Martin Donnelly (racing driver)

Martin Donnelly

Born	26 March 1964 (1964-03-26) (age 47)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1989 - 1990
Teams	Arrows, Lotus
Races	15 (13 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1989 French Grand Prix
Last race	1990 Spanish Grand Prix

Hugh Peter Martin Donnelly (born in Belfast, 26 March 1964), is a former motor racing driver from Northern Ireland. After competing in Formula 3 and Formula 3000 where he won 3 races and was a championship contender, Donnelly raced in Formula One in 1989 and 1990, until a serious crash during qualifying at the Jerez circuit ended his Formula One career.

Racing career

Formula One

During 1988, as well as his racing commitments, Donnelly was the test driver for Lotus Formula One team. But it was during 1989 that Donnelly got his first race start when he substituted for Arrows driver Derek Warwick at the 1989 French Grand Prix after Warwick injured his back in a non-competitive karting accident. He impressed in France qualifying 14th compared to his much more experienced team mate Eddie Cheever who started 25th on the grid. Donnelly finished his first F1 race 3 laps down in 12th place and was the last car running to finish while Cheever's experience told and he had a better race finishing only 1 lap down in 7th place.

In 1990 he continued in F1 with Lotus though this time not as a test driver but as a race driver alongside new team mate Derek Warwick. However, after a frustrating season of scoring no points driving the V12 powered Lotus-Lamborghini which often saw him retire with engine failure, he suffered a serious crash during qualifying at the Jerez circuit which ended his Formula One racing career. He sustained multiple injuries in the crash, in which he was ejected from his car on to the track, with his seat still attached to his back.

After Formula One

Donnelly has since managed to race in smaller club events, and managed a Formula Vauxhall team.

In 2004, Donnelly raced a Mazda RX-8 in a Britsports 24hr race at Silverstone and finished in 27th place. 2006 saw Donnelly return to Lotus, participating in a track day sponsored by a Lotus owner's club.

In September 2007, Donnelly beat 35 other Lotus Elises to win Class A in the Donington Park round of the Elise Trophy. This class win was closely followed by the race win in the 2nd Elise Trophy race of the day. Later in the season he raced at Spa-Francorchamps and in 2008, campaigned and won races outright in a Lotus 2-Eleven.

In June 2010, Martin Donnelly drove as a guest in the Ginetta G50 Cup at Oulton Park.

On July 2, 2011 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Donnelly drove a Lotus 102 similar to that which nearly took his life. The Lamborghini-powered car was the same specification as the car he drove in 1990, the original car having been completely destroyed in the crash.

He has been appointed as the driver representative on the FIA stewards panel for the 2011 Korean Grand Prix.

Having worked as sporting director and driver development manager at Comtec Racing, Donnelly has recently formed the Donnelly track academy specialising in Lotus trackday events and racing services in Norfolk.^[1]

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(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	11	DC	Points
1988	Jordan Racing	JER	VAL	PAU	SIL	MNZ	PER	BRH 1	BIR 2	BUG 2	ZOL Ret	DIJ 1	3rd	30
1989	Jordan Racing	SIL Ret	VAL DSQ	PAU Ret	JER Ret	PER Ret	BRH 1	BIR 3	SPA Ret	BUG 7	DIJ 17		8th	13

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Pts.
1989	Arrows Grand Prix International	Arrows A11	Ford V8	BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	USA	CAN	FRA 12	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	NC	0
1990	Camel Team Lotus	Lotus 102	Lamborghini V12	USA DNS	BRA Ret	SMR 8	MON Ret	CAN Ret	MEX 8	FRA 12	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN 7	BEL 12	ITA Ret	POR Ret	ESP DNS	JPN	AUS	NC	0

References

1. ^ "About Martin Donnelly". Donnelly Track Academy. http://www.donnellytrackacademy.com/about-martin.php?readmore=1. Retrieved 26 April 2011. 

External links

• Martin Donnelly biography

Sporting positions
Preceded by Andy Wallace	Macau Grand Prix Winner 1987	Succeeded by Enrico Bertaggia

Persondata
Name	Donnelly, Martin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 March 1964
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death