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Valentin Hasse-Clot (born 26 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in the European Le Mans Series.
Career
Early career
Hasse-Clot's motorsport career began at the age of six, where he competed on his family's karting track in Vaudoy-en-Brie.[1] He graduated to local karting competitions in 2009, receiving mentorship from Henri Pescarolo, and continued into national karting competitions through 2013.[1]
In 2014, Hasse-Clot graduated to single-seaters, taking part in the 2014 French F4 Championship.[2] In his opening season of formula racing, he claimed two podium finishes – at Magny-Cours and Nogaro – en route to a tenth-place finish in the championship. At the end of the season, Hasse-Clot was quoted as saying that he aimed to step up to Formula Renault 2.0 competition for 2015.[3]
Single-seaters
Hasse-Clot graduated to Formula Renault competition in 2015, beginning the season with Strakka Racing in both the Eurocup and Northern European Cup competitions. After claiming a podium in the opening NEC round at Monza, Hasse-Clot was left without a ride following Strakka placing their Formula Renault 2.0 program on hold for the year.[4] He continued in Eurocup with ManorMP Motorsport at Spa and the Hungaroring,[5] before switching again to Fortec Motorsport to complete the season.[6] Hasse-Clot had tested with Fortec prior to the 2015 season, but joined Strakka due to a lack of available seats at Fortec.[6] Through the 17-race season, Hasse-Clot earned a best finish of ninth, scoring just two championship points.[7]
In 2016, Hasse-Clot returned to Formula 4 competition, taking part in the Italian F4 Championship with Kiteviola Motorsport. However, he would only take part in the first two rounds at Misano and Adria, finishing as high as fifth. Following his campaign, Hasse-Clot stated that he realized he wouldn't have the budget to continue to progress through the single-seater ladder, leading him to pursue a career in sports car racing.[8]
Sports car racing
During 2016, Hasse-Clot made his endurance racing debut, competing in the Spa 24 Hours for Saintéloc Racing.[1] He drove in the Am class alongside Michael Blanchemain, Jean-Paul Buffin, and Gilles Lallemant, finishing 51st overall. At the end of the year, he took part in a shootout-style competition at Circuit Paul Ricard, looking to earn a €30,000 scholarship and support for the 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup France season. At the end of the weekend, Hasse-Clot was named Espoir Porsche Carrera Cup France, earning support from a local Porsche dealership alongside tires and a cash bonus for the coming season.[9]
For 2017, Hasse-Clot joined Sébastien Loeb Racing, taking part in a full-season campaign with the team.[1] His immediate goal was to graduate through the Porsche pyramid, and he aimed to work towards a ride in the Porsche Supercup in 2018.[10] In his opening season of Porsche Cup competition, Hasse-Clot claimed a sole race victory at Barcelona,[11] finishing fifth in the championship and claiming Rookie of the Year honors.[12] Hasse-Clot returned to the team in 2018, joined by teammate Jérémy Sarhy.[13] The season proved a pivotal one for Hasse-Clot, as he stated that his budget would likely prevent him from funding a 2019 campaign if he didn't receive financial support.[8] Despite a difficult start to the season, Hasse-Clot rebounded to finish fifth in the drivers championship.[8] Later in the season, he took part in a one-off weekend in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, driving for Motorbase Performance.[14]
Aston Martin Racing
In 2019, Hasse-Clot began competing in Aston Martin machinery, beginning with a part-time program in the ADAC GT Masters, driving for PROpeak Performance.[15] After only competing in the first two race weekends of the season, Hasse-Clot made his British GT Championship debut later in the year, driving for the Beechdean AMR team.[16]
He returned to a full-time program the following year, lining up for Garage 59 in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and AGS Events in the GT4 European Series.[17] In the former series, Hasse-Clot and co-drivers Andrew Watson and James Pull claimed a Silver Cup class victory at the Nürburgring, as Hasse-Clot and Watson finished fourth in the class championship. In GT4, Hasse-Clot and Théo Nouet claimed four class and two overall victories, taking the Silver Cup title at season's end.[18] At the end of the 2020 season, Hasse-Clot was named as a graduate from the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy, receiving both career and financial assistance from the Aston Martin factory throughout the 2021 season.[19] The first non-British driver to obtain the accolade,[20] Hasse-Clot stated that it was his goal from day one to progress through the ranks within the manufacturer's programs.[21]
Hasse-Clot began the 2021 season with a drive in the Asian Le Mans Series, where he claimed a sole podium alongside Maxime Martin and Alexander West, finishing fifth in the GT class championship. He also continued full-time in GT World Challenge, driving again for Garage 59.[22] Hasse-Clot's entry scored a class pole at Paul Ricard[23] and a podium at Spa, but finished 14th in the Silver Cup. He also competed full-time in the FFSA GT Championship, winning the Silver title alongside Romain Leroux.[24]
Ahead of the 2022 season, Hasse-Clot officially became an Aston Martin factory driver,[25] becoming the first French driver to race in a factory role for the brand since Frédéric Makowiecki in 2013.[12] In line with his factory duties, Hasse-Clot lined up for the brand's customers throughout the season, beginning with a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drive with Beechdean AMR alongside Nouet and Andrew Howard.[26] However, Hasse-Clot would only participate in the first two races, shifting focus towards the Le Mans Cup, where he claimed two podiums in four races alongside co-driver Stephen Pattrick. He also returned to the FFSA GT Championship, claiming four podiums in ten races for Mirage Racing.
In 2023, Hasse-Clot made his LM GTE debut, taking part in the full European Le Mans Series season for TF Sport, joining brothers Arnold and Maxime Robin.[27][28] Later that season, the trio competed in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans, marking Hasse-Clot's long-awaited debut in the race, 19 years after he first attended it as a spectator.[29] However, the team wouldn't finish the race, retiring after 58 laps due to an accident. Hasse-Clot continued to pair full-time with Arnold Robin in the Le Mans Cup, driving for reigning LMP3-class champions Racing Spirit of Léman. The duo claimed a GT3-class victory at Barcelona, adding four additional podiums during the season en route to the series title.[30]
Hasse-Clot also competed part time in the GT World Challenge America, deputizing for Ross Gunn in TRG-AMR's Pro-Am entry.[31] In his first weekend of competition at NOLA Motorsports Park, Hasse-Clot claimed a maiden pole position[32] and two class podiums alongside co-driver Derek DeBoer. Despite missing four of the 13 total races, Hasse-Clot finished fifth in the Pro-Am championship, while DeBoer took third.
^Khorounzhiy, Valentin (9 November 2014). "2014 French F4 season review". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2 July 2023. Hasse-Clot has mentioned he could return to F4 for another year, but would prefer a step up to FR2.0.
^David, Gruz (7 November 2015). "2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season review". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2 July 2023. Valentin Hasse-Clot... raced for more teams than he scored points, with the second switch yielding his best finish of ninth.
^Goodwin, Graham (3 October 2021). "Thomas Drouet Takes FFSA GT4 Pro-Am Title". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 3 July 2023. The young 22-year-old from Toulouse joined Romain Leroux and Valentin Hasse-Clot... already crowned on Saturday in Silver Cup...
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