12 LAURENT AIELLO

CHAMPION:1999

Following his learning process in junior single-seaters, Laurent Aiello’s name was up in lights as a real prospect when he claimed the 1990 Monaco F3 race, one of the jewels in the category’s crown.

Naturally, he stepped up to F3000 for 1991 but, as happened to so many racers, he was in the right category at the right time but in the wrong car. The Lola he was using wasn’t competitive and he struggled, but did manage to outshine his team-mate Allan Mcnish.

A switch to a Reynard chassis and the Pacific Racing team for 1992 didn’t see the step up in performance he was expecting.

Rescue came from ORECA, which placed the Parisian in a Peugeot in the French Supertourisme category, which he claimed, and he also took the two-litre title in Germany in the Peugeot 406.

There were outings at Le Mans too, including a win with Porsche in the GT1-98 alongside Mcnish and Stephane Ortelli in 1998.

Aiello’s appearance in the BTCC was notable for being as successful as it was brief. As soon as he had arrived in the UK, learned the tracks, dominated the opposition, he disappeared after a tempting offer from Audi to join the burgeoning DTM. It took him only two years to conquer that series too and he was also a part of Audi’s all-conquering team at Le Mans, finishing second twice in 2000 and 2001. He wasn’t for hanging about in the sport. He retired at the age of 36 in 2005.