Valentino Catalano

Valentino Catalano
Nationality	German
Born	(2005-11-02) 2 November 2005 (age 18) Westheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
European Le Mans Series career
Debut season	2022
Current team	RLR MSport
Racing licence	FIA Silver
Car number	15
Co-driver	Horst Felbermayr Jr., Austin McCusker
Starts	6 (6 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	15th (LMP3) in 2022
Previous series
2022 2021 2020	Le Mans Cup ADAC Formula 4 French F4 Championship

Valentino Catalano (born 2 November 2005) is a German racing driver who currently competes in the Prototype Cup Germany with DKR Engineering. ^[1]

Early career

Karting

Catalano started karting at the Motorclub Haßloch at the age of 5. ^[2] In 2018 he won the X30 Junior category of the ADAC Kart Cup with RMW Motorsport after finishing fourth in the ADAC Kart Bundesendlauf. ^{[3] [4]}

Formula 4

In 2019 Catalano begin testing in a privately owned Tatuus F4-T014. ^[2] In 2020 he began competing in single-seaters, driving in the French F4 Championship. ^{[5] [6]} Having been part of the junior class given his age, the German would dominate, taking wins in every race for the juniors' standings, whilst finishing on the overall podium four times. ^{[7] [8]} With him finishing inside the top ten throughout each event, Catalano ended up fifth in the FFSA Academy classification.

For the 2021 season, a move to BWR Motorsports would be in order for the German, who would be driving in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship. ^{[7] [9]} However, Catalano ended up splitting up from the team after merely two rounds, in which he had scored a best finish of fifth. ^[10]

Sportscar career

2022: LMP3 debut

Catalano made his sportscar debut in 2022, driving in the LMP3 category of the European Le Mans Series. ^{[11] [12]} Teaming up with Horst Felbermayr Jr. and Austin McCusker at RLR MSport, the German experienced a testing campaign, as three retirements meant that he would finish 15th in the drivers' standings.

2023: First win

At the start of 2023, Catalano paired up with Tom van Rompuy at DKR Engineering for a campaign in the Asian Le Mans Series. ^[13] The second race in Dubai saw an impressive performance from the pairing, with an aggressive fuel strategy paying off to give Catalano his maiden victory in car racing. ^{[14] [15] [16] [17]} He then went on to compete in the 2023 Prototype Cup Germany with the same team and Robin Rogalski as his teammate. ^[1] He took his maiden victory in the series Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and finished the season fourth in the standings. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2017	ADAC Kart Masters — X30 Junior		3rd
2018	ADAC Kart Masters — X30 Junior		3rd
	ADAC Kart Bundesendlauf — X30 Junior	RMW Motorsport	4th
Sources: [21]

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2020	French F4 Championship	FFSA Academy	21	0	0	0	4	144	5th
2021	ADAC Formula 4 Championship	BWR Motorsports	6	0	0	0	0	10	18th
	Drexler Automotive Formula 4 Cup		2	0	0	0	2	33	4th
2022	European Le Mans Series - LMP3	RLR MSport	6	0	0	0	0	18	15th
	Le Mans Cup - LMP3		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2023	Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3	DKR Engineering	4	1	0	0	1	43	4th
	Prototype Cup Germany		12	1	3	2	4	130	4th
2024	Prototype Cup Germany	Gebhardt Motorsport
	Prototype Winter Series - Class 3		3	0	0	0	0	6.67	14th

^* Season still in progress.

