Stefan Van Damme

Stefan Van Damme, 1970

Malmedy, Belgium

**Stefan Van Damme** is a retired Belgian racing driver.

Initially hired by Lotus to step in after Alexander Wilson passed away in the Monaco Grand Prix, Van Damme quickly got to terms with the car and won the first two races of his Formula One career. He went on to win the 1972 Formula One Championship, despite having missed the first three races.

More success followed in the rest of the decade, with Van Damme winning three successive titles in 1975, 1976, and 1977. He won his record-breaking 5th Championship in 1981 after several disappointing years with Lotus, before moving to Ferrari for 1982. He remained at the Italian team until the end of 1984, before leaving Formula One to join Porsche for the 1985 World Sportscar Championship. After achieving success in endurance racing with Porsche he had a brief return to Formula One from 1988 to 1990 before retiring for good. His win at the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix made him the most successful Formula One driver of all time in terms of race wins. Van Damme opted to join CART after departing Formula One, and remained there until 1999 when he suffered a heavy crash in the 1999 US 500 at Michigan. He was critically injured in the crash and spent several years recovering from his injuries until returning to racing at the 2004 Goodwood Revival event.

## Early Years

Stefan was born on 5th July 1951 in the small town of Malmedy. He grew up on the family farm just outside out of the town. During WW2, the area was re-incorporated into Germany and Stefan's father was a part of a local resistance group against the Nazis.

## Racing Career

Stefan would learn how to drive on the country roads around his family farm and he often took part in fun races with friends in whatever cars they could find or 'borrow', often to the disapproval of the local police.

Van Damme began his official racing career in touring cars, before being invited to race for Porsche in the 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps at his local track. Despite promising pace, the engine failed on lap 59. He continued as a driver for Porsche before being called to race for Lotus in Formula One.

### **Lotus (1972 - 1981)**

#### **1972**

With the unexpected death of four-time champion Alexander Wilson at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, Lotus quickly tried to find a replacement driver. The team initially hired Van Damme on a temporary contract until the could find a permanent replacement, but Van Damme's pace in the car impressed Colin Chapman enough for him to offer the Belgian driver a permanent seat in the team.

Having only tested the Lotus 72D for a few days, Van Damme debuted at the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. He started the race from pole position and held off Jesse Masters to win his home race in his first race for Lotus.

In the next race at Brand's Hatch, Van Damme's engine failed during qualifying and he was forced to start from the back of the grid. After a lightning start he clawed his way up the pack before overtaking his teammate Gunnar Olander on the last lap to win his second race in a row.

Van Damme's form would continue through the rest of the 1972 season, finishing on the podium in every race and taking a further two wins at the Austrian and United States Grands Prix. He won the championship at the final race of the season after his nearest rival, Alex Robin Plunkett, was unable to attend the final two races of the season.

#### **1973**

After an incredible debut season in Formula One, Van Damme's 1973 season was plagued by reliability problems. Despite this, he would win two races and finish 4th in the championship.

#### **1974**

Van Damme's luck would improve for 1974 and he finished in 2nd in the championship, taking three wins throughout the season. McLaren's Jesse Masters would dominate the season in the superior M23 and this would be McLaren's first championship win.

#### **1975**

Due to his speed and feedback, Van Damme was hired by several teams before the season to test and finetune their cars.

He started off the season well, achieving a grand-slam in the Argentine Grand Prix and another win at the South African Grand Prix. After taking pole at the Spanish Grand Prix, he finished second in the race to Mick Ashcroft, who had been hired by Ferrari after scoring podiums in the first two races, despite driving for the backmarker team Williams. Ashcroft experienced a gearbox problem as the two drivers started the final lap and in a sign of sportsmanship, Van Damme let the Australian driver win the race. Ashcroft quickly emerged as Van Damme's main rival during the 1975 season.

Van Damme won a further four from the next five races to build a sizeable gap to Ashcroft in the championship. He missed the Italian Grand Prix at Monza due to taking part in the Talladega 500 as a wildcard entry. Needing just a podium finish in the Canadian Grand Prix to win the championship, he let his teammate Nathan Meiri through to the race lead, gifting the American driver his first race win and winning the championship in the process.

#### **1976 - 1977**

Van Damme's success continued in the 1976 season and he won three of the first four races of the season. Lotus' development of the 77 car decreased over the course of the year but Van Damme's consistent finishes in the points resulted in him winning his third championship.

Despite Lotus introducing the first car with ground effect, the revolutionary Lotus 78, the 1977 season was highly competitive. Van Damme won four races, with his main rival being Sterling Eldridge-Moffat and Van Damme's teammate Nathan Meiri. The championship fight lasted until the final race of the season, but Van Damme's victory in the United States GP resulted in him clinching his fourth championship.

