Ezequiel Zarco

Zarco, Pre-Season 1994

Buenos-Aires, Argentina

**Ezequiel Zarco** (born 17th January 1967) is a French-Argentine racing driver, who most recently drove in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship.

Ezequiel won the 1993 Formula One World Championship for Jordan, his only Formula One title. He would later take a sabbatical from motorsport after the fatal accident of Jasper Saetern in the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, returning to racing in 2004, before once again retiring prior to 2010.

## Early Life

Born Elizabet Frances Zarco-Allard, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to parents Aman Zarco and Angele Allard, Zarco grew up in a privileged household, receiving a private education.

## Racing Career

Ezequiel started his career early. Backed by oil money, Zarco raced anything he could get his hands on. This began with karting in Brazil and low-rung touring car races in his native Argentina. Zarco would compete in both from ages 13 to 17.

### 1984-1986 - Rally

In 1984, Ezequiel and his parents returned to Europe. Ezequiel could not bring his touring car, however, and instead he began to compete in the lower classes of the Rally Championship, though only on rounds held in France; the Tour de Corse and the Rallye Monte Carlo, to little success. In 1986 however, driving a new Renault 5 Turbo bought for his 18th birthday from Sebastién Sauvageon, Zarco would manage a top 5 finish in the overall standings at the 1986 Tour de Corse. It didn't keep him hooked however, and Zarco would land a ride in German Formula 3 for 1987.

### Transition to Circuit Racing

##### 1987

In 1987 Zarco landed a ride with WTS Liqui Moly Equipe to drive a Reynard in the year's 1987 German F3 season. Zarco's first season was marred with spins and accidents, but flashes of pace and spectacular aggression led to his contract being extended for 1988.

##### 1988-1989

1988 was Ezequiel's breakout season. Piloting a new 1988 Reynard 883, Zarco would take a victory and two podiums in the short season, impressing many in the process. A high speed crash at the Norisring left Zarco distant from the championship as he missed a chunk of the season. 1989 would be a fairly quiet year, Zarco finishing the championship 3rd - notable however, as Zarco played a role in Jan Krejci 's accident at Diepholz, the accident leaving Krejci with a broken wrist. Zarco had put the pair's championship rival in a sticky situation, eventually causing contact, sending the wayward driver into Krejci, who was passing on the outside.

##### 1990

Zarco would remain with WTS for 1990, and the combo proved deadly. Consistently at the top of the leaderboard, Zarco took 3 victories and a number of podiums - however, reliability would hinder his championship hopes, ending the year 2nd - just three points separating Krejci in 3rd, Zarco in 2nd and the eventual championship winner. Zarco's title attempts led to a testing role with Ligier for 1991.

### Formula One Career

##### 1991: Testing for Ligier

Zarco was scheduled to attend half of the rounds for the Ligier F1 team as Reserve, behind full-time drivers Gabino & Sætern as well as Ligier's other test driver and ex-Brabham man Seraphin Dufour. Zarco soon proved an oddity in the paddock, with few friends, thanks to his differing interests and odd demeanor. However, he was often seen nearby the likes of Otto Makkinen and Jack Wilson. At the time it was not known whether they were friends.

##### 1991: Part-time to Full-time

After the 1991 German Grand Prix (Round Eight), Ligier remained on 0 points, with a patchy track record of entries. Gabino & Sætern both struggled with the bulky Ligier, though notably, Gabino had failed to finish a race. Gabino withdrew from the team following the race, having not entered an event for the team since the United States Grand Prix. Following the news, Zarco was given the nod to finish the season full-time, as Dufour preferred to give the young man a chance and at the same time avoid a return to the political quagmire that is Formula One. Zarco impressed on his debut, taking home P5 in the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, after battling all race-long with Ferrari man Navarro and Benetton driver Timo Pakkinen. Zarco would retire from his only other entry, crashing out of the Spanish Grand Prix, but scored Ligier's first points of the season, beating full-time teammate Sætern in the championship.

##### 1992

For 1992 Zarco would continue with Ligier. Despite a surprise 2nd place for Jasper Sætern in the United States Grand Prix, Zarco would finish consistently in the points, beating Saetern to P13 in the championship. Zarco would sign for Jordan in 1993, a team on the rise.

