José María López
José María López (born April 26, 1983 in Río Tercero ) is an Argentine automobile racing driver .
López was active in formula racing from 2001 to 2006 . He won the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup in 2003 and competed in the GP2 series in 2005 and 2006 . López has been active in touring car racing since 2007 . From 2007 to 2013 he drove in the Argentine TC 2000 . In 2008, 2009 and 2012 he won the championship. From 2013 to 2016 he drove in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), which he won in 2014, 2015 and 2016. López returned to formula racing for the 2016/17 season and competes in the FIA Formula E Championship .
Career
Beginnings in motorsport (2001-2006)
In 2001 López began his motorsport career in formula racing in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup . In his first season he reached 17th place in the overall standings. A year later he drove again in this racing series and achieved fourth place. López also started in the Italian Formula Renault , in which he was instant champion. In 2003 López switched to the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup , where he was starting champion for DAMS . In 2003 he also took part in Formula 1 test drives for Renault .
In 2004 López started for the Coloni Motorsport team, CMS Performance, in the international Formula 3000 championship . His teammate was Mathias Lauda . López was sixth overall with two third places as the best results. With 28 to 5 points he won the internal duel against Lauda. In addition, he contested four races in the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup for DAMS.
In 2005 López switched to the GP2 series , the successor series to Formula 3000. As a team-mate of Fairuz Fauzy , he started again for DAMS. In his debut race in Imola , he achieved a podium finish with second place. He scored his first victory in the sprint race on the Circuit de Catalunya . With a total of three podium finishes, he finished the season in ninth place overall, while Fauzy finished 24th without any points. In 2006 López switched to Super Nova Racing with his teammate Fairuz Fauzy within the GP2 series . López was on the podium three times, with a second place in Hockenheim being his best result. In the championship, he finished tenth. Fauzy was again 24th without any points. In addition, López completed Formula 1 test drives for Renault in 2005 and 2006.
TC 2000 (2007-2013)
In 2007 López switched to touring car racing . He received a cockpit in the TC 2000 , an Argentine touring car championship. With three wins he finished his debut season in fifth place. He also started in a race in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).
In 2008 López won the TC 2000 championship title with four victories. He also competed in races in the FIA GT championship and the Turismo Carretera Argentina .
In 2009 López defended the overall victory of the TC 2000 with three wins. In addition, he won the Argentine Top Race V6 and decided the Copa de Oro Rio Uruguay Seguros TC for himself. He finished second in the Turismo Carretera Argentina and seventh in the TC2000 Copa Endurance Series .
In 2010 he was already under contract as a regular driver for the newly registered US F1 team in Formula 1. After weeks of speculation about the failure of the US motorsport project, López finally dissolved his contract. US F1 never competed in a Formula 1 race. Instead, López continued to contest touring car and GT races. He finished sixth in the TC 2000, ninth in the TC2000 Copa Endurance Series, 22nd in the Top Race V6 in the Copa America and 36th in the Turismo Carretera Argentina. López also contested two races in the newly founded FIA GT1 World Championship .
In 2011 López got better overall placements again. In the TC 2000 he finished the championship with three wins in fifth place. He finished fourth in the Turismo Carretera Argentina and second in the Top Race V6.
In 2012 López won four TC-2000 races and won the championship for the third time. He was 23rd in the Turismo Carretera Argentina and 25th in the Top Race V6.
In 2013, López finished the TC 2000 with a victory in fifth place overall. He was more successful in the Top Race V6, in which he was runner-up. In the Turismo Carretera Argentina, he reached ninth place overall. In addition, López made his debut for Wiechers-Sport in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2013 . He took part in the Argentine races in Río Hondo in a BMW 320 TC . After a fifth place in the first run, he won the second. In the world championship he reached 15th place.
WTCC (2014-2016)
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Due to the strong debut, López was given the opportunity to test the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC at the end of 2013 . It was then presented as one of three regular factory drivers from Citroën Total WTCC for the 2014 World Touring Car Championship . At the season opener in Marrakech he scored the first WTCC victory for Citroën, starting from pole position . He achieved further victories in Le Castellet , Salzburg , Wolokolamsk and Spa-Francorchamps . At his home event in Río Hondo, he won both races. More victories followed in Shanghai , Suzuka and Macau . López won the world championship prematurely. He achieved ten wins, 17 podiums and seven pole positions in 23 races. He only dropped out in one race and otherwise always made it into the top 6. At the end of the season, with 462 points, he was over 100 points ahead of his teammate Yvan Muller , who finished second with 336 points.
