Ricardo Zonta
Born | Ricardo Luiz Zonta 23 March 1976 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Formula One World Championship career | |||||||||||
Nationality | Brazilian | ||||||||||
Active years | 1999–2001, 2004–2005 | ||||||||||
Teams | BAR, Jordan, Toyota | ||||||||||
Entries | 38 (36 starts) | ||||||||||
Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
Wins | 0 | ||||||||||
Podiums | 0 | ||||||||||
Career points | 3 | ||||||||||
Pole positions | 0 | ||||||||||
Fastest laps | 0 | ||||||||||
First entry | 1999 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last entry | 2005 United States Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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Ricardo Luiz Zonta (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiˈkaʁdu luˈiz ˈzõtɐ]; born March 23, 1976) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 10 Toyota Corolla E210 for RCM Motorsport.
Early career
[edit]Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Zonta began karting in 1987, winning his first race shortly thereafter. The following year, he was runner-up for the Curitiba Karting Championship, and in 1991, he won the title. He continued karting until 1992, finishing fourth in the São Paulo Karting Championship before progressing to single-seaters for 1993. He finished 6th in the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship, and then in 1994, came fifth in the Brazilian Formula Three Championship. A year later, Zonta won both the Brazilian and South American Formula Three Championships.
Moving to Europe in 1996, Zonta competed in the International Formula 3000 Championship for Draco Racing, winning two races and finishing fourth overall. In the same year, he became the first Brazilian to compete in International Touring Cars, with Mercedes. In 1997, he won three races and the Formula 3000 championship. He also took home the "Golden Helmet" award for best international driver for his efforts. The Jordan Formula One team signed him as their official test driver following his championship, and in 1998, he was signed by McLaren boss Ron Dennis. Zonta tested with the McLaren Formula One team in 1998, and concurrently won the FIA GT Championship (GT1 class) and the "Golden Helmet" award in the "world prominence" category.
In October 1998, immediately after winning the FIA GT championship, Zonta signed up with the B.A.R. Formula One racing team as one of its race drivers for the 1999 season,[1][2] after rejecting offers from Jordan and Sauber.[3]
Formula One career
[edit]In 1999, Zonta started as a Formula One racing driver alongside 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve at new team BAR. He injured his foot in an accident during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, and was forced to miss three races. He also had a large accident at Spa-Francorchamps, and finished the season with no championship points. Zonta remained with BAR for the 2000 season, scoring his first world championship point with a sixth place in the opening race. He had another large accident when his front suspension broke during testing at Silverstone, but continued the season, scoring points in both the Italian and United States Grands Prix, to finish 14th in the championship. Replaced by Olivier Panis for the 2001 season, Zonta became the third driver for the Jordan team, replacing the injured Heinz-Harald Frentzen for one race, and then again when Frentzen was sacked, but was overlooked to replace him for the remainder of the season.
In 2002, he decided to focus on the Telefónica World Series, which he won.[4] Zonta was then hired as test driver for the Toyota F1 team in 2003, retaining the position in 2004. Toward the end of the season, the team sacked Cristiano da Matta from a race seat, and Zonta drove in four Grands Prix. In Belgium, he was running in fourth place three laps from the finish when his engine failed. In Suzuka the team hired Jarno Trulli and Zonta had to sit the event out, but the team allowed him to compete in his home race, the Brazilian Grand Prix, which he finished in 13th. He continued as a test driver for Toyota in 2005, alongside veteran French pilot Olivier Panis. At the US Grand Prix later that year, he stood in for the injured Ralf Schumacher and took his place on the grid, only for Toyota, like the other six Michelin-shod teams, to withdraw from the race due to safety concerns. 2006 saw Zonta continue with Toyota as the team's third and test driver. He was confirmed as test driver for the Renault Formula One team for the 2007 season on 6 September 2006.[5]
After Formula One
[edit]In 2007, Zonta entered the Stock Car Brasil series in parallel with the work for the Renault team.[6] In 2008, he contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Peugeot Sport, driving the #9 car alongside Franck Montagny and Formula One tester Christian Klien.
