Éric Hélary (born 10 August 1966) is a professional racing driver from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. His career has encompassed

single seater An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have the ...

formulae In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a '' chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betw ...

, endurance sports car racing, and

touring cars Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not mov ...

. He won the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Formula Three Championship in 1990 and is best known for his win at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

in 1993. He was champion 2011 of Euro Racecar. AUTOhebdo.fr , Racecar – Éric Hélary aura tout tenté à Loudon USA Nascar
Sep 22, 2012 – Éric Hélary n'est pas parvenu à se qualifier pour la G-Oil 100 des K&N Pro Series disputée sur l'ovale de Loudon au New Hampshire en marge de l'épreuve de Sprint Cup. Le champion 2011 de l'Euro Racecar n'a pas été ...

Single seater career

Hélary's racing career began in a conventional way, with a period of

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 ...

between 1981 and 1984. He progressed to

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

in 1987 and won the title in the following year, then progressed to French

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 ...

in 1989 and won that title in his second year. His single seater career ended in

International Formula 3000 The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become ...

Sports cars

Hélary first participated in sports car racing in the

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

Spyder Cup one-make championship in 1992 and secured the drivers' title in 1993. In the same year, he made his

début in the factory

Peugeot 905 The Peugeot 905 is a sports-prototype racing car built by Peugeot's racing department, Peugeot Talbot Sport. The car was initially unveiled in February 1990 and was developed throughout 1990 before making its race debut in the final two races of ...

alongside

Christophe Bouchut Christophe Bouchut (born 24 September 1966 in Voiron, Isère) is a French professional racing driver. He currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving for Dexwet-df1 Racing and Alex Caffi Motorsport in a part-time effort. He won th ...

and

Geoff Brabham __NOTOC__ Geoff Brabham (born 20 March 1952) is an Australian racing driver. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States. Racing career CART He raced successfully in CART early in his career, finishing 8th in 1982, 19 ...

. He had previously driven this car with Bouchut in 1992. After a period in touring cars, Hélary returned to endurance racing in the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

in 1996, driving a

Chrysler Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs th ...

. He did not compete again in sports cars until a one-off return to FIA GTs in 2001. His next participation in endurance racing was another single race, this time in the

FIA Sportscar Championship The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and was eventually taken control of by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating ...

in 2003, driving a Pescarolo

Courage Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, ...

-Peugeot alongside

Nicolas Minassian Nicolas Minassian (born 28 February 1973) is a French professional racing driver of Armenian descent. After finishing 2nd place in the 1993 Formula Renault Eurocup, Marseille-born Minassian graduated to the French Formula Three Championship whe ...

. He made another one-off appearance with Pescarolo in the 2004

Le Mans Endurance 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 ...

and returned to the series for a full season in 2006. He is currently employed by

as its official test driver for the

Peugeot 908 HDi FAP The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is a sports prototype racing car built by the French automobile manufacturer Peugeot to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, starting in 2007 and eventually winning in 2009. This effort, in development sinc ...

Touring cars

Hélary made his touring car début in the French Supertourisme championship in 1994, driving for

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

. He was classified fifth in the standings and improved to the championship runner-up position in 1995. He made a departure into

ice racing Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on groomed frozen lots. As cold weather is a requirement for natural ...

during the winter of 1996 by entering the Trophée Andros with Opel. He adapted well and finished in fourth position over all, then finished second over all in the 1997 season. Hélary spent the remainder of 1997 working as a test driver for BMW's Super Tourenwagen Cup team in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and then returned to Opel for two years of racing in the series in 1998 and 1999. When the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB- FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The s ...

was relaunched in 2000, Hélary and Opel remained together. He made one more appearance in the DTM in 2002 before returning to French Supertourisme for a third season, in which he finished fourth in the standings. A full season of sports car racing intervened before Hélary's next, and so far last, touring car programme. 2005 brought a fourth season in French Supertourisme as well as competing in one round of the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...

in a

Peugeot 407 The Peugeot 407 is a large family car (D-segment) produced by the French automaker Peugeot, from 2004 to 2011. It was available in saloon, coupé and estate variants, with both diesel and petrol engines. The petrol engines ranged from 1.8 to 3. ...

for Peugeot Sport Denmark.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete French Supertouring Championship results

( key)

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results

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

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

( key) *† — Retired, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance.

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

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

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

K&N Pro Series East

Whelen Euro Series - Elite 1

References

External links

Official websiteDriver profile
''Speedsportmag.com'' Retrieved on September 11, 2007. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Helary, Eric 1966 births Living people French racing drivers French Formula Three Championship drivers World Touring Car Championship drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers International Formula 3000 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers American Le Mans Series drivers European Le Mans Series drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers NASCAR drivers Oreca drivers Schnitzer Motorsport drivers Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers Peugeot Sport drivers BMW M drivers Pescarolo Sport drivers Larbre Compétition drivers DAMS drivers