🇫🇷 Emmanuel Clérico

Emmanuel Clérico was an established professional racing driver competing in single-seater and endurance championships through the 1990s and early 2000s. He raced in International Formula 3000 for Apomatox from 1994 to 1997, then moved into FIA GT Championship endurance racing from 1998 to 2003, where his cars were shared between multiple drivers per race.[1]

Clérico took his sole career win in the FIA GT Championship and added three further podiums in that series across six seasons, alongside a podium finish in Formula 3000. His 33 starts yielded four podium finishes overall. In his final indexed season of 2003, he made one FIA GT Championship start and finished 28th in the championship standings. Earlier in the 1990s he was a front-runner in Formula 3000 and served as a test driver for the Larrousse and Ligier Formula One teams before moving into sports car racing, where he raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a graduate of the ACO's driving school.[2]

In Formula 3000, Clérico was closely matched with Christian Pescatori, a regular opponent and professional with 26 starts in that series. He finished ahead of established professionals including Vincenzo Sospiri, the 1995 Formula 3000 champion, once, and Allan McNish, who went on to race in Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship, twice. In FIA GT Championship, he regularly competed against Jean Philippe Belloc, the 2001 FIA GT Championship champion and a Silver-graded driver with far greater experience in sports car racing.