He is also driving in the Grand Am Championship in America with Krohn Racing, while also being the team owner and driver of RZ Motorsport in Stock Car Brasil.[citation needed]
Personal life
[edit]Two of Zonta's relatives, Billy and Brendon, are also racing drivers. Billy used to compete in the Sprint Race series until he was forced to retire in 2016 after being diagnosed with cancer. Brendon is currently active in Sprint Race's continuation series NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, driving the No. 7 Ford Mustang in the AM class.[7][8]
Racing career
[edit]Complete International Formula 3000 results
[edit](key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Draco Engineering | NÜR Ret |
PAU 3 |
PER Ret |
HOC 6 |
SIL 3 |
SPA 9 |
MAG Ret |
EST 1 |
MUG 1 |
HOC 11 |
4th | 27 |
1997 | Super Nova Racing | SIL DSQ |
PAU Ret |
HEL Ret |
NÜR 1 |
PER 2 |
HOC 1 |
A1R 2 |
SPA 5 |
MUG 1 |
JER Ret |
1st | 39 |
Complete International Touring Car Championship results
[edit](key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | Pos. | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Warsteiner Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes C-Class V6 | HOC 1 |
HOC 2 |
NÜR 1 |
NÜR 2 |
EST 1 |
EST 2 |
HEL 1 |
HEL 2 |
NOR 1 |
NOR 2 |
DIE 1 |
DIE 2 |
SIL 1 |
SIL 2 |
NÜR 1 Ret |
NÜR 2 13 |
MAG 1 |
MAG 2 |
MUG 1 |
MUG 2 |
HOC 1 |
HOC 2 |
INT 1 |
INT 2 |
SUZ 1 |
SUZ 2 |
29th | 0 |
Source:[9]
|
24 Hours of Le Mans results
[edit]Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | AMG-Mercedes | Jean-Marc Gounon Christophe Bouchut |
Mercedes-Benz CLK LM | GT1 | 31 | DNF | DNF |
2008 | Peugeot Sport Total | Franck Montagny Christian Klien |
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP | LMP1 | 379 | 3rd | 3rd |
Complete Formula One results
[edit](key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | British American Racing | BAR 01 | Supertec V10 | AUS Ret |
BRA DNQ |
SMR | MON | ESP | CAN Ret |
FRA 9 |
GBR Ret |
AUT 15† |
GER Ret |
HUN 13 |
BEL Ret |
ITA Ret |
EUR 8 |
MAL Ret |
JPN 12 |
NC | 0 | |||
2000 | Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda | BAR 002 | Honda V10 | AUS 6 |
BRA 9 |
SMR 12 |
GBR Ret |
ESP 8 |
EUR Ret |
MON Ret |
CAN 8 |
FRA Ret |
AUT Ret |
GER Ret |
HUN 14 |
BEL 12 |
ITA 6 |
USA 6 |
JPN 9 |
MAL Ret |
14th | 3 | ||
2001 | B&H Jordan Honda | Jordan EJ11 | Honda V10 | AUS | MAL | BRA | SMR | ESP | AUT | MON | CAN 7 |
EUR | FRA | GBR | GER Ret |
HUN | BEL | ITA | USA | JPN | 19th | 0 | ||
2004 | Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF104 | Toyota V10 | AUS TD |
MAL TD |
BHR TD |
SMR TD |
ESP TD |
MON TD |
EUR TD |
CAN TD |
USA TD |
FRA TD |
GBR TD |
GER TD |
22nd | 0 | |||||||
Toyota TF104B | HUN Ret |
BEL 10† |
ITA 11 |
CHN Ret |
JPN | BRA 13 |
||||||||||||||||||
2005 | Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF105 | Toyota V10 | AUS TD |
MAL TD |
BHR TD |
SMR TD |
ESP TD |
MON TD |
EUR TD |
CAN TD |
USA DNS |
FRA | GBR TD |
GER TD |
HUN TD |
TUR TD |
ITA TD |
BEL TD |
BRA TD |
JPN TD |
CHN TD |
NC | 0 |
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete Stock Car Pro Series results
[edit]† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
