Enzo Potolicchio

Last updated

Enzo Potolicchio
Enzo potolicchio le mans 2012.jpg
Potolicchio in 2012
Nationality Flag of Venezuela.svg Venezuelan
Born (1968-08-07) 7 August 1968 (age 56)
Caracas, Venezuela
FIA World Endurance Championship Rolex Sports Car Series career
Current team 8 Star Motorsports
Racing licence FIA Silver Driver.png FIA Silver
Car number22,41,81
Former teamsHP-Tech Motorsport// Starworks MotorSports // AF Corsa
Previous series
Ferrari Challenge, Formula Ford, Porsche Super Cup
Championship titles
1998, 2001, 2010, 2011,2012Venezuelan Formula Ford 1600, 2000 , Porsche SúperCup , Ferrari Challenge 2010/11
Awards
1998Venezuelan Automobile Driver of the Year/ WEC Rockie of the year 2012. WEC LMP2 Champion 2012

Vicente "Enzo" Potolicchio (born 7 August 1968 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan racing driver and businessman, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and Rolex Sports Car Series for Starworks Motorsport. He won the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans and 2012 12 Hours of Sebring, both in the LMP2 class.

Contents

Early racing career

Potolicchio spent his early career racing Formula Ford, both at home in Venezuela where he was champion in 2005, and in the American F2000 Championship Series. He also took part in Venezuelan Porsche Super Cup in 1998, which saw him earn 11 victories and the country's Automobile Driver of the Year award.

Ferrari Challenge

Potolicchio participated in two Ferrari Challenge North America races in 2009, earning a victory and a third-place finish. In 2010 and 2011 he won back-to-back Ferrari Challenge titles. [1]

Rolex Sports Car Series

Potolicchio made his Grand-Am debut in 2011, racing in the Rolex Sports Car Series for Starworks Motorsport. He earned his first career victory at Mid-Ohio, teamed with Ryan Dalziel, finishing 13th in the end-of-season Daytona Prototype points standings.

In 2012, Potolicchio finished second overall in the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona, teamed with Ryan Dalziel, Alex Popow, Lucas Luhr and Allan McNish. He has collected four podium finishes in eight races to date.

Leading up to the second race at Watkins Glen, Potolicchio announced he was leaving the Rolex Series, but would continue to support the No. 8 Starworks car in the title challenge.

FIA World Endurance Championship

Together with Starworks, Potolicchio made his FIA World Endurance Championship debut at the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring, where he, Ryan Dalziel and Stéphane Sarrazin finished third overall and first in LMP2. The trio finished 14th in class at the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, punctuated by a mechanical issue.

Potolicchio and teammates Ryan Dalziel and Tom Kimber-Smith won the Le Mans in the LMP2 class. Starworks also won the FIA LMP2 Trophy in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

In 2013, Potolicchio announced that he would enter the 2013 FIA WEC season with his newly created team, 8Star Motorsports, competing with one Ferrari 458 Italia GT2.

Complete motorsports results

American Open-Wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

USF2000 National Championship results

YearEntrant12345678910111213141516PosPoints
2001 Amores Motorsports HMS1
25
HMS2
13
HMS3
14
WGI1
12
WGI2
24
IRP MDO1 MDO2 ROA1 ROA2 MDO3 SEB1 SEB2 20th26
2004 Aiken Racing SEB1 SEB2 ATL1 ATL2 LS1 LS2 MOS1 MOS2 MDO1
7
MDO2
9
SON1 SON2 MDO3 MDO4 ROA1 ROA2 N.C.N.C.
2005 Cape Motorsports ATL1
3
ATL2
7
MDO1
6
MDO2
4
CLE1 CLE2 ROA1 ROA2 MDO3 MDO4 VIR1 VIR2 12th72

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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

