The career of José Maria Lopez in ten photos

Jose Maria Lopez (nicknamed “Pechito.” in the paddocks) has had an unusual career in motorsport. The Argentinian, who celebrates his 35th birthday on Thursday, seemed to be on the royal road to access the F1 before suddenly returning to national competitions, then returning to the forefront of the world stage in Tourism. In 2018, José Maria Lopez focuses on disciplines as varied as Formula e and the World ChampionshipEndurance (WEC).

Formulas Renault Eurocup

José Maria Lopez began to distinguish himself in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2002. He managed to finish just off the podium while only competing in 60% of the championship. His potential caught the eye of Flavio Briatore, who hired him via Renault Driver Development (RDD).

Formula Renault V6

The Argentinian moved in 2003 to what would later become Formula Renault 3.5 with Dams. With five victories under his belt within Jean-Paul Driot's team, José Maria Lopez won the title as well as three days of private testing with the Renault F1 Team.

F3000

For the last year of the F3000, José Maria Lopez collected two podiums as well as a 6th place in the final with CMS Performance.

GP2

There are two more years left in the antechamber of F1. In 2005, back in the colors of Dams, the Argentinian fell slightly (9th) despite a victory for Barcelona (Spain), ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr and Scott Speed.

In 2006, José Maria Lopez spent his last year as the fourth Renault F1 driver. Things are not getting better, with a 10th final position and three podiums with Supernova. At the end of the year, Renault withdrew its support, which forced the driver to return home.

GT1

In Argentina, José Maria Lopez accumulates trophies: two titles in TC 2000, one in Super TC 2000 and another in Top Race V6, the different classes of Tourism in Argentina. He took advantage of the excursions of the FIA ​​GT, then FIA GT1 in 2008 and 2010 in Potrero de los Funes (Argentina) to measure himself against the world leaders (4th in 2008, 5th in 2010).

WTCC

Holder of an invitation to the Argentinian round of the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) in 2013 for the private team Wiechers-Sport, José Maria Lopez managed to make the old BMW 3 Series triumph. Impressed by his performance, Citroën is hiring him for its WTCC adventure from 2014. The Hispanic driver will be titled with three races in advance!

Rebelote in 2015. Facing great clients like Yvan Muller and Sébastien Loeb, “Pechito” asserts himself as the best Touring driver. At the end of 2016, after his third crown in a row, José Maria Lopez had a whopping 28 victories

Formula e

Premium branch of Citroën, DS is strengthening its presence in Formula e and has decided to draw on the internal workforce by placing José Maria Lopez in a DS Virgin Racing for the 2016-17 season. Despite two podiums, he was replaced by Alex Lynn the following season. However, he found refuge at Dragon Racing after the departure of Neel Jani and was in 2018th place overall before the 15 Paris ePrix.

Endurance

José Maria Lopez always had the dream of participating in 24 Hours of Le Mans. A wish granted thanks to a contract with the Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2017. On the Toyota TS050 Hybrid, the Argentinian made a few errors due to inexperience in traffic management (6th in the WEC). It is kept for the 2018-19 Super-Season alongside Mike conway et Kamui Kobayashi.