FIA GT Championship results
[edit]Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | AMG Mercedes | GT1 | Mercedes-Benz CLK LM | Mercedes-Benz M119 6.0L V8 | OSC 1 |
SIL 4 |
HOC 2 |
DIJ 1 |
HUN 2 |
SUZ 2 |
DON 2 |
A1R 1 |
HMS 1 |
LAG 1 |
1st | 77 |
GT1 World Championship results
[edit]Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Reiter | Lamborghini | ABU QR 10 |
ABU CR 5 |
SIL QR |
SIL CR |
BRN QR |
BRN CR |
PRI QR 13 |
PRI CR 10 |
SPA QR 2 |
SPA CR 1 |
NÜR QR 4 |
NÜR CR 14 |
ALG QR |
ALG CR |
NAV QR 1 |
NAV CR 1 |
INT QR Ret |
INT CR Ret |
SAN QR |
SAN CR |
8th | 75 |
2011 | Sumo Power GT | Nissan | ABU QR 4 |
ABU CR Ret |
ZOL QR 12 |
ZOL CR Ret |
ALG QR 8 |
ALG CR 7 |
SAC QR |
SAC CR |
SIL QR |
SIL CR |
NAV QR |
NAV CR |
PRI QR |
PRI CR |
ORD QR |
ORD CR |
BEI QR |
BEI CR |
SAN QR |
SAN CR |
28th | 9 |
FIA GT Series results
[edit]Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | BMW Sport Trophy Team Brasil | BMW Z4 GT3 | Pro | NOG QR 6 |
NOG CR 9 |
ZOL QR 11 |
ZOL CR 8 |
ZAN QR 9 |
ZAN CR 5 |
SVK QR 7 |
SVK CR 4 |
NAV QR |
NAV CR |
BAK QR 14 |
BAK CR Ret |
15th | 29 |
References
[edit]- ^ [1][permanent dead link ]
- ^ [2][permanent dead link ]
- ^ [3][permanent dead link ]
- ^ "2002 Telefonica Super Nissan V6 World Series | Motorsport Database". Motor Sport. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
- ^ Grandprix.com article, retrieved September 6, 2006
- ^ Gazeta do Povo, retrieved April 3, 2007
- ^ "NASCAR Brasil: Saiba quem é quem na categoria que inicia temporada 2023 no fim de semana em Goiânia" [NASCAR Brazil: Find out who's who in the category that starts the 2023 season this weekend in Goiânia]. motorsport.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Motorsport.com. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ "NASCAR Brasil: Brendon Zonta fala de "orgulho" de tio Ricardo e história curiosa sobre nomes na família" [NASCAR Brasil: Brendon Zonta talks about “pride” of Uncle Ricardo and curious story about names in the family]. motorsport.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Motorsport.com. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
TouringCarsResults
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Ricardo Zonta career summary at DriverDB.com
- 1976 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Curitiba
- Brazilian racing drivers
- Brazilian Formula One drivers
- Brazilian expatriates in Monaco
- Brazilian expatriates in the United States
- International Formula 3000 Champions
- International Formula 3000 drivers
- Formula 3 Sudamericana drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- Stock Car Brasil drivers
- FIA GT Championship drivers
- BAR Formula One drivers
- Jordan Formula One drivers
- Toyota Formula One drivers
- 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
- FIA GT1 World Championship drivers
- Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
- Porsche Supercup drivers
- TC 2000 Championship drivers
- Brazilian Formula Three Championship drivers
- Súper TC 2000 drivers
- Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers
- Super Nova Racing drivers
- Peugeot Sport drivers
- Draco Racing drivers