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Claudiu David is a former Romanian rally driver. He is has a degree in executive coaching and currently works as a mentor. He also has experience with Olympic athletes at the National Institute of Sport Research.
David was born on 7 December 1978, in Sinaia, a town and ski resort in Romania. He became a multiple-class champion in the Romanian rally championship. He drove his first four-wheel drive season in 2006 and finished runner-up by only one championship point. In 2008, he had to retire prematurely from the national championship due to the lack of sponsors. Of the five rallies he raced in, he had scored one victory [1] and two second places.
In 2006, David he was selected to drive in Rally Australia, but could not attend the event due to a Romanian Racing Federations conflict that left him without an international license. The following year, he was selected to race three rounds of the 2007 World Rally Championship (WRC) in the P-WRC category: Rally Argentina, Rally Japan and Rally GB. In 2007, for the three rounds of the WRC, the car was a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX prepared by the Stohl Racing team from Austria and entered the OMV Bixxol Rally Team program for the promotion of young talents from Eastern Europe. At the end of the year, his main sponsor, the OMV Group, retired from motorsports, which left David without financial support.
In 2007, David competed in circuit racing in the first ever FIA-GT race organized in the streets of Bucharest. He won the manufacturer's Dodge cup. He drove a GT3 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of 510 bhp (380 kW) and finished 8th overall in the GT3 category.
On 1 August 2009, David obtained a group N win on his first appearance in the Hungarian Rally Championship at the 42nd Allianz Rallye at Pecs (tarmac). Driving the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX prepared by the local team Topp Cars, he won the gr N class by 0.9 seconds and was 4th overall.
On January 23–24, David contested his first official rally in the USRC (United States Rally Championship) in the Winter Rally New York. After two days of racing in icy conditions, he won his category (2WD – 2-wheel drive) and finished 3rd overall.
In 2011, David became one of the five BMW "Train the Trainers" with the BMW Driving Academy in Maisach, Germany. He has coached passenger car training instructors and worked on the design and delivery of the BMW Group Driving Experiences' training.
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | OMV Bixxol Rally Team | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | MON | SWE | NOR | MEX | POR | ARG 32 | ITA | GRE | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN 30 | IRE | GBR Ret | NC | 0 |
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