Jean-Denis Deletraz
 |
|
| Born |
1 October 1963 Geneva, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Swiss |
| Active years | 1994–1995 |
| Teams | Larrousse, Pacific |
| Entries | 3 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1994 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1995 European Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
|---|---|
| Participating years | 1995 – 1996, 2000 – 2002, 2004, 2007 |
| Teams |
Giroix Racing Team Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing Racing Organisation Course Noël del Bello Racing Barron Connor Racing Swiss Spirit |
| Best finish | 5th (1995, 2001) |
| Class wins | 2 (2001, 2002) |
Jean-Denis Delétraz (born 1 October 1963) is a Swiss racing driver. He participated in three Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, and his short F1 career was 2 retirements and a 15th.
Before reaching Formula One, he scored two third places in the 1988 Formula 3000 season, but principally earned his three Formula One drives as a pay driver.
After Formula One, he competed in sports car racing, with two class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Delétraz had some success in his early career, notably two wins that came while driving Formula Ford cars. He went on to compete in Formula Three between 1985 and 1987 in the French championship, finishing third in the final standings in 1985. Between 1988 and 1991, he competed in Formula 3000 and during 1990 he bought the FIRST racing team, but was never able to match the success of 1988 and scored no points. During 1991 the team was impounded by an Italian court for a time after legal action from the team's other driver, Giovanni Bonanno.
In 1992 and 1993, Deletraz competed in the French Touring Car Championship and the Porsche Supercup with little success. In 1994, Delétraz was signed as a driver for the SEAT works team in the French Touring Car Championship. His best result was fifth place in the race at Nogaro and he finished thirteenth overall in the standings.
Towards the end of 1994, Larrousse was like a number of other teams at the time, running short on money and resorting to pay drivers to keep the team afloat. Larrousse's number 19 car, which had started the year being driven by Olivier Beretta, was now being driven by drivers who could bring sponsorship money to the team. For the final race of the year in Australia, Larrousse let the aero-car inexperienced, physically unfit Delétraz replace Érik Comas in the team's second car for more sponsorship money in order to aid their financial situation.
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