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Laurent Aïello
Laurent Aiello
Driver Details
Nationality Flag of France French
P.o.B. Flag of France Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris, France
D.o.B. 23 May 1969
D.o.D.
Début Flag of Germany 2000 Hockenheim Opening Race 1
Final Race Flag of Germany 2005 Hockenheim Finale Race
Best 1st (2002)
Previous Teams Flag of Germany Team Abt Sportsline; Flag of Germany OPC Team Phoenix
DTM Career
Total Entries 84 (80 Starts)
No. 3
Wins Points Poles
13 224 7
Fastest Laps 8
Podiums 22
First Win Flag of Germany 2001 Nürburgring I Qualifying Race
Last Win Unknown

Laurent Aïello (born 23 May 1969 in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris, France) is a French racing driver, who won the 2002 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship on behalf of Abt-Audi and ABT Sportsline.[1] A winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, British Touring Cars and Super Tourenwagen Championship before his DTM career, Aïello gained a reputation as one of the best drivers in DTM history, and was noted as the first driver to win a race in the Series for Audi.[2]

Aïello was signed up to lead Audi's semi-factory DTM effort ahead of the 2000 season, partnering Christian Abt for the campaign.[3] The Frenchman would subsequently miss two races, fail to start two more, but scored Abt-Audi's first points, finishing sixteenth in the Championship.[3]

2001 saw Abt-Audi produce a more competitive car, resulting in Aïello claiming his, and Abt-Audi's first victory at the 2001 Nürburgring I Qualifying Race.[4] Indeed, Aïello would claim three additional victories en-route to fifth in the Championship, dominating two race weekends in the process.[4]

Abt-Audi and Aïello would improve again in 2002, with the Frenchman dominating the first half of the campaign with six wins in ten races.[1] His early form, combined with two further victories, would leave Aïello as the Champion with 70 points, becoming the first driver other than Bernd Schneider to claim the title in the revived DTM.[5]

Aïello remained with Abt-Audi for the 2003 season, although a disappointing campaign left him in sixth with a single win.[6] As a result Aïello and Abt-Audi would part ways, with Audi taking over control of the effort.[6]

As a result Aïello would sign up to join Opel for the 2004 season, although their Vectra GTS V8 proved noncompetitive.[7] Indeed, Aïello failed to finish on the podium during a season partnering Marcel Fässler, slumping to tenth in the Championship.[8]

Regardless, Aïello would compete with Opel for the 2005 season, remaining with OPC Team Phoenix albeit with Manuel Reuter as his teammate.[9] Another disappointing campaign for the Frenchman saw him slip down to eleventh, resulting in him retiring from racing at the end of the season.[10]

Background[]

Aïello began karting in his native France at the age of nine, ultimately claiming the French Karting Championship three years in a row between 1983 and 1985.[11] The Frenchman subsequently turned to single-seater racing in 1989, signing up to the French Formula 3 Championship, claiming a single race.[11] He would remain in his native F3 Championship for 1990, notably winning the 1990 Monaco Grand Prix support race, en-route to finishing fifth in the Championship.[11]

Formula Flirtations: 1991 - 1995[]

Aïello moved into the International Formula 3000 series for 1991, although a poor season saw him fail to compete for the title.[11] A similarly disappointing campaign followed in 1992, again finishing fifteenth in International F3000, although he did claim the French F3 title.[11] For 1993 the Frenchman would move into the French Supertouring Championship, claiming second in the Championship.[11]

Becoming a factory Peugeot driver in 1994, Aïello would claim the CFS crown that season, a result which earned him a test in a Peugeot engined Jordan F1 car.[11] He subsequently served as a test/reserve driver for Jordan during 1995, although his services were not required outside of private testing.[11] He would also attempt to retain his CFS crown, although he would slip to third with only one victory.[11]

A European Tour: 1996 - 1999[]

Aïello moved into the Super Tourenwagen Cup for the 1996 season as Peugeot moved their factory racing efforts to Germany, finishing third in the championship with three wins.[11] In 1997 the Frenchman would sweep to the STW title with eleven victories, defeating future DTM rival Joachim Winkelhock with a crushing points tally.[11] Aïello subsequently tried to retain his STW crown but fell short by three points, while also claiming a debut victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Porsche.[11]

In 1999 Aïello, having left Peugeot, would move to the British Touring Car Championship, serving as a factory Nissan driver.[11] The Frenchman duly secured the Championship with ten victories out of sixteen races, while also finishing third in the 24 Hours of Le Mans after being signed as a factory driver by Audi.[11]

DTM History[]

