Soheil Ayari (born 5 April 1970) is a French-Iranian

race car 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 organi ...

driver born in

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

, from an Iranian father and a French mother. He won the French

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 ...

championship of 1994,

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 ...

championship of 1996 and the

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

of 1997. From 1997 until 2000, he competed in

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 two races before moving on to 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 ...

in 2001 where he became champion in 2002, 2004 and 2005. In 2006 and 2007, he drove in GT Championship, in GT1 for Team Oreca (on a

Saleen S7 Saleen Automotive, Inc., commonly known as Saleen (/səˈliːn/), is an American manufacturer of specialty high-performance sports cars and high-performance automotive parts. Saleen is headquartered in Corona, California, US. On June 26, 2013 Sal ...

-R). He became French champion in 2006 & 2007 and won the European Le Mans séries championship in 2007 with Stephane Ortelli. In 2008 & 2009, he drove a Corvette GT 1 in French GT 3 championship before joining the Audi ORECA Team in 2010. In 2011, he raced and won 2 Championships : ILMC LMP2 (Signatech Nissan) and International Open GT with JMB Ferrari F458 GT2 11 Oreca AIM

Soheil Ayari is also a famous 24 Hours of Le Mans driver with 11 starts in GT 1, LMP1 & LMP2. Best results over all were 4th in 2004 ((Pescarolo)) & 2010 (ORECA 01)), 5th in 2009 ((ORECA)) and 2nd LMP2 (Signatech Nissan) in 2011. In 2014, he was in the European Le Mans Series, and in 2015, was in the French GT Championship in which he remained in 2016. In 2017, he switched to the GT4 European Southern Cup and in 2018, moved into French GT's again. Ayari also works as a journalist specialising in track tests and races in historic events.

Racing record

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)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

(

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

FIA GT Series results

References

External links

* http://www.ayari.com/
Profile on Historic Racing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayari, Soheil 1970 births Living people People from Aix-les-Bains French Formula Three Championship drivers French racing drivers Indy Lights drivers French people of Iranian descent World Touring Car Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Auto GP drivers European Le Mans Series drivers American Le Mans Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers International GT Open drivers Sportspeople from Savoie Iranian expatriate sportspeople in France Oreca drivers Team Astromega drivers Durango drivers Scuderia Coloni drivers Signature Team drivers Peugeot Sport drivers Pescarolo Sport drivers Graff Racing drivers AF Corse drivers