#### **1978**

Lotus built on the success of the Lotus 78 and significantly improved the ground effect of their car for the 1978 season. The Lotus 79 was the class of the field at the start of the season and Van Damme took full advantage of this to take two dominant wins in the first two races of the new season.

In the United States GP West at Long Beach, Van Damme started 2nd and was pressuring race leader Gervais Trémaux, who was taking part in only his second race. On the fifth lap, Stefan made contact with the wall at the last corner and damaged his car's suspension which required lengthy repairs. The damage and resulting pitstop resulted in Van Damme dropping to tenth and he would eventually go on to finish fifth after having to pass multiple cars.

Van Damme qualified in 2nd behind Chuck Dingley for the Monaco Grand Prix and kept up with the American driver for the first laps until a mistake and spin at La Rascasse sent Stefan down into 4th. He made a bold pass at Tabac on Reinaldo Molina to take 3rd before closing the gap to Ferrari's Gervais Tremaux. Tremaux damaged his car in the closing laps of the race, allowing Van Damme to overtake him on the last lap. Taking full use of the Ferrari's superior horsepower, Tremaux fought back and outbraked Van Damme into the chicane. Van Damme tried all he could to pass the limping Ferrari in the final corners of the lap but was unable to and finished 3rd. This was Chuck Dingley's first race win and he quickly became Van Damme's main rival in the fight for the championship.

The championship fight heated up between Van Damme and Dingley after they clashed in the early corners of the San Marino Grand Prix. Stefan was ahead when Dingley locked up and made contact with his Lotus, resulting in Dingley taking the lead. He went on to win the race, with Van Damme once again finishing in 2nd. Gervais Tremaux finished a distant 3rd after running with too much downforce in the race.

With Dingley being absent, Stefan took full advantage and took his third pole position of the season in Dijon. However, he bogged down at the start before being hit by Tremaux at the first corner. The collision gave Van Damme severe skirt and body damage but he continued into the race. After another incident later on the lap, Van Damme was at the back of the field but continued to push hard to make up the lost ground. He eventually went on to finish 3rd after his teammate Jeremy Spocinklass let him through in the final laps.

Dingley returned for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and took pole by just 8 thousandths, with Ferrari's Richard Jockey in 2nd and Van Damme in 4th behind Tremaux. After a red flag, the race was restarted and continued to be filled with incidents throughout the field. Dingley span in the early laps of the race, gifting the lead to Jockey. Eventually, as the field reached the pitstop window, Jockey himself span at the last corner. Dingley collided with him but continued, whilst Jockey retired from the race. With Dingley forced to pit for repairs, Stefan inherited the race lead and went on to win ahead of Nino Tempestini.

The championship fight between Van Damme and Dingley continued into Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix and Dingley took another race win with Van Damme finishing 2nd. From this point on the season went downhill for the Belgian driver and he failed to finish in the points for the next three races due to some uncharacteristic mistakes. He had his first retirement of the season at the Italian Grand Prix and crashed out after a race-long duel with Dingley. In the 1978 United States Grand Prix East at Watkins Glen, Van Damme was running well before being span by the new Italian driver Vivaldo Margheriti. Van Damme branded the incident as a "*rookie mistake*" from Margheriti and due to finishing 7th, Dingley won his first Formula One Championship.

The season concluded at Mosport, where Van Damme finished on the podium just behind Vivaldo Margheriti. The race also saw the deaths of two drivers, Jermaine Ashwood and Max Westland, after heavy crashes in the race. Reflecting on the year, Van Damme stated: "*I'd like to forget this season in general. There were far too many heavy crashes and injuries and the loss of Maria in Argentina will stay with me forever."* Van Damme was close friends with Parker and her death reinvigorated Stefan's push for higher safety standards in the sport.

#### **1979** **-** **1981**

Lotus used a modified 79 car for the 1979 season and although it was reliable it lacked the pace that Van Damme needed to challenge for the title. Stefan's only retirement of the season occured in the first race in Argentina after Vivaldo Margheriti collided with the Belgian during a battle for 2nd. The pair engaged in a heated argument and fight before they were broken up by the marshals. After his retirement from the race, Van Damme managed to finish in the points for every race of the season and eventually finished in 4th in the championship.

Lotus struggled to understand their 81 car throughout the 1980 season and Van Damme's best result came at the Monaco Grand Prix where he finished 2nd. His teammate, Skylar West, took a surprising win at the German Grand Prix, taking the team's only win of the season. Van Damme went on to finish 7th in the championship.

