Eric van de Poele

Eric van de Poele

Born	(1961-09-30) 30 September 1961 Verviers, Liège, Belgium
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Belgian
Active years	1991 – 1992
Teams	Modena, Brabham, Fondmetal
Races	29 (5 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1991 United States Grand Prix
Last race	1992 Italian Grand Prix

24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	1994, 1996 – 1998, 2000 – 2002, 2008 – 2010
Teams	Clayton Cunninghman Racing, Racing for Belgium/Team Scandia, Nissan Motorsports/TWR, Doyle-Risi Racing, Team Cadillac, Team Bentley, Krohn Racing
Best finish	3rd (2001)
Class wins	3 (1998, 2001, 2002)

Eric van de Poele (born 30 September 1961 in Verviers) is a Belgian racing driver and former Formula One driver. He participated in 29 Grands Prix, debuting on 10 March 1991. He scored no championship points.

After a difficult 1984 season in French Formula Three, van de Poele then won the Belgian and Benelux Formula Ford titles, also racing in the Belgian Touring Car Championship. He subsequently raced in German Touring Cars Championships, winning the 1987 championship despite not winning a race all season. He also won the 1987 Spa 24 Hours, sharing a car with Didier Theys and Jean-Michel Martin. He also dabbled in British Formula Three. For 1989, he moved up to Formula 3000, finishing fourth, and then runner-up in 1990.

After this, he signed for the Modena Formula One team for 1991, driving their Lamborghini cars thanks to backing from long-time sponsors Lease Plan. He was unsuccessful in the first two races, failing to pre-qualify, but made it onto the grid for the 1991 San Marino Grand Prix. There he impressed in the rain, running fifth in the last lap before the car ran out of fuel, dropping him to ninth. The team, in financial difficulties, failed to build on this success, and van de Poele would not race again that year.

He then signed for Brabham in 1992, but the team were low on money. The Belgian qualified for the opening South African Grand Prix, finishing 13th, but then failed to qualify the outdated car again. He frequently matched team-mate Damon Hill in the other Brabham, however. For the Hungarian Grand Prix he switched to the promising Fondmetal team. He qualified the car at the first attempt, only to spin out. He then started an excellent 15th for the Belgian Grand Prix, finishing 10th, and qualified again for the Italian Grand Prix, only for the clutch to break. After this, Fondmetal also hit money troubles and withdrew, leaving van de Poele without a drive.

Aside from a largely unused capacity as test driver for Tyrrell in 1993, van de Poele has since found considerable success in Touring Cars and sports cars, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1995 and 1996 and the Petit Le Mans in 1998. He has also added to his 1987 win in the Spa 24 Hours four more wins in 1998, 2005, 2006 and 2008, giving him the record of five wins in the event.

In 2008, van de Poele competed in the Rolex Sports Car Series.

Racing record

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1991	Modena Team SpA	Lambo 291	Lamborghini V12	USA DNPQ	BRA DNPQ	SMR 9	MON DNPQ	CAN DNPQ	MEX DNPQ	FRA DNPQ	GBR DNPQ	GER DNQ	HUN DNQ	BEL DNQ	ITA DNQ	POR DNQ	ESP DNQ	JPN DNQ	AUS DNQ	NC	0
1992	Motor Racing Developments Ltd	Brabham BT60B	Judd V10	RSA 13	MEX DNQ	BRA DNQ	ESP DNQ	SMR DNQ	MON DNQ	CAN DNQ	FRA DNQ	GBR DNQ	GER DNQ							NC	0
	Fondmetal	Fondmetal GR02	Ford V8											HUN Ret	BEL 10	ITA Ret	POR	JPN	AUS

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Pos	Pts
1994	Old Spice Nissan Racing	Nissan Primera eGT	THR 1 13	BRH 1 DNS	BRH 2 DNS	SNE 1 9	SIL 1 13	SIL 2 12	OUL 1 14	DON 1 17	DON 2 13	BRH 1 14	BRH 2 12	SIL 1 DNS	KNO 1	KNO 2	OUL 1	BRH 1	BRH 2	SIL 1	SIL 2	DON 1	DON 2	22nd	2

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1992	Peugeot Talbot Sport	Karl Wendlinger Alain Ferté	Peugeot 905 Evo 1B	C1	208	DNF	DNF
1994	Clayton Cunningham Racing	Paul Gentilozzi Shunji Kasuya	Nissan 300ZX Turbo	IMSA GTS	25	DNF	DNF
1996	Racing for Belgium Team Scandia	Marc Goossens Eric Bachelart	Ferrari 333 SP	WSC	208	DNF	DNF
1997	Nissan Motorsport TWR	Riccardo Patrese Aguri Suzuki	Nissan R390 GT1	GT1	121	DNF	DNF
1998	Doyle-Risi Racing	Wayne Taylor Fermín Vélez	Ferrari 333 SP	LMP1	332	8th	1st
2000	Team Cadillac	Wayne Taylor Max Angelelli	Cadillac Northstar LMP	LMP900	287	22nd	12th
2001	Team Bentley	Andy Wallace Butch Leitzinger	Bentley EXP Speed 8	LMGTP	306	3rd	1st
2002	Team Bentley	Andy Wallace Butch Leitzinger	Bentley EXP Speed 8	LMGTP	362	4th	1st
2008	Risi Competizione Krohn Racing	Tracy Krohn Niclas Jönsson	Ferrari F430 GT2	GT2	12	DNF	DNF
2009	Risi Competizione Krohn Racing	Tracy Krohn Niclas Jönsson	Ferrari F430 GT2	GT2	323	22nd	3rd
2010	Risi Competizione Krohn Racing	Tracy Krohn Niclas Jönsson	Ferrari F430 GT2	GT2	197	DNF	DNF

External links

• Official website
• Profile on F1 Rejects

Sporting positions
Preceded by Kurt Thiim	German Touring Car Champion 1987	Succeeded by Klaus Ludwig