##### 1993

1993 would be Zarco's breakout season in Formula One. The Jordan 193 featured several innovations and proved considerably quicker than expected. Zarco partnered with 1991 rival Jimmy Russell and the pair proved a destructive force, Zarco scoring a win first time out in the Jordan in the 1993 South African Grand Prix. Despite a retirement in the Brazilian Grand Prix, a podium at Imola set the tone for the season, with Zarco taking a further three wins and a P2 on the way to the 1993 World Championship by five points over the indomitable Jack Wilson. Russell took home an impressive P5, handing Jordan the Constructors title. Russell netted a win and 3 other podiums throughout the season. For 1994 Zarco would replace Santiago Réyes at McLaren, partnering his 1993 title rival Wilson.

##### 1994-95: McLaren

1994 started off promising for Zarco with a P7 in the first round at Aida nearing teammate Wilson's P5 despite a tangle with Alex Parker early in the race. Despite the lower-than-expected result for both the McLaren drivers, comments on the car and setups were favourable and both drivers seemed happy with the handling of the new McLaren.

Neither driver would do well in the Brazilian Grand Prix, and trouble would once again strike Ezequiel at Imola after he was involved in a first lap pileup, but he recovered to P8. However, McLaren took their first podium of the season in the hands of Jack Wilson at the same race. Zarco would repeat the feat for the team at Monaco after an aggressive drive. Portugal saw a retirement for the Frenchman, though he raced his way to a top 5 in the United States Grand Prix.

###### German Grand Prix

Zarco qualified poorly for the German Grand Prix, but remained positive about the car, expecting to climb considerably in the race. This was beginning to come true, after an accident took out Jimmy Russell and moved Enzo Leal to the back - however, Zarco would chase down the flailing Otto Makkinen who was sliding about after getting some dirt on his tyres. Zarco would make the move to the outside entering the hairpin in the stadium section after Makkinen went wide at the previous turn. They exited side by side with Zarco having the better exit - and had almost had the move done when they collided entering the second half of the S-bend. Both cars slid off lazily into the tyre wall and were out of the race. Zarco threw his steering wheel at Makkinen after getting out of the car, laying into him in the following interview. He was fined by the FIA for throwing the wheel at Otto.

###### British Grand Prix

Zarco qualified well for the British Grand Prix, but early on, suffered a half spin exiting the final corner. Soren Vinter was unsighted and hit the Frenchman at full speed as he rejoined the circuit. Vinter was killed in the incident and Zarco injured, missing the Belgian GP. The incident lead to the early retirement of Omar Serrano and Zarco spoke to the media very little, entering a period of depression.

The remainder of the season reflected this, retiring from the Italian GP after crashing with David Johnson - and P8 in the Japanese GP, once again battling with Johnson.

##### 1995:

Despite early promise with two podiums, 1995 was a second poor season for Zarco in the McLaren, trailing Wilson considerably. With the extreme performance of the Margheriti cars, Zarco took P8 in the championship. He left McLaren at the end of the season, and was honest about how he did not fit in the team. Ferrari would sack Leal and Koren for 1996 for a clean slate - signing the 1993 champion Zarco and up-and-comer Rodrigo Morais.

##### 1996-1997: Ferrari

Zarco hit it off in the Ferrari camp, taking a 3rd place in the season-opening race in South Africa. Morais would take his and the team's first win in Monaco on his way to a title challenge with Zarco preferring a consistent results sheet after a plethora of retirements in the last two years. Zarco's first win in red would come in the Italian Grand Prix, the first time a Ferrari won the event since Fabiano Margheriti in 1993, and before that, since Dingley in 1988. Otto Makkinen won the championship in the Mclaren. Despite that, Zarco remained positive, and Ferrari won the 1996 Constructors' Championship, their first since 1989. 1997 was built up to be a truly excellent year for Ferrari, retaining the driver pairing of Zarco and Rodrigo Morais.