After missing out on a factory Honda seat in the BTCC to Tom Kristensen, Aïello would use his Audi connections to get a seat in the inaugural 2000 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship.[3] Signed by ABT Sportsline, Aïello was made their lead driver alongside Christian Abt in their semi-factory supported DTM effort, and would help their rapid development of the TT-R DTM.[3] Yet, in-spite of the impressive development programme Aïello would have a difficult debut at the Hockenheimring, claiming a lonely fifteenth in Race 1, before an engine issue ruled him out of the second race.[12]

Debut Difficulties: 2000[]

Aïello missed the second round of the 2000 season due to his Audi commitments at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (finishing second), before returning for the races at the Norisring.[13] Ultimately engine issues would cause him to retire from the first race and miss the second, before improving to twelfth in the 2000 Sachsenring Race 1.[14] Fourteenth in the Second Race would follow, before two more pointless races followed at the Nürburgring.[15]

However, the Abt-Audi TT-R was improving, and Aïello duly claimed his, and Abt-Audi's, maiden DTM points finish at the 2000 Oschersleben II Race 1, battling up to fifth after benefiting from an early red flag.[16] A disappointing run to eleventh would follow in the Second Race, before Aïello secured ninth at the 2000 Nürburgring II Race 1, and then improved to seventh in the Second Race.[17] Yet, more troubles for the Frenchman would follow at the season finale in Hockenheim, with engine issues again preventing Aïello from competing in the final race.[18]

As a result Aïello would secure sixteenth in the Championship with fourteen points to his name, hence ending the season as the best Abt-Audi driver in the field.[18]

Sophomore Successes: 2001[]

Title Trials: 2002[]

Wavering Fortunes: 2003[]

Opel Opportunities: 2004[]

Final Flings: 2005[]

Towards the end of the season Aïello would decide to call time on his DTM and racing career, holding a press conference after the Lausitzring.[10]

Full DTM Record[]

Laurent Aïello's full results from his 80 starts in the DTM are outlined in a series of tables below.

DTM Entries[]

The list below includes all of the teams and cars, as well as overall finishing positions for Laurent Aïello during their DTM career:

Laurent Aïello's Overall DTM Record
Year Entrant No. Car Pos. Pts. Livery
2000 Flag of Germany Abt Sportsline I[3] 9 Abt-Audi TT-R DTM 2000 16th 4 AIE 00 Livery
2001 Flag of Germany Team Abt Sportsline[4] 19 Abt-Audi TT-R DTM 2001 5th 75 File:AIE 01 Livery.png
2002 Flag of Germany Team Abt Sportsline[1] 3 Abt-Audi TT-R DTM 2002 1st 70 AIE 02 Livery
2003 Flag of Germany Hasseröder Abt-Audi[6] 1 Abt-Audi TT-R DTM 2003 6th 41 AIE 03 Livery
2004 Flag of Germany OPC Team Phoenix[7] 4 Opel Vectra GTS V8 2004 10th 12 AIE 04 Livery
2005 Flag of Germany Team OPC[9] 11 Opel Vectra GTS V8 2005 11th 12 File:AIE 05 Livery.png

Career Results[]

Below is a table showing Laurent Aïello's full DTM record.

Laurent Aïello DTM Championship Record
Year Rounds Pos. Pts.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
2000 Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany 16th 14
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
15th DNS Ret DNS 12th 14th 11th 14th CAN CAN 5th 11th 9th 7th Ret DNS
2001 Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Austria Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Germany 5th 75
Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F
8th 7th 1st 1st 2nd 5th 10th 12th 6th 12th 1st 1st 4th 2nd 5th Ret Ret DNS
2002 Flag of Germany Flag of Belgium Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Austria Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Germany 1st 70
Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F Q F
2nd 1st 1st 1st 18th DSQ 1st 1st 4th 1st 1st 4th 2nd 2nd 3rd 5th DSQ 6th 1st 6th
2003 Flag of Germany Flag of Italy Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Austria Dutch Flag Flag of Germany 6th 41
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3rd 3rd 3rd 8th 6th Ret 1st 4th 9th 5th
2004 Flag of Germany Flag of Portugal Flag of Italy Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of China Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Dutch Flag Flag of the Czech Republic Flag of Germany 10th 12
1 2 3 4 5 NC 6 7 8 9 10
9th 8th 6th 4th Ret 9th 6th Ret 15th Ret
2005 Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Belgium Flag of the Czech Republic Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Flag of Germany Dutch Flag Flag of Germany Flag of Turkey Flag of Germany 11th 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Ret 10th 7th 16th 7th 12th 9th 14th 4th 6th 9th
Results Key
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning
1st Winner Ret Retired
2nd Second DSQ Disqualified
3rd Third DNS Did Not Start
7th Points Scorer NC Not Classified
Italics Fastest Lap CAN Race Cancelled
16th Non-points finish Non-Championship Race
Bold Pole Position 3 Points for Qualifying

