He returned to a full-time program the following year, lining up for Garage 59 in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and AGS Events in the GT4 European Series. In the former series, Hasse-Clot and co-drivers Andrew Watson and

James Pull James Pull (born 5 October 1999) is a British-Malaysian racing driver currently competing in the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe with W Racing Team. He made his single seater debut in Formula 4 in the 2015 MSA Formula Championship, driving for JT ...

claimed a Silver Cup class victory at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

, as Hasse-Clot and Watson finished fourth in the class championship. In GT4, Hasse-Clot and

Théo Nouet Théo Nouet (born 4 August 2002) is a French racing driver. He is the 2020 GT4 European Series Champion. Racing record Racing career summary † As Nouet was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.* Season still in progress. ...

claimed four class and two overall victories, taking the Silver Cup title at season's end. At the end of the 2020 season, Hasse-Clot was named as a graduate from the

Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston ...

Driver Academy, receiving both career and financial assistance from the Aston Martin factory throughout the 2021 season. The first non-British driver to obtain the accolade, Hasse-Clot stated that it was his goal from day one to progress through the ranks within the manufacturer's programs. Hasse-Clot began the 2021 season with a drive in the Asian Le Mans Series, where he claimed a sole podium alongside

Maxime Martin Maxime Martin (born 20 March 1986) is a Belgian professional racing driver and son of four-time Spa 24 Hours winner Jean-Michel Martin. He currently is an Aston Martin Racing driver for which he competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship be ...

and Alexander West, finishing fifth in the GT class championship. He also continued full-time in GT World Challenge, driving again for Garage 59. Hasse-Clot's entry scored a class pole at Paul Ricard and a podium at Spa, but finished 14th in the Silver Cup. He also competed full-time in the FFSA GT Championship, winning the Silver title alongside Romain Leroux. Ahead of the 2022 season, Hasse-Clot officially became an Aston Martin factory driver, becoming the first French driver to race in a factory role for the brand since Frédéric Makowiecki in 2013. In line with his factory duties, Hasse-Clot lined up for the brand's customers throughout the season, beginning with a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drive with Beechdean AMR alongside Nouet and Andrew Howard. However, Hasse-Clot would only participate in the first two races, shifting focus towards the

Le Mans Cup The Le Mans Cup, previously the GT3 Le Mans Cup and currently known as the Michelin Le Mans Cup under sponsorship, is an international sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club ...

, where he claimed two podiums in four races alongside co-driver Stephen Pattrick. He also returned to the FFSA GT Championship, claiming four podiums in ten races for Mirage Racing. In 2023, Hasse-Clot made his LM GTE debut, taking part in the full

season for TF Sport, joining brothers Arnold and Maxime Robin. Later that season, the trio competed in the

2023 24 Hours of Le Mans The 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 91e 24 Heures du Mans), also known as the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, Centenaire des 24 Heures du Mans), was an Endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance race for tea ...

, marking Hasse-Clot's long-awaited debut in the race, 19 years after he first attended it as a spectator. However, the team wouldn't finish the race, retiring after 58 laps due to an accident. Hasse-Clot continued to pair full-time with Arnold Robin in the

, driving for reigning LMP3-class champions Racing Spirit of Léman. The duo claimed a GT3-class victory at Barcelona, adding four additional podiums during the season en route to the series title. Hasse-Clot also competed part time in the GT World Challenge America, deputizing for Ross Gunn in TRG-AMR's Pro-Am entry. In his first weekend of competition at NOLA Motorsports Park, Hasse-Clot claimed a maiden pole position and two class podiums alongside co-driver Derek DeBoer. Despite missing four of the 13 total races, Hasse-Clot finished fifth in the Pro-Am championship, while DeBoer took third.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hasse-Clot, Valentin 1996 births Living people French racing drivers French F4 Championship drivers Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Italian F4 Championship drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers British GT Championship drivers GT4 European Series drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers Le Mans Cup drivers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers GT World Challenge America drivers Auto Sport Academy drivers Strakka Racing drivers Manor Motorsport drivers MP Motorsport drivers Fortec Motorsport drivers Saintéloc Racing drivers Sébastien Loeb Racing drivers Aston Martin Racing drivers Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers TF Sport drivers