YearEntrantClassMakeEngine12345678910Pos.Points
2014 8Star MotorsportsPC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 DAY
2
SEB
LGA
KAN
WGL
IMS
ELK
VIR
COA
PET
28th33
2015 AF Corse GTD Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Ferrari 4.5L V8 DAY
SEB
10
LGA BEL WGL
LIM ELK VIR AUS
ATL
62nd1

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

YearEntrantClassCarEngine12345678RankPoints
2012 Starworks Motorsport LMP2 HPD ARX-03b Honda HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 SEB
3
SPA
29
LMS
7
SIL
9
SÃO
7
BHR
8
FUJ
9
SHA
8
9th53.5
2013 8 Star MotorsportsLMGTE Am Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Ferrari 4.5 L V8 SIL
3
SPA
1
LMS
8
SÃO
2
COA
4
FUJ
4
SHA
1
BHR
2
2nd128
2014 8 Star MotorsportsLMGTE Am Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Ferrari 4.5 L V8 SIL
Ret
SPA
9
LMS
COA
FUJ
SHA
BHR
SÃO
25th4

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
2012 Flag of the United States.svg Starworks Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ryan Dalziel
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Kimber-Smith
HPD ARX-03b LMP23547th1st
2013 Flag of the United States.svg 8 Star Motorsports Flag of Portugal.svg Rui Águas
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jason Bright
Ferrari 458 Italia GTCGTE
Am
29437th10th

Related Research Articles

Krohn Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Houston, Texas. The team competes in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Prototype class, and has competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Intercontinental Le Mans Cup GTE-Amateur class; the American Le Mans Series GT2 class; and the Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class.

Ryan Dalziel is a Scottish professional racing driver. Dalziel has seen the most success in his career in the United States, racing in the American Le Mans Series GT1 class and the Champ Car World Series, and winning the 2010 24 Hours of Daytona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Smith (racing driver)</span> British racing driver

Guy James Mutlow Smith is a British professional racing driver, who has competed in various levels of motorsport, most notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he won in 2003, and the American Le Mans Series, which he won in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Heylen</span> Belgian racing driver (born 1980)

Jan Heylen is a championship-winning Belgian racing driver, based out of Tampa, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Westbrook</span> British racing driver

Richard Westbrook is a British professional racing driver noted for his success in racing Porsche and International sports cars. As a junior, he attended St Joseph's College, Ipswich. He has won both the Porsche Supercup international championship and the Porsche Carrera Cup in his native Britain (2004). At the end of the 2007 season, Richard signed a factory contract deal with the German marque Porsche, and the British ace proceeded to take on the world's best on the other side of the Atlantic. The next year (2009), Westbrook won the highly coveted FIA GT2 Championship, taking four victories in the process, establishing himself firmly on the World motor sport stage and in the upper echelons of elite sports car drivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renger van der Zande</span> Dutch racing driver

Renger Adriaan van der Zande is a Dutch racing driver who currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Chip Ganassi Racing. He is the son of the 1978 National Dutch Rallycross Champion Ronald van der Zande. In 2016, Van der Zande won his first major sports car championship with co-driver Alex Popow and Starworks Motorsport in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PC Class. Renger resides in Amsterdam with his partner Carlijn and their daughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendon Hartley</span> New Zealand racing driver (born 1989)

Brendon Morris Hartley is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota. Hartley competed in Formula One from 2017 to 2018. In endurance racing, Hartley has won a joint-record four FIA World Endurance Championship titles—tied with Sébastien Buemi—and is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">João Barbosa</span> Portuguese racing driver

João Ricardo da Silva Coelho Barbosa is a Portuguese auto racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Sean Creech Motorsport in the LMP2 class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Kimber-Smith</span> British racing driver

Thomas Kimber-Smith is a British race car driver. He is currently driving the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca FLM09 in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PC class with Robert Alon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme Speed Motorsports</span> Sports car racing team

Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) was an American auto racing team based out of Riviera Beach, Florida. Founded by Scott Sharp and Patrón CEO Ed Brown, the team competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Tudor United SportsCar Championship, and American Le Mans Series since 2010 until 2018 when the team sold its equipment and race cars and shut down following an exhaustive sponsor search after the withdrawal of Patrón.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elton Julian</span> American racing driver and team owner

Elton Julian is an American racecar driver and team owner. After driving at the International Formula 3000 and the FIA World Endurance Championship, he has entered DragonSpeed at the FIA WEC, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and IndyCar Series.