The team brought a significantly faster and more reliable car into the 1981 season and Stefan was able to win the United States Grand Prix after a poor start from favourite Chuck Dingley. It was Van Damme's first race win since 1978. Van Damme consistently finished on the podium throughout the season and despite leading the championship, announced that he would leave the team to join Ferrari for the 1982 Formula One Season. He vowed to finish the season on a high and eventually won his 5th championship with the team, finishing 17 points ahead of Chuck Dingley.

### **Ferrari (1982 - 1984 )**

#### **1982**

Ferrari initially struggled to understand their car at the start of the 1982 season and despite finishing in 3rd for the first three races of the season, Van Damme lacked the pace to challenge Chuck Dingley and Vivaldo Margheriti. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Ferrari brought significant upgrades and Van Damme felt much more confident in the car's package. He took the lead of the race early on but came into contact with Vivaldo Margheriti at *Blanchimont*, sending Vivaldo into the wall at high speed. Margheriti was rushed to the hospital after suffering widespread burns and lung damage as well as other injuries. Van Damme went on to have an intense, albeit controversial, battle with Dingley for the remainder of the race, with the two coming into contact at *Les Combes* near the end of the race. Dingley span, allowing Van Damme to win his home race for the first time since 1976. Van Damme was given a ten second penalty for the incident with Dingley but ultimately retained the race win.

Dingley took pole for the Monaco Grand Prix but dropped down the order after hitting the wall, leaving the two Ferrari drivers to battle for the lead of the race. Fabiano Margheriti eventually won by just under a second over Van Damme. Van Damme went on to take another race win at the United States Grand Prix North after Dingley was forced to save fuel for much of the race. The race win came after more contact between the pair after they collided on the last lap of the race, but the stewards declared it a racing incident. Stefan was stuck in 4th position for almost half of the British Grand Prix at Donington before the retiremet of Émilie Levesque and Fabiano Margheriti's gearbox jamming. After the pitstops, Dingley came out several seconds ahead of Van Damme. Stefan pushed for the remainder of the race and eventually caught Dingley before overtaking him at the penultimate corner, with Fabiano Margheriti also finding his way past the American driver.

Van Damme came into a run of bad luck following the British Grand Prix. He retired from the French Grand Prix after being taken out by a backmarker and lacked the pace to challenge for race wins in Germany and Austria. In the team's home race at Monza, Van Damme made a rare mistake and crashed in qualifying, forcing him to start from the back. On the way to the grid, Van Damme's gearbox failed and he started from the pitlane. Despite a good start, the best he could manage was eventually 9th. He finished the season in 2nd in the Championship, 15 points behind newly-crowned champion Chuck Dingley.

#### **1983**

Many teams struggled to adapt to the banning of ground effect for the 1983 season, most notably Ferrari and McLaren. Van Damme ended the season without a win, with his best finish coming at the United States Grand Prix North with second place finish. He ended the season in 6th in the Championship.

#### **1984**

Ferrari brought a faster car for the 1984 season but it lacked the reliability that Van Damme needed to comfortably challenge for the title. After upgrades arrived late in the season, Van Damme won in Germany and Austria, before taking a podium in Italy. Following the race, he announced that he would be taking a sabbatical from Formula One to join Porsche for the 1985 World Sportscar Championship. Despite being in contention for the title at the final race of the season, Van Damme was involved in a lap one incident and he eventually finished outside the points in 7th. He finished the season in 4th in the championship standings, just four points behind his old rival Mick Ashcroft.

### **World Sportscar Championship (1985 - 1987)**

Van Damme joined Rothmans Porsche for the start of the 1985 World Sportscar Championship, with his first race being the 1000km of Mugello. He immediately showed blistering pace and was able to adapt to the much longer endurance races. The Porsche 956 was the fastest car in the field and the constructor dominated the season, with Van Damme's team going on to win two races throughout the year.

Rothman Porsche hired the newly crowned 1985 champion Chuck Dingley to partner Van Damme for the 1986 and 1987 seasons, creating a super-team in the process. Despite years away from the sport, Van Damme still held a heated rivalry with Dingley and the pair initially struggled to work with each other. Their intense rivalry pushed them into driving ever faster in order to show who was the superior driver, resulting in them crashing out of the race in the opening round of the season in Monza before suffering a turbo failure in Silverstone. They had a strong recovery drive in Le Mans and finally started to cool their rivalry, resulting in them winning the famous endurance event by over seven laps ahead of the next team. Their results and consistency improved throughout the year and they went on to win the 1986 championship with ease.

Van Damme was once again partnered with Dingley for the 1987 season and the team took another championship, albeit with much more difficulty due to a number of car failures throughout the season.