###### 1997 Australian Grand Prix & Sabbatical

Ezequiel qualified down in 12th, having focussed entirely on a race setup during practice. Zarco got off the line well, being stuck behind Jimmy Russell's Williams in turn one. Russell lifted slightly due to oversteer, Zarco repeating the mistake - sliding slightly to the left on the exit of the corner. Joon-Ho Kang looked to make up time on the pair, jinking to the inside, but tagged the Frenchman as he came across the racing line. Zarco span, hitting the inside wall and the stopped car of Rico Fillippi in the Ligier, who had spun on his own. As the field passed, Jasper Saetern was looking for space up the inside. Unsighted by smoke, Jasper charged into the fray, unfortunately into the stricken Ligier and Ferrari. Jasper glanced off of Zarco's car, right into the path of the Ligier. Upon contact with the Ligier, Jasper's head hit into his steering wheel and the car bounced into the air as all four tyres left the ground. Unconscious, Sætern's Ford backed into his teammate Stefan and took him out of the race. Jasper's death was formally announced after life support was turned off at 7:29pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

Zarco debuted in Formula One in 1991 as Saetern's teammate and the death of his old friend combined with the previous death of Soren Vinter in 1994 hit him incredibly hard, having been involved in both accidents. The following morning, Zarco announced his withdrawal from Ferrari and announced that he would be going on a sabbatical effective immediately with no return date. Zarco also committed to aiding the GPDA campaign for driver safety improvements, culminating in changes to track design regulations as well as the introduction of the HANS device for the 2004 season.

### V8 Supercar Series

#### 2004: Lites Series

In early 2004, it was announced that Zarco would be ending his 7-year sabbatical, returning to racing. Zarco would sign for Elijah McGavin Racing, a Holden team in the V8 Supercar Championship. This would be a one-off drive for the 2004 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000km at Bathurst. Prior to that event, Zarco competed in the Konica Minolta V8 Lites Series, the second division of V8 Supercar racing, once again for Elijah McGavin Racing.

Zarco would sit in the midfield for the first 3 rounds of the Lites championship, which were held at Wakefield, Adelaide and Winton, with a highlight being a fastest lap in Round 2 Race 2 (Adelaide). At this stage questions were being asked over the ex-F1 driver's capabilities behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar, but team boss Elijah McGavin remained positive, and Zarco himself gave nothing away. The second half of the season would be in total contrast; Zarco would push championship leader Andy Hedditch onto the grass to win Race 1 of Round 4, and would go on to win both Race 2 and 3. Zarco would win multiple times in the final two rounds, however due to the 150% points races at Adelaide, he would lose the championship to Hedditch, who had won both races there. Zarco would finish 9th in that year's Bathurst 1000, in the top division.

#### 2005 - 2009: Supercars

For 2005, Zarco would make the jump with Elijah McGavin Racing to the top division, joined by sponsorship from Carlton Dry. The car's livery proudly presented the company's slogan; "Be Like the Beer" on the rear bumper. Zarco would impress in the first round at Adelaide, taking home 6th place in the first race, and providing a spectacular last lap battle in race 2 that saw the Carlton Dry machine take flight over the kerbs at the first chicane. The season would be relatively uneventful for Zarco and the team, aside from Zarco taking his first victory in the series at Surfer's Paradise, Round 11, Race 2. Zarco would draw the ire of veteran driver Ben MacNaghten over the season, after having several collisions with him.

Zarco retired from racing following the 2009 season.

## Controversy

In Zarco's second season of racing for WTS in German Formula 3 (1989) rumours began circulating surrounding Ezequiel's "real" identity. Tabloids reported that Ezequiel had previously raced under the name Eliza Zarco-Allard, and was in fact, of the female sex. Ezequiel denied these rumours, reminding the press of what he was there to do - race, and for many, this was a decisive end to the rumour.

In the 1994 German Grand Prix, Zarco threw his steering wheel at Otto Makkinen following an incident in the stadium section at Hockenheim. The move was largely considered Makkinen's fault, however Zarco was fined for the outburst. In the following race, Zarco was again involved in an incident, this time with Soren Vinter - who crashed into the Frenchman and lost his life.

## Helmet Design

Zarco's helmet throughout his career has featured two equal sections, a deep navy blue on the bottom and a white section. This is followed by the remainder of the helmet from the top of the visor featuring a sharp pink with an outcrop following the visor edge. Atop this design sits a set of thin white stripes, always in pairs, on both the pink and blue sections, with a diagonal one slicing across the trio. After joining Ligier, an extra white halo was added just above the visor to provide a clear space for Elf branding.

Following his championship win, a teardrop was added to the top of the helmet, with the words "Donde hubo fuego cenizas quedan" - "Where there was fire, ashes remain", as well as the Argentine sun and fleur de lis. The design was altered after the first round of the 1994 Season, removing the white halo for Marlboro, swapping to the same style teammate Jack Wilson was employing.