Level 5 Motorsports was an American auto racing team founded in 2006 with illegally procured funds by racing driver, money lender and later convicted racketeer Scott Tucker, currently serving a sentence of 16 years and 8 months in federal prison. Level 5 Motorsports competed in the United SportsCar Championship and Ferrari Challenge, having won multiple American Le Mans Series championships and endurance races including the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Level 5 Motorsports began with Tucker competing in the Sports Car Club of America and Ferrari Challenge Series. In 2007, while continuing with SCCA and Ferrari Challenge, Tucker entered several events in the Rolex Sports Car Series and Koni Challenge Series with co-driver Ed Zabinski. Tucker also competed in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HPD ARX-03</span> Race car prototype

The HPD ARX-03a, ARX-03b, and ARX-03c are Le Mans Prototypes race cars developed by Honda Performance Development in 2012. The 03a model utilizes a Honda V8 engine for use in the LMP1 category, while the 03b uses a turbocharged V6 engine for the LMP2 category. Three teams have already announced their use of the ARX-03 in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the American Le Mans Series, as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Muscle Milk Pickett Racing have purchased an 03a for use in the American Le Mans Series, joined by two 03bs for Level 5 Motorsports. In the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, Strakka Racing and JRM Racing campaigned a single 03a each, joined by a single-car 03b entry by Starworks Motorsport in LMP2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 24 Hours of Daytona</span>

The 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona was a long-distance motor race for sports cars conforming to the regulations of the Grand-Am Road Racing series. The race was held over a duration of 24 hours, starting at 3:30pm on Saturday, January 28, finishing at 3:30pm the following day. The race was held on the sports car version of Daytona International Speedway, which includes only a portion of the NASCAR Superspeedway course and a loop of circuit which winds through the infield of the speedway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starworks Motorsport</span> Racing team

Starworks Motorsport is an American automobile racing team based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, currently competing in the new for 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The team was established in 2010 by Peter Baron and runs a Riley Daytona Prototype and two Prototype Challenge Oreca Chevrolet FLM09 cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Popow</span> Venezuelan racing driver

Alex Popow Karaha is a Venezuelan racing driver who competes in the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series for CORE autosport and Starworks Motorsport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Luhr</span> German racing driver (born 1979)

Lucas Luhr is a German racing driver. He is a staple of the American Le Mans Series during the 2000s and early 2010s, winning the GT class with Porsche in 2002, the LMP2 category in 2006, and taking the overall LMP1 championship as part of the Audi Sport North America works outfit in 2008. He also won the P1 title in 2012 and 2013, driving for Honda-fielding Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.

8 Star Motorsports LLC is a sports car racing team founded by racing driver Enzo Potolicchio in 2012. The team currently races in the United SportsCar Championship PC class and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites L1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ligier JS P2</span> Racing car model

The Ligier JS P2 is a racing car designed and built by French manufacturer Onroak Automotive and named in partnership with French former racing driver Guy Ligier. Designed for the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) regulations, it is intended as a second option to Onroak's Morgan LMP2 that has been competing since 2012. As well as being the first closed-cockpit car offered by Onroak, it is also the first car they designed entirely in-house. The JS P2 debuted at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has been campaigned in the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Kyle R. Tilley is a British professional racing driver. He mainly competes in historic motorsport and sports car racing such as the Historic Formula One Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship; in IMSA, he drives in the LMP2 class for his team Era Motorsport. He won the Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 championship in 2021.

References

  1. "FERRARI-CHALLENGE: Series set to start 12th season under GRAND-AM sanctioning". motorsport.com. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.