Complete French F4 Championship results

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

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Pos	Points
2020	NOG 1 8	NOG 2 2	NOG 3 7	MAG 1 6	MAG 2 7	MAG 3 7	ZAN 1 6	ZAN 2 5	ZAN 3 3	LEC1 1 4	LEC1 2 5	LEC1 3 6	SPA 1 6	SPA 2 6	SPA 3 5	LEC2 1 3	LEC2 2 6	LEC2 3 6	LEC3 1 8	LEC3 2 3	LEC3 3 10	5th	144

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	Rank	Points
2022	RLR MSport	LMP3	Ligier JS P320	Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8	LEC Ret	IMO 6	MNZ Ret	CAT 8	SPA Ret	ALG 7	15th	18

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

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

Year	Team	Class	Car	Engine	1	2	3	4	Pos.	Points
2023	DKR Engineering	LMP3	Duqueine M30 - D08	Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8	DUB 1 6	DUB 2 1	ABU 1 5	ABU 2 Ret	4th	43

Complete Prototype Cup Germany results

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

Year	Team	Car	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Points
2023	DKR Engineering	Duqueine M30 - D08	Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8	HOC 1 6	HOC 2 2	OSC 1 3	OSC 2 1	ZAN 1 6	ZAN 2 2	NOR 1 Ret	NOR 2 Ret	ASS 1 5	ASS 2 8†	NÜR 1 7	NÜR 2 Ret	4th	130
2024	Gebhardt Motorsport	Duqueine M30 - D08	Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8	SPA 1	SPA 2	LAU 1	LAU 2	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	HOC 1	HOC 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	SAC 1	SAC 2	*	*

^* Season still in progress.

References

1. "Fünffacher LMP3-Champion bereichert Prototype Cup Germany | Prototype Cup Germany". adac-motorsport.de (in German). Retrieved 26 July 2023.
2. "Valentino Catalano vom Jugendkart über Kartrennen mit 14 Jahren zur Formel 4". Motorclub Haßloch (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
3. "Koblenzer RMW-Motorsport-Team tanzte sehr erfolgreich auf vier Hochzeiten gleichzeitig « kartpress.de – Official Website" . Retrieved 10 November 2023.
4. "ADAC Kart Bundesendlauf zeigt packenden Kartsport – Kart-Magazin.de – More Than Speed" (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
5. "F4 Academy: Nogaro opens the festivities with a quality grid" . Retrieved 22 January 2023.
6. Wood, Ida (24 July 2020). "Daniel Ligier, Loris Cabirou and Valentino Catalano join French F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
7. Allen, Peter (5 March 2021). "French F4 junior champion Catalano makes ADAC switch with BWR". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021.
8. "Valentino Catalano vom Jugendkart über Kartrennen mit 14 Jahren zur Formel 4". Motorclub Haßloch (in German). Retrieved 26 July 2023.
9. "BWR, cooperating with Nico Rosberg, lines up with Valentino Catalano and Taylor Barnard". KartXpress. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
10. Wood, Ida (17 September 2021). "Dunne fastest on F4 return in ADAC practice, Catalano drops out". Formula Scout. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
11. Lloyd, Daniel (14 February 2022). "ELMS Reveals 42-Car Full Season Entry List". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
12. "2022 ELMS LMP3 News: Eurointernational, United, RLR & Inter Europol | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
13. Goodwin, Graham (7 February 2023). "Asian Le Mans Series Confirm Full Entry With Most Drivers Named". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
14. Dagys, John (12 February 2023). "Inter Europol Wins Sunday Dubai Race After Siegel's Late Pass – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
15. "Superb Siegel Caps Off Inter Europol's 'Spin & Win' In Dubai | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
16. "Motorsport - Autorennen: Valentino Catalano ist der jüngste Sieger bei der Asian Le Mans-Series 2023". Wochenblatt Reporter (in German). 2 March 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
17. "Valentino Catalano bei der Asian Le Mans Series 2023 erfolgreich". Motorclub Haßloch (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
18. "Valentino Catalano: "Beide Titel sind das Ziel" | Prototype Cup Germany". www.adac-motorsport.de (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
19. "Prototype Cup: Catalano und Rogalski mit Debütsieg / Sportwagen - SPEEDWEEK.COM". www.speedweek.com (in German). 28 May 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
20. "Schwieriges Rennen gut beendet". www.usinger-anzeiger.de (in German). 1 June 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
21. "Valentino Catalano | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

External links

• Valentino Catalano career summary at DriverDB.com
• Official website