Eric van de Poele

**Eric Francis Edouard Ghislain Thérèse van de Poele** (born 30 September 1961), commonly known as **Eric van de Poele**, is a Belgian racing driver.

## Early life and career

Born in Verviers, near Spa, van de Poele was likely destined for a career behind the wheel. However, he was a late bloomer in motorsport, first emerging in 1983 when he competed in the Volant Avia F3 school at the La Chatre circuit in France, winning the victory trophy. That led to a year in the French Formula Three Championship, but the competition was too tough at this point in his career. He only scored three points in his Anson SA4 Toyota and finished tied for 16th place. So, in 1985, he returned to his comfort zone, winning the Belgian and Benelux Formula Ford championships. He also experimented with tin top racing in Belgian Group N touring cars, winning three races in his BMW 325i and finishing third overall in the series. That year, van de Poele competed in the Spa 24 Hours Classic for the first time, teaming up with Freek Staal and Jacques Hendrickx in a Hoflijk Sport Opel Manta GT/E in division 2, but the car eventually failed due to electrical and fuel supply issues. Eric had no idea at the time how successful he would be at the event in the years that followed. For the time being, he continued to advance through the ranks, but success in single-seaters proved difficult to come by.

In 1986, he raced twice in British Formula Ford, earning two podiums, and three times in British F3 in a Mike Rowe Racing Ralt RT30 Volkswagen, scoring only one point. In 1987, he drove a full season in the German F3 championship for the Hartge team in a Ralt RT31 powered by Volkswagen engines. Despite improving throughout the season, with a sixth at Hockenheim, a fifth at the Nürburgring, and a third at Zolder, he finished 11th in the series with 29 points. He found a niche in touring cars, however. He finished third in the 1986 Belgian Championship, winning twice in his BMW M525i. He also made three starts in the European Championship: at Spa with Pascal Witmeur and Jean-Michel Martin in a CiBiEmme Sport BMW 635CSi, where he retired due to engine failure; at Zolder with Hans Heyer in another 635CSi for the Juma team, where he finished fourth; and at Estoril with Georges Cremer and Christian Melville in a Luigi Racing Alfa Romeo 75 turbo. Eric was hired by Zakspeed BMW Junior Motorsports to drive a BMW M3 in the 1987 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, and he stunned the team by finishing second in his first race at Hockenheim, losing by only 0.62 of a second, before taking pole and fastest lap in the following round. A string of top ten finishes followed, culminating in the Wunstorf round, where he took pole and finished third - on the same weekend as the Spa 24 Hours, which we'll get to shortly. He finished second again at Diepholz, this time by 0.29s, putting him in position for the title.

Going into the final round at the Salzburgring, van de Poele, Manuel Reuter, and Marc Hessel were all vying for the title. Surprisingly, all three managed to find ways to nearly lose the championship. Reuter had a puncture, Hessel had a misunderstanding with his pit crew, and van de Poele had a tyre problem, but Eric finished 10th to win the DTM championship by 127 points over Reuter's 124 and Hessel's 123, despite not winning a race all season! 1987 was among the busiest years in touring car history. In addition to national titles, there was the European championship and the failed World Touring Car Championship. Eric also competed in the WTCC's first round at Monza in an Alpina BMW M3 with Andy Bovensiepen, but they were one of seven M3s disqualified due to roof thickness. At the Nürburgring, he finished sixth in the Team Vogelsang M3 with Harald Groh. But his greatest achievement that year was the Spa 24 hours, where he had to fit in driving stints around the Wunstorf DTM circuit. In a CiBiEmme M3 with Jean-Michel Martin and Didier Theys, the trio overcame the rain and the more popular runners to win. As if all this touring car action wasn't enough, van de Poele also competed in the ETCC's Zolder and Osterreichring rounds alongside Grohs in the Vogelsang M3, finishing fourth in the Austrian round.

By 1988, van de Poele was not only a well-established player in international touring car racing, but also a member of the works BMW stable, earning a ride with the prestigious Schnitzer team in the ETCC. His teammates for each race changed, including Roberto Ravaglia, Ellen Lohr, Dieter Quester, Altfrid Heger, Emanuele Pirro, Grohs, and Markus Oestreich, but his consistency and mechanical sympathy remained unwavering as he finished in the top ten in each. That included a win at Donington with Ravaglia and Lohr, another win with Ravaglia at Zolder, as well as podium finishes at Dijon, Vallelunga, and Nogaro, as he finished fifth in the last Group A ETCC with 224 points. He also appeared in the final round of the DTM at Hockenheim. Indeed, Eric's brief DTM appearances became something of a trademark, as he also competed in just one round at Norisring in 1989 and Hockenheim again in 1990. But in 1989, with the ETCC disbanded and BMW focusing on national championships, van de Poele returned to open wheelers and jumped right into International Formula 3000  with a GA Motosports Lola T89/50 Cosworth. He scored points in his first race at Silverstone and then performed admirably in the following race at Vallelunga, finishing third after starting 15th. Despite a mid-season slump, there were fourths at Jerez and Spa, fifth at Dijon, and second at Le Mans Bugatti, with Eric finishing fifth overall on 19 points.

GA Motorsports switched to a Reynard 90D chassis in 1990, and the season began promisingly with sixth at Donington, fifth at Silverstone, and a victory on the streets of Pau. However, another mid-year slump left him in sixth place in the series, with only 12 points and three rounds remaining. But Eric then won two games at Birmingham and Nogaro, moving up to second place in the standings with 30 points, though runaway championship winner Érik Comas, with 61 points, was never in reach. In 1990, van de Poele made his debut in sports cars, driving a Spice SE90C Ford in two World Sportscar Championship rounds at Monza and Donington, finishing sixth and fifth, respectively, alongside Wayne Taylor and Bruno Giacomelli. Through his contacts, he also tested an IMSA GTO spec Ferrari F40LM in America before being given the opportunity to race it at Lime Rock with Jean-Pierre Jabouille, where they finished ninth overall and fifth in class.

## Formula One

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