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

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  10. 10.0 10.1 Johan Meissner, 'Laurent Aiello retires', touringcartimes.com, (Touring Car Times, 17/09/2005), https://www.touringcartimes.com/2005/09/17/laurent-aiello-retires/, (Accessed 03/06/2020)
  11. 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 'Laurent Aiello', driverdb.com, (Driver Database, 2020), https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/laurent-aiello/, (Accessed 03/06/2020)
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2000 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship
Manufacturers
Abt-AudiAMG-MercedesOpel
Car/engine
Abt-Audi TT-R 2000Audi 4.0l V8AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM 2000AMG 4.0l V8Opel Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2000Opel 4.0l V8
Teams
24h Service AMG-MercedesAbt Sportsline IAbt Sportsline IID2 AMG-MercedesEuroteamOpel Team Holzer IOpel Team Holzer IIOpel Team IrmscherOpel Team PhoenixOriginal Teile AMG-MercedesWarsteiner AMG-Mercedes
Drivers
1 Bernd Schneider2 Thomas Jäger3 Uwe Alzen4 Joachim Winkelhock5 Klaus Ludwig6 Marcel Fässler7 Manuel Reuter8 Michael Bartels9 Laurent Aïello10 Christian Abt11 Éric Hélary12 Christian Menzel14/24 Pedro Lamy15/42 Darren Turner16 Stefano Modena17 Timo Scheider18 Marcel Tiemann19 Peter Dumbreck20 Kris Nissen21 James Thompson23 Roland Asch
Races
Rennsport-Festival 1Rennsport-Festival 2ADAC-Preis von Sachsen-Anhalt 1ADAC-Preis von Sachsen-Anhalt 2Norisring 1Norisring 2Sachsenring 1Sachsenring 2Großer Preis der Tourenwagen 1Großer Preis der Tourenwagen 2ADAC-Preis von Niedersachsen 1ADAC-Preis von Niedersachsen 2Eifelrennen 1Eifelrennen 2ADAC-Preis Hockenheim 1ADAC-Preis Hockenheim 2
Cancelled Races
2000 Lausitzring Race
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Manufacturers
Abt-AudiAMG-MercedesOpel
Car/engine
Abt-Audi TT-R 2001Audi 4.0l V8AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM 2001AMG 4.0l V8Opel Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2001Opel 4.0l V8
Teams
D2 AMG-MercedesEschmann AMG-MercedesMamerow Racing TeamOPC EuroteamOPC Team Holzer IOPC Team Holzer IIOPC Team PhoenixOriginal Teile AMG-MercedesService 24h AMG-MercedesTeam Abt SportslineTeam Abt Sportsline JuniorWarsteiner AMG-Mercedes
Drivers
1 Bernd Schneider2 Peter Dumbreck3 Joachim Winkelhock4 Timo Scheider5 Uwe Alzen6 Marcel Fässler7 Manuel Reuter8 Yves Olivier9 Bernd Mayländer/Marcel Tiemann10 Patrick Huisman11 Michael Bartels14 Thomas Jäger15 Christijan Albers16 Alain Menu17 Hubert Haupt18 Christian Abt19 Laurent Aïello/Kris Nissen20 Peter Mamerow22 Mattias Ekström23 Martin Tomczyk24 Pedro Lamy42 Darren Turner
Races
Rennsport-Festival QRRennsport-Festival FREifelrennen QREifelrennen FROschersleben QROschersleben FRSachsenring QRSachsenring FRNorisring QRNorisring FRLausitzring QRLausitzring FRGroßer Preis der Tourenwagen QRGroßer Preis der Tourenwagen FRSpielberg QRSpielberg FRZandvoort QRZandvoort FRDMV-Preis Hockenheim QRDMV-Preis Hockenheim FR
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Manufacturers
Abt-AudiAMG-MercedesOpel
Car/engine
Abt-Audi TT-R 2002Audi 4.0l V8AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM 2002AMG 4.0l V8Opel Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2002Opel 4.0l V8
Teams
CEB/OASE AMG-MercedesOPC EuroteamOPC Team HolzerOPC Team PhoenixOriginal Teile AMG-MercedesService 24h AMG-MercedesTeam AbtTeam Abt SportslineTeam Abt Sportsline JuniorVodafone AMG-MercedesWarsteiner AMG-Mercedes
Drivers
1 Bernd Schneider2 Jean Alesi3 Laurent Aïello4 Karl Wendlinger5 Uwe Alzen6 Marcel Fässler7 Manuel Reuter8 Joachim Winkelhock9 Mattias Ekström10 Christian Abt11 Thomas Jäger12 Peter Dumbreck14 Timo Scheider15 Michael Bartels16 Marcel Tiemann/Bernd Mayländer17 Patrick Huisman18 Alain Menu19 Yves Olivier23 Martin Tomczyk24 Stefan Mücke31 Johnny Cecotto42 Christijan Albers43 JJ Lehto44 Éric Hélary