### **Brief Return to Formula One (1988 - 1990)**

#### **1988**

Chuck Dingley crashed out of the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix due to a gearbox failure and broke his wrist in the accident, forcing him to miss the next race in Canada. Ferrari brought in Van Damme, their reserve driver, to replace Dingley for the event. Stefan completed a short test at Imola to get accustomed to the car and showed that he had lost none of his pace and consistency.

Van Damme felt ready for the Canadian Grand Prix and went into the event with confidence that he could secure a good result for the team. He flew out to Montreal on a Concorde flight straight after completing a promotional event in London for Hugo Boss. After arriving at the track, he set the pace in practice before going on to take pole position by almost four tenths. He had a perfect start from pole and pulled away from the McLaren's of Ventura and Margheriti, leading every lap and also recording the fastest lap before taking a dominant victory. Van Damme commented after the race: "*It may have looked easy but it was just as challenging as I remember it. Luckily, the car was hooked up from the start of the race and the McLarens had nothing for me*." He strongly denied rumours circulating in the press that he would replace Dingley for the remainder of the championship and also remained sceptical about a full-time return to the sport.

#### **1989**

Dingley left Ferrari and Formula One suddenly after the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix after a race-ending collision with the second Ferrari driver Jack Wilson. This left an open seat in the team and they opted to hire Van Damme on a two-year contract, speculated to be worth multi-millions.

Ferrari entered the 1989 season with several car issues that had failed to be resolved in pre-season testing. Van Damme finished the first race in Brazil in 4th, with Wilson 7th. A heavy testing schedule followed the race and the team returned with a competitive car for the following event in Imola. Van Damme took pole position before going on to win the race. The following races saw a downturn in fortune for the Belgian as he suffered two retirements and failed to make it onto the podium until the German Grand Prix, where he won again. Meanwhile, Wilson had taken four straight wins and had elevated himself into a comfortable lead in the championship. Van Damme finished on the podium in Hungary and Belgium and went on to finish 3rd in the championship, behind Wilson and Reyes.

#### **1990**

Van Damme entered the 1990 season and his third decade in the sport with a commitment to improve his qualifying pace and consistency. Although much of the media and paddock had been impressed with his return to Formula One, many had started to doubt whether he could challenge for the championship again and saw Wilson as the better driver.

Ferrari once again entered the season on the backfoot, with Williams, McLaren, and Benetton proving to have the upper hand in terms of pace. Wilson eventually took his first win of the year at the United States Grand Prix, with Van Damme taking his first podium in the next race at Canada. Wilson once again went on a run of victories, whilst Van Damme struggled to find form and lost motivation as the season progressed. He took pole position for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim and was controlling the race until an engine failure in the final laps caused him to retire. Spending a couple of minutes next to his stricken car, he contemplated his future in the sport and racing in general.

Van Damme announced his retirement from Formula One on the Saturday morning at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, stating:

> "Everything has to come to an end at some point. I love this sport and all the fans who have supported me throughout my long career. I always have and always will but I've achieved everything I've needed to and I see no need to continue. I'll finish this season and give everything I can to support Jack and the team."
>
>

Van Damme went on to take pole position for the final time in his career. He had a storming start and fended off Fabiano Margheriti in the early laps before pulling away. By the end of the race he had consolidated a lead of over 25 seconds ahead of Margheriti. Tears began to emerge under Van Damme's helmet as he flew through *Blanchimont,* hearing thousands of Belgians cheer him on and remembering the near-fatal accident of Vivaldo Margheriti that he had been involved in. Slowing across the finish line, he raised his fist into the air as the team leaned over the pit wall in celebration with a sign saying "*Merci Stefan.*" A mix of emotions swept over Stefan as he contemplated what would be his final Grand Prix victory, fittingly at the event in which he took his first victory back in 1972. He ended the year in sixth in the championship and left Formula One for the final time.

## Personal Life

Van Damme's successful Formula One debut and several sponsorships meant that he could live a lavish lifestyle and he moved to live in Monte Carlo late in 1972.

In his early career he was known to be a heavy drinker and eater, with fellow driver Maria Parker remarking: "Sometimes I didn't see him leave his trackside accomodation for days. He seemed to just depend on wine, waffles, and some other 'food' I couldn't clearly see and I was quite worried for him." By 1975 this lifestyle started to affect Van Damme's racing career and he missed several days of pre-season testing with Lotus at Brands Hatch. It took several years before Van Damme cut down on his alcohol intake and he was mostly sober by 1978.

After a dominant win at the opening round of the 1975 season, Van Damme came under scrutiny for his pace and many drivers, including his ex-teammate Gunnar Olander and Ferrari driver Jorge Fernandez, accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs. Van Damme has strongly denied these rumours.