In 2015 López competed again for Citroën in the World Touring Car Championship. He won the first race at the first four events in Río Hondo, Marrakech, Mogyoród and at the Nürburgring . More victories followed in Le Castellet , Vila Real , Suzuka, Shanghai, Buriram and Doha . López defended his world title. At the end of the season he was 475 to 357 points ahead of his first pursuer, his teammate Muller. He also took part in a Stock Car Brasil race as a guest starter.
The World Touring Car Championship in 2016 denied López for Citroën, inserting the only two works cars for him and Muller. López won a race in Le Castellet, Orechová Potôň , Mogyoród, Marrakech, Río Hondo and Shanghai and both races at the Nürburgring. He won the world championship again prematurely. With 381 to 257 points, he prevailed against Muller.
FIA Formula E Championship (since 2016/17)
After three world championship titles in a row, López left touring car racing and returned to formula racing. For the FIA Formula E Championship 2016/17 he switched to the FIA Formula E Championship and received a cockpit with the DS Virgin Racing Formula E Team, which is supported by Citroën . For his debut race, the Hong Kong ePrix , he qualified for third place. In the race he was eliminated. At the next race in Marrakech , Buenos Aires and Mexico City there were arrivals within the top 10, two sixth places and one tenth place. At the sixth round of the World Championship, the Paris ePrix , López achieved his first podium finish in Formula E with a second place. Jose Maria López suspended both races in New York because of a participation in the WEC . He was represented by Alex Lynn . For the last two races in Montreal he got back into the Formula E cockpit. He did not finish the first of the two races there, and in the second race he achieved his second podium finish of the season with a third place. In the overall standings, he finished ninth with 65 points.
His contract with DS Virgin, which expired at the end of the 2016/17 season, was not renewed. For the third race of the 2017/18 season in Marrakech , López was signed by Dragon Racing to replace Neel Jani . In this race he scored eight points thanks to a sixth place. During the season, he achieved two other top ten finishes. At the end of the season, López finished 17th overall.
López also competed for Dragon again in 2018/19 . With three points, he finished 21st in the drivers' championship at the end of the season.
statistics
Career stations
|
|
|
Individual results in the GP2 series
| year | team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23 | Points | rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | DAMS |
 ITA
|
 ESP
|
 MON
|
 GER
|
 FRA
|
 GBR
|
GER
|
 HUN
|
 DOOR
|
ITA
|
 BEL
|
 BRN
|
36 | 9. | |||||||||||
| 2 | 11 | 6th | 1 | DNF | 13 | 14th | 2 | DNF | 9 | DNF | 13 | 10 | DNF | DNF | 6th | 7th | DNF | DNF | 10 | 8th | 4th | 4th | ||||
| 2006 | Super Nova Racing |
ESP
|
ITA
|
GER
|
ESP
|
MON
|
GBR
|
FRA
|
GER
|
HUN
|
DOOR
|
ITA
|
30th | 10. | ||||||||||||
| 5 | DNF | DNF | DNF | 4th | 3 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | 14th | 3 | DNF | 7th | 2 | 8th | DNF | 9 | 11 | DNF | DNF | ||||||
Individual results in the FIA Formula E Championship
| year | team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | Points | rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016/17 | DS Virgin Racing Formula E Team |
 HKG
|
 MAR
|
 BUE
|
 MEX
|
MON
|
PAR
|
BER
|
 NYC
|
 MTR
|
65 | 9. | |||||||
| DNF ° | 10 | 10 | 6th | DNF | 2 | 4th | 5 | DNF | 3 | ||||||||||
| 2017/18 | Dragon Racing |
HKG
|
MAR
|
 SAN
|
MEX
|
 PUN
|
ROME
|
PAR
|
BER
|
 ZUR
|
NYC
|
14th | 17th | ||||||
| 6th | DNF ° | 12 | 8th | 17 * | 10 | 18th | 12 | DNF | DNF | ||||||||||
| 2018/19 | Geox Dragon |
 TO YOU
|
MAR
|
SAN
|
MEX
|
HKG
|
 SAY
|
ROME
|
PAR
|
MCO
|
BER
|
BRN
|
NYC
|
3 | 21st | ||||
| DNF | 11 | 9 | 17th | 11 | DNF | 16 | 13 | 10 ° | 20th | DSQ | 12 | DNF | |||||||
( Legend )
Le Mans results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
