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Luis Díaz (racing driver)

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Luis Díaz
NationalityMexico Mexican
Born (1977-12-01) 1 December 1977 (age 46)
Mexico City
American Le Mans Series career
Current teamLevel 5 Motorsports
Former teamsPR1/Mathiasen Motorsports
Alex Job Racing
Fernandez Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing
Walker Racing
Dorricott Racing
Previous series
Rolex Sports Car Series
Champ Car World Series
Atlantic Championship
Indy Lights
Championship titles
1998
2009
Formula Mexico
ALMS P2 Championship
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2012
TeamsUnited States Level 5 Motorsports

Luis Miguel "Chapulín" Díaz Castell (born 1 December 1977, in Mexico City) is a Mexican racing driver who competes in the American Le Mans Series for Level 5 Motorsports. He won the 2009 American Le Mans Series LMP2 class drivers championship alongside team owner Adrián Fernández, and was runner-up in the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Sports Car Series DP drivers championship. Díaz also has an extensive open-wheel racing background.

Early racing career

[edit]

Starting off in karting in 1989, Diaz was National Kart Champion in the A category and a two-time champion in the Super 100cc category. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1996 in Formula Reynard before moving up to Formula 3 International in 1997, where he was the highest-placed Mexican driver in the series that year.[1]

Diaz earned the Formula Mexico title in 1998, followed by a season in the Panamerican Indy Lights, where he was also Rookie of the Year and the first Mexican driver to win a race in that series.

Indy Lights

[edit]

Díaz made his Indy Lights debut in 1999, finishing 10th in his first race at Laguna Seca. One year later, he joined the GO-Quaker-Herdez team before transitioning to Roquin Motorsports in 2001, where he finished seventh in the championship with one podium and four top-five finishes to his credit.

Atlantic championship

[edit]

Diaz was hired by Dorricot Racing in 2002 and competed in his first Formula Atlantic season, finishing fourth in the championship with wins at Portland and Road America.

The following year, he won the season-opening round at Monterrey en route to an eighth-place finish in the end-of-year championship. Diaz was awarded the Gilles Villeneuve trophy for his achievements that year.

Champ Car

[edit]

Díaz made two Champ Car starts, both as a substitute driver at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City. He failed to finish both events.

Grand-Am

[edit]

Making his sports car racing debut in 2004, Diaz teamed with Jimmy Morales in a Lexus-Riley Daytona Prototype for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Rolex Sports Car Series.

In 2005, Diaz moved to the team’s No. 01 entry with Scott Pruett, earning three wins, eight podium finishes and four poles en route to a runner-up finish in the Daytona Prototype drivers championship. He repeated the feat again in 2006 and helped lead Ganassi to the teams championship.

American Le Mans Series

[edit]

Díaz made his American Le Mans Series debut in 2007, driving for Lowe’s Fernandez Racing in the LMP2 category with a Lola B06/43 Acura and later the Acura ARX-01a/b. He enjoyed a successful three-year stint with the team, culminating with the 2009 LMP2 Drivers Championship for he and Adrian Fernandez. That year, they scored nine wins out of ten races, with Diaz earning three class poles.

Following the demise of Fernandez Racing Diaz made a handful of starts for both Alex Job Racing and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports in 2010, reaching the podium four times and earning three class poles in the GTC and PC ranks.

The 2011 season saw Diaz join Level 5 Motorsports for its P2 program. He kicked off the season with a class win in the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring with Scott Tucker and Ryan Hunter-Reay before earning additional victories at Road America and Laguna Seca. Diaz remained at Level 5 Motorsports for 2012, earning the P2 victory at Laguna Seca in the team's HPD ARX-03b.[2]

In addition to his success on the track, Diaz is a two-time winner of the "Most Popular Driver" award.

24 Hours of Le Mans

[edit]

Diaz made his Le Mans debut in 2012, co-driving with Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut in Level 5 Motorsports’ LMP2-class HPD ARX-03b. The car failed to finish after running out of fuel on-track.[3]

Personal life

[edit]

Díaz enjoys karting, golf, tennis, fitness, and Mini-Z RC Car Racing.[4] His nickname is Chapulín (Grasshopper in English).[5]

Racing record

[edit]

Complete A1 Grand Prix 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 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points
2005–06 A1 Team Mexico GBR
SPR
GBR
FEA
GER
SPR
GER
FEA
POR
SPR
POR
FEA
AUS
SPR
AUS
FEA
MYS
SPR

19
MYS
FEA

15
UAE
SPR
UAE
FEA
RSA
SPR
RSA
FEA
IDN
SPR
IDN
FEA
MEX
SPR
MEX
FEA
USA
SPR
USA
FEA
CHN
SPR
CHN
FEA
10th 59

Complete American open-wheel racing results

[edit]

(key)

