Laurent Aïello (born 23 May 1969 in Fontenay-aux-Roses) is a French former race car driver, most notable for winning 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 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, the

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. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

(BTCC) in 1999, and 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 ...

(DTM) series in 2002. His racing career lasted from 1988 until 2005, and, in addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the BTCC and DTM, saw him enter the

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 ...

, the

French Supertouring Championship The Championnat de France de Supertourisme ( en, French Supertouring Championship) was a touring car racing championship organised by the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile between 1976 and 2005. The championship was contested on several ...

(CFS), the Italian Super Touring Championship (ISTC), and the

Super Tourenwagen Cup The Super Tourenwagen Cup, or German Supertouring Championship, was a touring car racing series held between 1994 and 1999 in Germany. The championship was established when BMW and Audi both left the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) in 19 ...

(STW), in addition to several other series. He took the CFS title in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, and the STW title in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Career

Early career

Aïello won the French Karting Championship for three years in a row, in 1983, 1984, and 1985. He made his car racing debut in 1988 in the Volant Avia, and his professional racing debut in 1989, entering 11 rounds of the French Formula 3, driving for Daniel Gache Racing, with his best result being a solitary podium. In 1990 Aïello won the

Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race The Formula One Monaco Grand Prix has had a support race in many of its editions, the longest running of which was the Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three, held each year from 1964 to 1997, and again in 2005. It replaced the Monaco Grand Prix Formul ...

, in addition to finishing fourth in the Macau GP for Bowman Racing, and fifth in the French F3 for

Graff Racing Graff Racing is an auto racing team based in France. Graff Racing
Translation from fr, February 20, 2021,The team was founded in 1 ...

, with four wins from 11 races. He moved to the

for 1991 and 1992 (for

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

and Pacific Racing, respectively) but he was not successful, finishing 15th overall in both seasons. He did, however, take the 1992 French Formula 3 title.

1993-1996

In 1993, Aïello switched to touring car racing in the

(CFS), finishing runner up, whilst driving for the non-works team

Oreca ORECA (Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles) is a French racing team and race car constructor, founded in 1973 and run by Hugues de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team AGS. Oreca has had success in many areas of motorsport. ...

. In 1993, he also entered the Italian Super Touring Championship, finishing 17th overall, with 11 points. His first title was the 1994 French Supertouring Championship, where he won five races driving for the works

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 the ...

team in their 405 MI-16 model. Due to Peugeot's links with

Jordan Grand Prix Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team was named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan. The team was based at Silverstone, UK but raced with an Irish licence. In early 2005, the t ...

, he tested a Jordan 194 Formula 1 car in an

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...

test session, and set the tenth fastest time. After a less-successful 1995 season, where he finished third overall, and won just one race, he made the switch to the

(STW) in Germany for 1996, still driving for Peugeot, but in their new 406 model, following their withdrawal from the CFS. He finished third overall in this first season, with 3 wins. He also entered a round of the

Porsche Carrera Cup France Porsche Carrera Cup France is a one make motor racing championship held in France. The cars are Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991.2) with 4.0 liters, flat-6 naturally aspirated engines that produce and 480 N·m. Champions References External ...

, winning the race.

1997-1999

Aïello took the STW title for the first time in 1997, with 11 wins, finishing 52 points ahead of BMW's

Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock (born 24 October 1960) is a German motor racing driver. The younger brother of the late Manfred Winkelhock, Winkelhock was born in Waiblingen, near Stuttgart. The youngest brother, Thomas Winkelhock, and Manfred's son Mark ...

. 1998 would be his third and final season in the STW, with 6 wins only being enough for a second place, with the Venezuelan driver

Johnny Cecotto Johnny Alberto Cecotto Persello (born 25 January 1956), better known as Johnny Cecotto, is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer and auto racer. He rose to prominence as a teenage prodigy in 1975 when he became the you ...

beating him by just 3 points. During the 1998 season, he won the

race in a

Porsche 911 GT1 The Porsche 911 GT1 is a car designed and developed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche AG to compete in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street-legal version for homologation (motorsport), homologation purposes. The ...

, his first attempt at the endurance race. For 1999, Aïello switched to the

(BTCC), driving for the works Nissan team in their Primera model, replacing the outgoing Anthony Reid, whom had moved to

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. He had initially been offered the drive at

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

, but rejected the offer as

WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams (Formula One), Frank Williams and aut ...

, whom ran the team, refused to allow him to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The season would prove to be highly successful, as he took the title in his one and only season in the series, with 10 wins helping him finish 16 points ahead of teammate David Leslie, and Nissan taking a comfortable Manufacturer's and Team's championship victory. His performances in the BTCC saw him win the National Racing Driver of the Year award in the Autosport Awards. He also entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999, this time for

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

in their Audi R8R, and he finished third in class.

2000-2002

Following Nissan's withdrawal from the BTCC at the end of the 1999 season, a potential drive for

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

fell through (that spot being taken by

Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing te ...

), he made the switch to the new

series, driving for the Abt Sportsline team in their Audi TT-R, a move that surprised some. The first season was unsuccessful, with no victories, as the Audi TT proved to be uncompetitive against the faster

Mercedes-Benz CLK The Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class is a former series of mid-size or entry-level luxury coupés and convertibles produced by Mercedes-Benz between 1997 and 2010. Although its design and styling was derived from the E-Class, the mechanical underpinnings ...

and

Opel Astra The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. ...

rivals, its best finish being Aïello's fifth place at the second

Oschersleben Oschersleben () is a town in the Börde district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The population in 1905 was 13,271, in 2020 about 19,000. History On November 23, 994 Oschersleben was first mentioned in a document by the Emperor Otto III. In 1235 ...

sprint race. He entered his third

, driving for Audi, and finished second. Following heavy development on the car, 2001 would prove to be more successful: Aïello was the first member of the Abt team to win in the series, at the Nürburgring sprint race. He would take 3 more victories that season, all 3 at the Nürburgring. He once more returned to the

with Audi, and finished second once more. 2002 would be an even more successful year — Aïello defeated reigning champion Bernd Schneider to take the title by six points, winning 12 races in the process. Although initially signed to drive once more for Audi in the 2002 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he would not appear, with

Christian Pescatori Christian Pescatori is a professional racecar driver from Italy. He was born in Brescia, on 1 December 1971. Pescatori started his career in single-seater racing, becoming Italian Formula 3 Champion in 1993, before moving up to Formula 3000. He ...

being entered instead.

2003-2005

Abt Sportsline, and Aïello, would be much less successful in 2003, winning just one race, and after switching to Opel for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, without any further victories (the firm's new Vectra GTS proved to be unsuccessful), Aïello announced his retirement from racing at the end of the season, aged 36, finishing ninth in his final race at

Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz M ...

. During his final season, he tested a "breathable overall" at the Nürburgring round. In a 2005 poll run by Motorsport Magazine, Aiello was voted the 13th best touring car driver of all time.

Personal life

Aïello is married to Géraldine and has two children: a daughter named Marie, and a son named Tom. He has a passion for

jetski Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...

s, and enjoys DJing.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results

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

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

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

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ¹ – A non-championship one-off race was held in 2004, in Shanghai, China. *† — Retired, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance.

References

External links

Laurent Aïello at Driver Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiello, Laurent 1969 births Living people People from Fontenay-aux-Roses French racing drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers British Touring Car Championship Champions Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champions 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers International Formula 3000 drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers Sportspeople from Hauts-de-Seine Peugeot Sport drivers Audi Sport drivers Team Joest drivers Abt Sportsline drivers Phoenix Racing drivers BMW M drivers Oreca drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers DAMS drivers