Races
ADAC-Preis Hockenheim QRADAC-Preis Hockenheim FRZolder QRZolder FRDonington Park QRDonington Park FRSachsenring QRSachsenring FRNorisring QRNorisring FRLausitzring QRLausitzring FRGroßer Preis der Tourenwagen QRGroßer Preis der Tourenwagen FRSpielberg QRSpielberg FRZandvoort QRZandvoort FRDMV-Preis Hockenheim QRDMV-Preis Hockenheim FR
Related Content
2001 DTM Season2003 DTM Season
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Manufacturers
Abt-AudiAMG-MercedesOpel
Car/engine
Abt-Audi TT-R 2003Audi 4.0l V8AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM 2003AMG 4.0l V8Opel Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2003Opel 4.0l V8
Teams
AMG-MercedesARTA AMG-MercedesHasseröder Abt-AudiOPC EuroteamOPC Team HolzerOPC Team PhoenixOriginal-Teile AMG-MercedesPlayStation 2 Red Bull Abt-AudiS Line Audi Junior TeamService 24h AMG-MercedesVodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes
Drivers
1 Laurent Aïello2 Christian Abt3 Bernd Schneider4 Christijan Albers5 Mattias Ekström6 Karl Wendlinger7 Manuel Reuter8 Alain Menu9 Marcel Fässler10 Jean Alesi11 Thomas Jäger12 Bernd Mayländer14 Martin Tomczyk15 Peter Terting16 Joachim Winkelhock17 Jeroen Bleekemolen18 Timo Scheider19 Peter Dumbreck20 Katsutomo Kaneishi24 Patrick Huisman/Gary Paffett42 Stefan Mücke
Races
Hockenheim OpeningAdriaNürburgring ILausitzringNorisringDonington ParkNürburgring IISpielbergZandvoortHockenheim Finale
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2002 DTM Season2004 DTM Season
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Manufacturers
Abt-AudiAMG-MercedesOpel
Car/engine
Abt-Audi TT-R 2003Audi A4 DTM 2004Audi 4.0l V8AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM 2003AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2004AMG 4.0l V8Opel Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2003Vectra GTS V8 2004Opel 4.0l V8
Teams
AMG-MercedesAudi Sport Infineon Team JoestAudi Sport Team AbtAudi Sport Team Abt SportslineOPC EuroteamOPC Team HolzerOPC Team PhoenixOriginal-Teile AMG-MercedesSonax Dark Dog AMG-MercedesVodafone/Chrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes
Drivers
1 Bernd Schneider2 Christijan Albers3 Marcel Fässler4 Laurent Aïello5 Mattias Ekström6 Martin Tomczyk7 Gary Paffett8 Jean Alesi9 Heinz-Harald Frentzen10 Manuel Reuter11 Christian Abt12 Tom Kristensen14 Peter Dumbreck15 Timo Scheider16 Jeroen Bleekemolen17 Markus Winkelhock18 Stefan Mücke20 Jarek Janiš21 Bernd Mayländer22 Rinaldo Capello23 Peter Terting44 Emanuele Pirro45 Frank Biela
Races
Hockenheim OpeningEstorilAdriaLausitzringNorisringNürburgringOscherslebenZandvoortBrnoHockenheim Finale
Non-Championship Races
Shanghai 1Shanghai 2
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2003 DTM Season2005 DTM SeasonFormula 3 Euro Series
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Manufacturers
AudiAMG-MercedesOpel
Car/engine
Audi A4 DTM 2005Audi 4.0l V8AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2005AMG 4.0l V8Vectra GTS V8 2005Opel 4.0l V8
Teams
Audi Sport Team Abt SportslineAudi Sport Team AbtAudi Sport Team JoestAudi Sport Team Joest RacingDaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-MercedesGMAC/Stern Team OPCMücke MotorsportTeam OPCSalzgitter AMG-MercedesVodafone/Sport Edition AMG-Mercedes
Drivers
1 Mattias Ekström2 Martin Tomczyk3 Gary Paffett4 Jean Alesi5 Tom Kristensen6 Allan McNish7 Bernd Schneider8 Mika Häkkinen9 Marcel Fässler10 Heinz-Harald Frentzen11 Laurent Aïello12 Manuel Reuter14 Christian Abt15 Pierre Kaffer16 Stefan Mücke17 Alexandros Margaritis18 Rinaldo Capello19 Frank Stippler20 Bruno Spengler21 Jamie Green
Races
Hockenheim OpeningLausitzring ISpa-FrancorchampsBrnoOscherslebenNorisringNürburgringZandvoortLausitzring IIIstanbul ParkHockenheim Finale
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2004 DTM Season2006 DTM SeasonFormula 3 Euro Series