 Toyota Gazoo Racing
|
Toyota TS050 Hybrid |
Nicolas Lapierre
|
Yūji Kunimoto
|
failure | accident |
| 2018 |
Toyota Gazoo Racing
|
Toyota TS050 Hybrid |
Mike Conway
|
Kamui Kobayashi
|
Rank 2 | |
| 2019 |
Toyota Gazoo Racing
|
Toyota TS050 Hybrid |
Mike Conway
|
Kamui Kobayashi
|
Rank 2 |
Sebring results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 |
Corsa White Lightning
|
Ferrari F430 GT |
Maurizio Mediani
|
 Rui Águas
|
failure | Wagon fire |
Individual results in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
| year | team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23 | 24 | Points | rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Wiechers Sport |
ITA
|
MAR
|
 SLK
|
HUN
|
 AUT
|
 RUS
|
POR
|
ARG
|
United States
|
JPN
|
CHN
|
 MAC
|
35 | 15th | ||||||||||||
| 5 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Citroën Total WTCC |
MAR
|
FRA
|
HUN
|
SLK
|
AUT
|
RUS
|
BEL
|
ARG
|
CHN
|
CHN
|
JPN
|
MAC
|
462 | 1. | ||||||||||||
| 1 1 | 2 | 4th | 1 | 2 2 | 6th | 2 1 | C. | 3 5 | 1 | 1 1 | DNF | 2 3 | 1 | 1 1 | 1 | 3 4 | 4th | 1 1 | 3 | 1 1 | 6th | 1 1 | 5 | ||||
| 2015 | Citroën Total WTCC |
ARG
|
MAR
|
HUN
|
GER
|
RUS
|
SLK
|
FRA
|
PRT
|
JPN
|
CHN
|
 THA
|
 QAT
|
475 | 1. | ||||||||||||
| 1 1 | 2 | 1 1 | 3 | 1 3 | 6th | 1 1 | 2 | 2 2 | 12 | 2 2 | 2 | 3 3 | 1 | 1 1 | 5 | 1 2 | DNF | 1 1 | 3 | 1 1 | 3 | 1 1 | 8th | ||||
| 2016 | Citroën Total WTCC |
FRA
|
SLK
|
HUN
|
MAR
|
GER
|
RUS
|
PRT
|
ARG
|
JPN
|
CHN
|
QAT
|
381 | 1. | |||||||||||||
| 6th | 1 1 | 5 | 1 3 | 13 | 1 1 | 2 | 1 1 | 1 | 1 1 | 5 | 8th | 5 | 5 5 | 5 | 1 1 | 4th | 2 1 | 4th | 1 1 | 9 | 3 3 | ||||||
- Legend
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| colour | abbreviation | meaning |
| gold | - | victory |
| silver | - | 2nd place |
| bronze | - | 3rd place |
| green | - | Placement in the points |
| blue | - | Classified outside the point ranks |
| violet | DNF | Race not finished (did not finish) |
| NC | not classified | |
| red | DNQ | did not qualify |
| DNPQ | failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify) | |
| black | DSQ | disqualified |
| White | DNS | not at the start (did not start) |
| WD | withdrawn | |
| Light Blue | PO | only participated in the training (practiced only) |
| TD | Friday test driver | |
| without | DNP | did not participate in the training (did not practice) |
| INJ | injured or sick | |
| EX | excluded | |
| DNA | did not arrive | |
| C. | Race canceled | |
| no participation in the World Cup | ||
| other | P / bold | Pole position |
| SR / italic | Fastest race lap | |
| * | not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered |
|
| () | Streak results | |
| underlined | Leader in the overall standings | |
- 1 : first in qualifying, 2 : second in qualifying, ...
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Barcelona Training: Klien faster than teammate Webber in test drives" (News.at on December 3, 2003)
- ↑ "US F1 confirms first pilot: López is coming" (Motorsport-Total.com on January 26, 2010)
- ↑ "López terminates contract with US F1" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 2, 2010)
- ↑ Philipp Schajer: “WTCC - Ex-USF1 pilot starts in Argentina”. Castling at Wiechers. Motorsport-Magazin.com, July 26, 2013, accessed August 4, 2013 .
- ↑ Stefan Ziegler: "Citroen reveals the secret: third driver introduced". Motorsport-Total.com, December 16, 2013, accessed December 16, 2013 .
- ↑ Manuel Schulz: WTCC - Citroen extended with Loeb, Lopez and Muller. You don't change a winning team. Motorsport-Magazin.com, November 15, 2014, accessed February 28, 2015 .
- ↑ Markus Lüttgens: WTCC Champion Jose-Maria Lopez switches to Formula E. Motorsport-Total.com, July 7, 2016, accessed on July 7, 2016 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | López, José María |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Argentine racing car driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 26, 1983 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Río Tercero , Argentina |