Indy Lights

[edit]
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
1999 Team Mexico Quaker Herdez MIA LBH NAZ MIL POR CLE TOR MIS DET CHI LS
10
FON 23rd 3
2000 Team Mexico Quaker Herdez LBH
12
MIL
10
DET
14
POR
8
MIS
12
CHI
6
MDO
16
VAN
12
LS
7
STL HOU
7
FON
15
13th 31
2001 Roquin Motorsports MTY
11
LBH
9
TXS
4
MIL
4
POR
9
KAN
7
TOR
5
MDO
11
STL
6
ATL
7
LS
3
FON
6
7th 88

Atlantic Championship

[edit]
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2002 Dorricott Racing MTY
5
LBH
10
MIL
9
LS
15
POR
1
CHI
6
TOR
Ret
CLE
3
TRR
6
ROA
1
MTL
6
DEN
6
4th 124
2003 Dorricott Racing MTY
10
LBH
6
MIL
Ret
LS
6
POR
9
CLE
Ret
TOR
9
TRR
6
MDO
7
MTL
11
DEN
8
MIA
9
8th 88

CART

[edit]
Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points
2002 Fernández Racing Lola B02/00 Honda HR-2 V8t MTY LBH MOT MIL LS POR CHI TOR CLE VAN MDO ROA MTL DEN ROC MIA SRF FON MXC
19
23rd 0
2003 Walker Racing Reynard 02i Ford XFE V8t STP MTY LBH BRH LAU MIL LS POR CLE TOR VAN ROA MDO MTL DEN MIA MXC
19
SRF FON 27th 0

Complete American Le Mans Series results

[edit]
Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine Tyres 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2007 Lowe's Fernández Racing LMP2 Lola B06/43 Acura 3.4L V8 M SEB
ovr:3
cls:2
STP
ovr:6
cls:4
LNB
ovr:8
cls:7
TEX
ovr:8
cls:7
UTA
ovr:7
cls:5
LIM
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
MID
ovr:4
cls:3
AME
ovr:8
cls:6
MOS
ovr:8
cls:6
DET
ovr:6
:cls:4
PET
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
MON
ovr:5
cls:3
11th 102
2008 Lowe's Fernandez Racing LMP2 Acura ARX-01b Acura 3.4L V8 M SEB
ovr:DSQ
cls:DSQ
STP
ovr:10
cls:7
LNB
ovr:8
cls:6
UTA
ovr:5
cls:5
LIM
ovr:5
cls:4
MID
ovr:5
cls:3
AME
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
MOS
ovr:4
cls:2
DET
ovr:23
cls:9
PET
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
MON
ovr:9
cls:7
12th 88
2009 Lowe's Fernández Racing LMP2 Acura ARX-01b Acura 3.4L V8 M SEB
ovr:4
cls:1
STP
ovr:2
cls:1
LNB
ovr:3
cls:1
UTA
ovr:3
cls:1
LIM
ovr:7
cls:2
MID
ovr:3
cls:1
AME
ovr:3
cls:1
MOS
ovr:3
cls:1
PET
ovr:21
cls:2
MON
ovr:2
cls:1
1st 217
2010 Alex Job Racing GTC Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 Y SEB
ovr:20
cls:3
LNB
ovr:28
cls:7
MON
ovr:20
cls:4
UTA
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
LIM 16th 42
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports LMPC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet 6.2L V8 M MID
ovr:5
cls:3
AME
ovr:6
cls:2
MOS
ovr:10
cls:5
PET
ovr:32
cls:3
9th 63
2011 Level 5 Motorsports LMP2 Lola B11/40 HPD HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 M SEB
ovr:20
cls:1
LNB
ovr:DNS
cls:DNS
LIM MOS MID AME
ovr:5
cls:1
BAL 2nd 78
HPD ARX-01g MON
ovr:4
cls:1
PET
ovr:38
cls:5
2012 Level 5 Motorsports P2 HPD ARX-03b Honda HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 D SEB
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
LNB
ovr:19
cls:3
MON
ovr:2
cls:1
LIM
ovr:WD
cls:WD
MOS
ovr:WD
cls:WD
MID AME
ovr:12
cls:4
BAL
ovr:2
cls:2
VIR
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
PET 4th* 51*
* Season still in progress.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

[edit]
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2012 United States Level 5 Motorsports United States Scott Tucker
France Christophe Bouchut
HPD ARX-03b LMP2 240 DNF DNF

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Luis "Chapulín" Díaz". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  2. ^ Dagys, John. "Muscle Milk Cruises To Victory In Monterey". Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  3. ^ Dagys, John. "Audi Sweeps Le Mans". Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  4. ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=350638031706757&set=a.332770080160219.66522.308536972583530&type=1&theater [user-generated source]
  5. ^ "Luis "Chapulín" Díaz". Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by ALMS
LMP2 Champion

2009 with:
Adrián Fernández
Succeeded by
Preceded by
None
Formula Mexico Champion
1998
Succeeded by
None